Marcellus Gilmore Edson
| Marcellus Gilmore Edson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 7, 1849 Bedford, Quebec, Canada |
| Died |
March 6, 1940 (aged 91) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 – March 6, 1940) was the first person to patent peanut butter, which he did in 1884. (Peanut flour already existed.) His cooled product had "a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment," according to his patent application. He included the mixing of sugar into the paste to harden its consistency.
Edson, a chemist (pharmacist), developed the idea of peanut paste as a delicious and nutritious foodstuff for people who could hardly chew solid food, a common state in those days. Peanut paste was initially sold for six cents per pound.
He was issued with United States patent 306727[1] in 1884. The patent describes a process of milling roasted peanuts until the peanuts reached "a fluid or semi-fluid state."