Perfect Roasted Peanuts by Virginia Diner, Updated Edition

We have eaten peanuts as our Happy Hour snack for 20 years. Been there done that. VA Diner is our favorite. Just the right amount of salt, huge nuts, pleasant fresh peanut taste. Feridie's and The Peanut Shoppe are much the same. All of these way better than Kirkland and Planter's Jumbo Virginia. And in a different category entirely, Planter's Dry Roasted are pretty darn good. Smaller, crunchier with an addictive seasoning..#1) Virginia Diner right taste right salt a little pricey#2) Feridie's a bit saltier but very similar#3) The Peanut Shoppe with almost no salt but available from a national liquor store locally so a plus for geography#4) Kirkland proves sometimes Costco is just cheaper not better#5) Planter's Virginia we bought them at Sam's Club in a pinchUpdate 1: Just ordered another can. I think we have found our true nut.Update 2: Just got another in time for Happy Hour tonight. Nutz to you this holiday season.

I'm very disappointed in these. Last month I ordered the sweet onion version and they were sooo good! The plain ones are sadly no where near as good. The are under-roasted, most nuts need a little more roasting to bring out the flavor of the nut and ensure a really crunchy crunch. I felt like these were almost raw, to the point of hardly crunchy at all. I am actually going to put them in the oven to finish the job. And they didn't have very many of those "blisters" for lack of a better word. I think that may be because of the under-roasting, because the more heat there is, more blisters there are. And more blisters means more crunch. Anyway, maybe I just got a bad batch but I really wish I ordered another can of the sweet onion ones instead. Boo hiss.

I've repeatedly ordered these for the past couple of years, always perplexed by others who reported inconsistent quality. Well...now I understand. The entire 36 oz. tin appears to be badly over-roasted, some of the nuts actually burned. Thankfully, this occurred prior to the holidays, since I was planning on sending some to clients. Am trying another brand found on Amazon next, that gets higher ratings.

Winner of best peanut Award. Each year I give out an award for the best of whatever I feel like. I am an overeater. Hands down Virginia Diner Peanuts are the largest most crunchy peanut out there. The contender was the Williamsburg Peanut Shop. My roommate and I put these side by side and the quality difference is obvious. V Diner Peanuts are the best. So if you are paying oz of oz and they are the same, buy VDiner Peanuts.My father turned me on to these many years ago. They are the best...

These peanuts didn't taste very good, and they seemed overly hard and dry. Not sure how they can be called "Gourmet" as they aren't very good. I'll probably just use them in baking, when peanuts are called for. Hopefully the other ingredients will soften them sufficiently to be edible.

We ordered two cans of Virginia Diner Gourmet Salted Peanuts (plus a can of Kirkland Super Extra-Large Peanuts) because the brand we have on automatic shipment was out of stock and not expected to be available for weeks. The verdict: Not bad, but far from the best. Compared to the "gold standard" of jumbo VA peanuts (Royal Oak) the Virginia Diner peanuts we received had a distinct not-quite-done taste (my bride called them "green"). They were also cooked in soybean oil rather than Royal Oak's peanut oil and that has a subtle effect on flavor. And there were more smaller peanuts mixed in (all brands vary a bit in size). One plus: Virginia Diner packs in a metal can with a tight metal lid and an inner metal vacuum seal you cut away. Many other brands ship in a fake can of paper bonded with a foil cover and may also have loose-fitting plastic lids that are not as air-tight. Overall, Virginia Diner brand peanuts, while far better than Planters, are not as good as we expected. We have a second can yet unopened and IF they don't have any hint of the "green" taste we might reconsider the rating. But our next order will definitely be for Royal Oak brand peanuts in 40-ounce cans, clearly the best of the many "gourmet" brands we've tried.

Excellent Virginia Peanuts. These peanuts are very tasty, not overly salted, and a crisp. They come in an air-tight container that is well-sealed. I love snacking on a handful in the evening. When you open the can and cut through the aluminum seal, I recommend that you carefully push the edges of the seal back underneath the rim. This way you won't accidentally scratch your hand from a metal edge poking out. (Don't make more out of this suggestion. Just something I did when I saw the aluminum seal doesn't always tear cleanly). These are the best Virginia Peanuts I have ever bought.

These nuts are good, they still have a little oil on them but not as much as planters.They are lightly salted (Less than Planters)My only complaint would be that they are over roasted, they are not dark, they actually look very pale, however the nuts themselves are quite hard, even a little dried out. in this respect I prefer Planters as the nuts are softer.As with all things this is individual taste and mine may be different from yours, so if you want a harder nut with less salt these will be great