Q: Georgia is the nation's leading peanut producer, but I cannot find Georgia peanuts in any grocery stores. Why?

      A: All the grocery stores you visited have Georgia peanuts, but in peanut butter form. Approximately 75 percent of Georgia's peanut crop is used to make peanut butter. Anytime you pick up a jar of peanut butter you are probably purchasing Georgia peanuts. In fact, it takes 850 peanuts to make one 18-ounce jar.

      Q: Is the ‘Wonderful' pomegranate a good one to plant in Georgia? I want to plant a pomegranate orchard.

      A: Although it has become the major kind grown in California and is the one you see in grocery stores, ‘Wonderful' performs poorly as a fruit producer in Georgia. Research is ongoing to determine the best pomegranates for fruit production in the state. For more information about growing pomegranates, get a copy of "Pomegranate Production," a new publication from the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. It is available online at www.caes.uga.edu/publications.

      Q: Is coffee an actual bean?

      A: No. Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee plant and get their name due to their superficial resemblance to true beans, but the two are unrelated. A vanilla bean is not an actual bean, either. A vanilla bean is the seed pod of a vanilla orchid.

      Q: Why are some hard-boiled eggs difficult to peel?

      A: Extremely fresh eggs are more difficult to peel, so it's better to boil eggs that have been in the fridge several weeks. That's because the air cell, found at the large end of the shell between the shell membranes, increases in size the longer the raw egg is stored. As the contents of the egg contract and the air cell enlarges, the shell becomes easier to peel.

      If you have questions about services or products regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, visit our website at www.agr.georgia.gov or write us at 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Room 227, Atlanta, GA 30334 or e-mail us at info@agr.georgia.gov.