The Answer:

Nobody knows for sure, but it appears to date back as far as the ancient Incas. Peanut butter is not a very complicated product. While my beloved Skippy Super Chunk adds sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and salt, peanut butter in its purest form is nothing more than crushed peanuts.

George Washington Carver is often credited with this invention. The confusion is understandable; Carver was an agricultural wizard who developed hundreds of uses for peanuts, making them a more popular crop, and no doubt helping spread the popularity of peanut butter.

—The Editors