Who patented peanut butter?

Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 – March 6, 1940) was a Canadian chemist (pharmacist) of Montreal, born in Bedford (Québec), who patented peanut butter in 1884. 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 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 in 1884. The patent describes a process of milling roasted peanuts until the peanuts reached "a fluid or semi-fluid state".

While George Washington Carver didn’t invent peanut butter, his work—along with that of peanut butter innovators Edson, Kellogg and Straub—helped establish peanut butter as the nutritious staple ingredient found in 94 percent of American households today.

Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground dry-roasted peanuts. It often contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is popular in many countries. The United States is a leading exporter of peanut butter and itself consumes $800 million of peanut butter annually.