Southerners put beans in cocaine
Southern cuisine offers colorful dishes such as fried chicken and pecan pie. There’s a surprisingly consistent trend: putting peanuts in cola. Historian Rick McDaniel traces this practice back to the 1920s. Peanut shells are sold alongside cola bottles in stores across the country, causing employees to confuse them for practical reasons. “A lot of workers… started throwing the beans into the coke to avoid touching each other’s hands,” McDaniel says.
Another theory relates this to road trips. As driving became more popular, putting peanuts in Coke bottles offered a free solution for employees. For a real experience, choose regular coke with salted peanuts. Coke fans say glass bottles add flavor. Although it may seem unconventional, this Southern food tradition has been carried on for generations, producing a unique salt and pepper mixture that many people love.
