These peanuts are beautiful. I have been buying raw peanuts from a local store, and decided to try these as the price was the same, and I was becoming dissatisfied with the local peanuts.
These peanuts are definitely a better quality than the local ones. They are all whole peanuts, out of the shell, they are bigger and heavier than the local ones. The local peanuts always came broken up and they often didn't smell right, so I'm glad I tried the Royal Oak Gourmet Virginia Raw Out of the Shell Peanuts.
There is a warning on the package that since they are an agricultural product, they should be cooked a bit to kill off any bacteria. They have been inspected by the USDA.
You can roast them if you are worried about them being raw agricultural products.
I looked up how to roast raw peanuts:
Directions:
Place raw peanuts, in shell or shelled, one layer deep in a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle salt over.
Roast in a 350 degree F oven; 15 to 20 minutes for shelled and 20 to 25 minutes for in shell peanuts.
Remove from heat just short of doneness desired, as peanuts continue to cook as they cool.
Basic Oven Roasted Peanuts Recipe - Southern.Food.com
southern.food.com/recipe/basic-oven-roasted-peanuts-238625

First time I've purchased and processed these for eating/snacking. They are a good value, out of ten #'s only a few nasty kernels, easy enough to sort out during the first rinsing process. I was worried that the date on the bags seemed to say they were harvested in Feb of 2012, but after checking with the company website, if raw peanuts are stored at cooler levels they can last indefinitely, once processed only a few weeks unless again stored at cooler temps or frozen. They came bundled together in an airtight heavier weight plastic bag along with proper packaging by Amazon. They have skins which after roasting and cooling are easy enough to remove by grasping handfuls and rubbing together, which also separates the peanut pieces. A fun project for a family weekend! I soaked 4 c. at a time (after rinsing well in cold water) in 1 tablespoon of sea salt and enough water to cover and then some, because they will rehydrate..7-24 hours...rinse again and roast at 350 (in my oven..yours may be different) for 45+ minutes, checking /stirring every 15 or so for doneness. The soaking will remove any enzymes making them difficult to digest. They will be shiny when they are done..don't overdue because they continue to cook as they cool (and make these cool crackling sounds).

These shelled peanuts! They love them!

The fact that these are truly large Virginia peanuts is a great point. I have been looking for this type of peanut for a long time. I am very pleased with the quality and value of this peanut.

I love making salted or spiced roasted peanuts at home, I belive they are tastier and healthier than the store bought ones provided that you find a good recipe. However until we found this product, it had been difficult for us to get decent quality peanuts. These are really great, they are tasty and fresh, they make good roasted peanuts and can be consumed raw as well. Besides they come in a 5 pound bag which is enough stock for 3-4 months. You may prefer keeping it in its own sack but I like transfering them into cotton pouches and keep it that way so that it gets less effected from the humidity around (neither dries up, nor gets humid)

Adding it on our subscribe and save list we save upto 20% and the good thing is unlike many other subscribe and save items whose prices fluctuate ridiculously up and down, this item's price stayed somewhat stable throughout the last year so we did not cameacross a nasty surprise when we cheked our invoice.