Here are some of the questions I have been unable to find answers to:

• Why "French"?
• Why "Burnt"?
• What are the nodules/poky bits in the coating on French burnt peanuts?
• Why are French burnt peanuts bumpy in the first place?
• Are these supposed to be skin-on or skin-off peanuts?  Because my investigations have shown a 50/50 ratio there.
• What is that funny bitter taste?
• Who invented French burnt peanuts, and why do they continue to exist?

I bought a s ample of each of these on a whim from the bulk food section at the store this week.  I have since been able to turn up some information on Boston Baked Beans from the Ferrara Pan company, but absolutely nothing on French burnt peanuts.  

Nothing on French burnt peanuts, I should say, except for recipes!  So that you can make your own!  Why you would want to do this is absolutely beyond me.  I also don't see anything in the recipes that will create the bumpy nodule coating which is diagnostic for French burnt peanuts.  But I digress.

My pet theory is that French burnt peanuts have a bumpy coating to keep them from sticking together in one big mass.  Since the natural habitat of the French burnt peanut is the dismal, dusty "put in a quarter and get a handful of sunlight-faded candy" candy machines.  And for all I know, it's true!

As far as I can tell, the only thing French burnt peanuts have going for them is the price.  I did some minute candy autopsy work, and as far as I can tell, the little nodules are just more sugar.  

Boston Baked Beans definitely come out on top in this comparison.  They are made through a ridiculously time-consuming process that takes several weeks, and adds hundreds of candy coating layers.  This sugaring process also infuses the peanut itself with sugar, which gives the peanut a sort of silky texture.  

Boston Baked Beans also have a very subtle, smoky taste.  This is probably meant to evoke the original substance, actual baked beans from Boston.  Adding a tiny dash of liquid smoke to your candy might be considered bizarre or even irrational, but I swear it works really well for Boston Baked Beans.  (I wouldn't like to see it being added to, say, Skittles, but whatever.)

However, both French burnt peanuts and Boston Baked Beans have a strangely bitter aftertaste.  I think this is the taste of the accumulated peanut skins.  At any rate, it is very unpleasant.  

A word for our vegan readers: I would be wary of either of these candies.  Many red candies use dye derived from the cochineal beetle (carmine, K-Carmine, Crimson Lake, Natural Red 4, etc).  Check the label and make sure it says "artificial colors."  Most of the Boston Baked Beans and French burnt peanuts you encounter in the wild will probably use artificial colors (if only because the artificial versions are cheaper) but there's no need to risk it.

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user roadsidepictures