The peanut gallery

Nuts buttered, spread

By BEN WHELAN

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Boston may be known for many things—baked beans, clam chowder, epidemic Dunkins—but the city also claims a sizeable legume legacy.

Teddie Peanut Butter and Superior Nut Company have been in the Boston area since the '20s, and from that time on, the Hintlian family has been the kernel of the local nut industry.

Michael Hintlian, who had been previously working at a candy company in 1924, decided to go out on his own. Along with his general manager, for whom the corporation is named, he started the Leavitt Corporation and began making Teddie Peanut Butter.

Soon after, in 1929, his cousin Nubar Hintlian started his own nut business while operating out of a movie theater basement in Ball Square, Somerville: Thus, Superior Nut Company was born. He would prepare nuts by night, and then sell them by day, at a time when every five-and-dime had a candy and nut counter.

When the Great Depression hit, peanut butter was thrust into the forefront of the American way of life, due its high nutritional value and relatively low price. Teddie began to grow and expand, eventually adding a line of nuts to complement their already successful brand of peanut butter.

Meanwhile, after moving out of the theater basement into a two-story factory in Charlestown, Superior Nut made a similar shift of adding peanut butter production to their repertoire in the '40s. The company had previously been exclusively selling nuts and nut candy, but soon entered the market with a naturally made peanut butter that their sizable list of customers literally ate up.

From then till now, the local market has been dominated by these two peanut purveyors, and they have the big guys running scared. According to the company's president, Mark Hintlian, Teddie, which does the much larger retail business of the two, outsells the leading natural peanut butter (Smuckers) almost five-to-one in the Northeast. Superior Nut ships their product coast to coast and around the world.

Also remarkable in today's world of diversification and instability, both companies are still being run by third-generation nut nuts: Mark Hintlian, grandson of Michael at Teddie; and Justin, grandson of Nubar, at Superior Nut. Because the business has remained in the family for so long, both companies are absolutely fanatical about the quality of their product and take great pride in using only the best nuts available.

"All of our nuts are grown in the US," informs Mark. "We don't use any of those bad nuts from Argentina or China. All of our peanuts are organically grown in Texas." He went on to explain that all of Teddie's peanut butter is made to order—that's right, made to order. From the time that an order is received, the nut butter takes only two weeks to manufacture and ship, ensuring the freshest possible product hits the customer's taste buds. Mark is such a big believer in his product that he brown-bags it from home every day with a sandwich made from his own private stock of the sticky stuff. No word on chunky versus smooth, though.

For Justin, it's all about the flavor, as he explains that peanuts come in a multitude of varieties much like apples, each with their own distinct flavor and consistency—who knew? The secret to Superior Nut's success lies in the blending of these flavors and varieties as well as their top-secret processing methods. That, and they also sell 45-pound pails of liquid peanut butter for topping ice cream and other treats. Pails!

Despite being relatives and competitors, the Hintlians don't make a big deal out of any kind of family feud. "We love those guys," says Mark effusively. "I mean, they're family."

[Superior Nut Company, 225 Monsignor O'Brien Hwy., Cambridge. 617.876.3808. superiornut.com]

[Teddie Peanut Butter, Leavitt Corporation, 100 Santilli Highway, Everett. 617.389.2600. teddie.com]