The town of Floresville, just 30 miles from the Alamo City, may have welcomed such cinematic celebrities as director Steven Spielberg and action hero Jackie Chan over the years, but the true star of this Wilson County community is the peanut. Since 1938 festivities have been held in honor of the town's cash-producing crop, and a crowd 15,000+ strong flock to Floresville each second weekend in October to participate in old-fashioned, family-friendly festivities held within sight of the giant nut statue which proudly stands year round on the grounds of the Floresville courthouse.
I have been in the Peanut Festival since I was born, whether I was sitting in a stroller or driving a Thunderbird in the parade. Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger an
d that is a good thing for the Wilson County community. The Peanut Festival brings a lot of money to our community and even gives people outside our town to explore and learn about why we have the Peanut Festival in historic Floresville. For a business or anybody to open a booth at the Peanut Festival they must pay a fee to reserve a spot. That money helps Floresville continue to grow. My grandmother, who is head of the Wilson County Peanut Festival Committee, says “That if we never have started the Peanut Festival, we as a community would not be what we are today.” My grandma has been on this committee for over 40 years and she with the help of the committee has made this community what it is today. She pushed many business to come to Floresville including: H.E.B., Bill Millers, and even got a bill passed to improve our Post Office.
The second weekend in October doesn’t only man the Peanut Festival is coming; it also means that it is time to start making peanut brittle. The club I am in called SPJST gets a booth every year in the Peanut Festival and sells peanut brittle. The name of this fraternal ben
efit society is SPJST - originally chartered as the Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas but that name is hard to remember and say, so just call it SPJST. SPJST is strictly an insurance company to some; to others, it's a social club; and, finally, to others, it's a cultural preservation society. It was established by the Czech immigrants and their families who stuck together and want to visit with the whole family every month. In time it became more that just a meet and greet, it became an organization with the idea to help better their community. My grandfather is the leading sales representative and the district CEO of SPJST. He is always trying to get someone to join with his favorite saying, “Does your life insurance company provide a club for your children where they can go visit places, help your community grow, make new friends, and even get scholarships?” He has almost double the amount of people in SPJST and has given out many scholarships of his own to people in the SPJST.
October 1st of every year is when the club comes together to make the peanut brittle for the Peanut Festival. We buy the peanuts from local farmers and start at six in the morning and do not leave until midnight. We have three stoves and a couple portable one all going at the same time. Each person there will probably cook about twelve-to-fifteen bat
ches of peanut brittle. Ok enough of the layout, let’s start cooking. First you start with a fairly heavy, 2 1/2 to 3 quart saucepan. Stainless steel with a copper clad bottom is ideal. Wendy the Youth Director of the SPJST says “Do not use an all aluminum pan. You will likely get ‘hot spots’ which cause burning before you know it.” Then you place 1 cup corn syrup and ½ cup of water into the pot and warm it up. Before it starts to bubble, you stir in 2 cups of sugar. When it starts to bubble, add 2 cups of peanuts. Also you have to stir occasionally or the peanuts on the bottom will burn. When it reaches a nice golden brown color it is time to finish it. You remove it from the stove and stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tbsp butter until the butter melts. Sprinkle the 3/4 tsp baking soda over the surface of the mixture and stir. The mixture will begin to foam up and double in volume. Now it is time to poor it onto a flat surface. We use a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil on it, which has butter smeared on it so it doesn’t stick to it. After letting it harden we break it up and package them ourself. There are many types of peanut brittle including, hot brittle.
Congratulations you just learned how to make peanut brittle! Don’t forget every 2nd weekend in October is the Peanut Festival, if you are free you should come on down and support the Wilson County community.
I have been in the Peanut Festival since I was born, whether I was sitting in a stroller or driving a Thunderbird in the parade. Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger an
d that is a good thing for the Wilson County community. The Peanut Festival brings a lot of money to our community and even gives people outside our town to explore and learn about why we have the Peanut Festival in historic Floresville. For a business or anybody to open a booth at the Peanut Festival they must pay a fee to reserve a spot. That money helps Floresville continue to grow. My grandmother, who is head of the Wilson County Peanut Festival Committee, says “That if we never have started the Peanut Festival, we as a community would not be what we are today.” My grandma has been on this committee for over 40 years and she with the help of the committee has made this community what it is today. She pushed many business to come to Floresville including: H.E.B., Bill Millers, and even got a bill passed to improve our Post Office.The second weekend in October doesn’t only man the Peanut Festival is coming; it also means that it is time to start making peanut brittle. The club I am in called SPJST gets a booth every year in the Peanut Festival and sells peanut brittle. The name of this fraternal ben
efit society is SPJST - originally chartered as the Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas but that name is hard to remember and say, so just call it SPJST. SPJST is strictly an insurance company to some; to others, it's a social club; and, finally, to others, it's a cultural preservation society. It was established by the Czech immigrants and their families who stuck together and want to visit with the whole family every month. In time it became more that just a meet and greet, it became an organization with the idea to help better their community. My grandfather is the leading sales representative and the district CEO of SPJST. He is always trying to get someone to join with his favorite saying, “Does your life insurance company provide a club for your children where they can go visit places, help your community grow, make new friends, and even get scholarships?” He has almost double the amount of people in SPJST and has given out many scholarships of his own to people in the SPJST.October 1st of every year is when the club comes together to make the peanut brittle for the Peanut Festival. We buy the peanuts from local farmers and start at six in the morning and do not leave until midnight. We have three stoves and a couple portable one all going at the same time. Each person there will probably cook about twelve-to-fifteen bat
ches of peanut brittle. Ok enough of the layout, let’s start cooking. First you start with a fairly heavy, 2 1/2 to 3 quart saucepan. Stainless steel with a copper clad bottom is ideal. Wendy the Youth Director of the SPJST says “Do not use an all aluminum pan. You will likely get ‘hot spots’ which cause burning before you know it.” Then you place 1 cup corn syrup and ½ cup of water into the pot and warm it up. Before it starts to bubble, you stir in 2 cups of sugar. When it starts to bubble, add 2 cups of peanuts. Also you have to stir occasionally or the peanuts on the bottom will burn. When it reaches a nice golden brown color it is time to finish it. You remove it from the stove and stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tbsp butter until the butter melts. Sprinkle the 3/4 tsp baking soda over the surface of the mixture and stir. The mixture will begin to foam up and double in volume. Now it is time to poor it onto a flat surface. We use a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil on it, which has butter smeared on it so it doesn’t stick to it. After letting it harden we break it up and package them ourself. There are many types of peanut brittle including, hot brittle.Congratulations you just learned how to make peanut brittle! Don’t forget every 2nd weekend in October is the Peanut Festival, if you are free you should come on down and support the Wilson County community.
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