People are only just realising that peanuts aren't nuts and it's blowing their minds

There have been many studies into the benefits of eating nuts, their benefits include being low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and rich in protein and fibre—however many will easily pay for a bottle of wine or cakes instead of choosing to opt for nuts

When it comes to healthy snacking, buts can be a good go-to but only if you can afford them.

However, as the cost of nuts is on the rise in supermarkets, peanuts stay the same. Shoppers have been left shocked to discover that peanuts, a beloved staple, aren’t nuts at all. Instead, they belong to the legume family and grow underground, which helps explain their significantly lower price point.

The reality is that nuts can be pricey. For instance, a 400g bag of mixed nuts from Waitrose will set you back £6, while a bag of fruit and nut mix from M&S will set you back £5.50, and a small 60g pot of nuts from Tesco will cost you a £1. So why aren’t peanuts as expensive, well food scientist Bryan Quoc Le shared the answer with Huffington Post.

Bryan said: “Tree nuts can take years, if not decades, to mature into a harvestable crop.” And it’s exactly this lengthy process plus the very physical manual labour associated with harvesting high-cost nuts like macadamias and cashews - these specific nuts need sorting and grading by hand.

By comparison, peanuts aren’t as expensive and you are probably wondering why. A 550g bag of roasted and salted peanuts will set you back £2.20 at M&S. Well here is the answer, peanuts aren’t actually nuts. It’s like beans and part of the legume family because they’re grown underground, not in trees. Dietitian Angel Luk said: “The reason peanuts are far cheaper to the consumer is because the harvesting and cultivation of peanuts is usually an automated process.”

There have been many studies into the benefits of eating nuts, their benefits include being low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and rich in protein and fibre—however many will easily pay for a bottle of wine or cakes instead of choosing to opt for nuts. Regularly eating nuts can promote heart and brain health particularly because have omega-3 fatty acids. Angel notes, “I definitely think cost is a deterrent to making healthier choices.” The dietician suggests buying in bulk or using nuts as toppings to make them more accessible.

However according to one expert just because certain nuts are more expensive doesn’t mean they are better. Elisabeth Burrow, known as The Crazy Nut Lady, is an artisan nut farmer and manufacturer who sells nuts under the banner Jewels Under the Kilt says cheaper nuts are not “inferior,” she says they can just be considered to have minor imperfections and that’s why they are sold at a lower price point.