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Peanut Butter

Smarmotron

By Smarmotron
in Kitchen Consumer

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Smarmotron

Smarmotron

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Posted

Anyone else here a fan of natural peanut butter? What's your favorite brand? I can't stand the "regular" peanut butters - they are so tasteless compared to natural versions. Must I refrigerate the natural ones? They turn to stone.

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andiesenji

andiesenji

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Posted

If I don't make my own I like Trader Joe's.

If I have a chance to get down to the Farmer's Market in L.A. I get freshly made peanut butter.

I have tried a couple of the so-called "natural" butters but they all tasted a bit rancid to me.

The one put out by Laura Scudders always have about an inch of oil on top and that turns me off.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Posted (edited)

Highly recommend Adams Natural Peanut Butter which is little more than peanuts and a dash of salt .. don't let the oil which collects at the top turn you off, just stir and enjoy!

Update: Adams was acquired by Smucker's in 1998:

Natural peanut butters (originally Adam's)

Edited by Gifted Gourmet (log)
  • Like 1

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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nessa

nessa

Posted
Posted

God no. Ma only served natural peanut butter. No sugar, of course. It was vile and nasty. Granted, she also spread the peanut butter then toasted the bread. It rather put me off peanut butter and peanuts in general. Every once in a while I'll get this bizarre craving for peanut butter, but it has to be sweetened. I'm not choosey so I don't choose Jif. I choose cheapest. And I do like peanuts in Chinese food sometimes.

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fifi

fifi

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I have tried to like "natural" peanut butters but I just can't. I have tried every brand known to man (well almost) and just can't stand it. I have even tried the kind that they grind the stuff while you wait. The texture is pasty, gritty, sticks to the roof of my mouth and it just sucks. Gimme Jif every time. When I was a kid, Skippy was the brand of choice. Mother always blended in a little honey from dad's bees. That was really good.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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FistFullaRoux

FistFullaRoux

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I agree that the mass producers usually have a better product (IMHO). I'm a Jif kinda guy. But here in the south, there is the Deep South brand peanut butter. It's not ground quite as creamy, but it's not gritty either. Problem is, I'm only intersted in the Deep South about once a year. Buy the smallest jar, and usually make a batch or two of peanut butter cookies to use the rest of the jar. It's great for recipes that dont require a super smooth texture.

With either one, if I'm going to use it on a sandwich, I always thouroughly mix in a healthy dose of Steens ribbon cane syrup. It's dark and tangy and occupies a space between honey and molasses. But it has to be mixed with the peanut butter thouroughly, otherwise you will get syrup soaking through the bread. Gets really sticky when that happens.

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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andiesenji

andiesenji

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Every once in a while I'll get this bizarre craving for peanut butter, but it has to be sweetened. I'm not choosey so I don't choose Jif. I choose cheapest. And I do like peanuts in Chinese food sometimes.

Are you anywhere close to a Trader Joe's? Try the Better'n Peanut Butter.

It is super yummy.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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fifi

fifi

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With either one, if I'm going to use it on a sandwich, I always thouroughly mix in a healthy dose of Steens ribbon cane syrup. It's dark and tangy and occupies a space between honey and molasses. But it has to be mixed with the peanut butter thouroughly, otherwise you will get syrup soaking through the bread. Gets really sticky when that happens.

Oh thank you for reminding me of that! I had forgotten about doing that. Steens was the sweetener of choice when my kids were little. We always mixed it with Steens. Sublime. Damn. I don't have Steens or peanut butter in the pantry. I see a trip to the store tomorrow morning before I make my breakfast toast.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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nessa

nessa

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Every once in a while I'll get this bizarre craving for peanut butter, but it has to be sweetened.  I'm not choosey so I don't choose Jif.  I choose cheapest. And I do like peanuts in Chinese food sometimes. 

Are you anywhere close to a Trader Joe's? Try the Better'n Peanut Butter.

It is super yummy.

Nope. They don't have them in Texas.

Now peanut butter cookies are a different story. Mother DID make these awesome nobake cookies called "Moon-balls" They were peanutbutter, honey, powdered milk and granola. Rolled into balls. LOVE those. Every once in a while I'll email her to get the recipe. I like many varities of peanut butter no bake cookies. And regular peanut butter cookies on occasion.

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Moopheus

Moopheus

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Posted

I've been eating Smucker's peanut butter for many years now. Grew up on Skippy, but now hydrogenated and sweetened peanut butter tastes weird to me. Jif in particular is so sweet it should be labeled a confection.

We go through peanut butter fast enough to not bother refrigerating, just give it a quick stir before using.

"I think it's a matter of principle that one should always try to avoid eating one's friends."--Doctor Dolittle

blog: The Institute for Impure Science

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Verjuice

Verjuice

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I live for Arrowhead Mills natural peanut butter (100% Valencia peanuts). Marantha makes a superior product, as well. I get them at either Whole Foods or Wild Oats. Big, rich peanut flavor-- so good.

The separation of the oils is totally natural because of the absence of stabilizers. I think that Jif and all the other peanut spreads on the market have the flabby consistency of cake frosting; I really like the lip-smacking heft in the natural peanut butters. Think of the oil separation as sort of like the pools of whey you get in yogurt; avert your gaze if you must and mix it back in. Arrowhead Mills now makes a peanut butter that has either honey or cane syrup (can't remember) and soy lecithin added; it's meant to be more spreadable in order to appeal more to the skeptics and Jif-wielding types.

It does not need to be refrigerated if you use it within a few weeks.

On the Rocks With Salt:The Food Blog

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Smarmotron

Smarmotron

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Frankly, I consider a mass market peanut butter to be as disgusting as pre-packaged lunchmeat. I don't understand what you dislike about natural peanut butters. They have a much more interesting taste and texture, and are more healthy for you.

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Cusina

Cusina

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As for natural PB, I like Far East smooth style, salted. Once you have given it an initial stir, it doesn't separate again and it stays fairly spreadable even when refrigerated. I don't enjoy the unsalted varieties as much and the Smuckers variety is weird to me... all at once greasy and grainy. Not my favorite.

Mass Market, I like Peter Pan creamy, but I don't buy it unless I need to feed other people's picky children (or certain eGulleteers :grin: ).

What's wrong with peanut butter and mustard? What else is a guy supposed to do when we are out of jelly?

-Dad

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menton1

menton1

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Can't understand the appeal of supermarket peanut butters; they have trans fats (hydrogenated fats) which are shown to be quite dangerous to health-- plus they have so many ingredients, its unfathomable why people buy them (especially for their kids!)

I like the stores that have a grinder with fresh peanuts that you flip the switch, and it grinds the amount you want. In a pinch, Smuckers (salt free!) is acceptable. No refrigeration needed, just stirring. (Licking the spoon afterward is awesome!)

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Pickles

Pickles

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(Licking the spoon afterward is awesome!)

No sticking it back in the jar, now! I also prefer natural peanut butter to the Jiffs and Skippys. But...making cookies, etc. cheaply, I'd go for Jiff and cut back a bit in the sugar in the recipe.

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HKDave

HKDave

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For me, any natural PB beats hydrogenated sweetened PB by a mile. I find the sweetened kind absolutely inedible. My fave was the generic Safeway just-peanuts-and-salt kind, but I can't get that here and they may not even sell it anymore. It was much cheaper than brands like Adams, and tasted better.

The only unsweetened unhydrogenated PB currently on sale in Hong Kong is Arrowhead Mills, a brand that 20 years ago was the absolute best-tasting PB on Earth, but now is just OK. It costs an insane US$10+ per 500g jar (at Olivers in Princes Building, in case anyone's wondering).... but it's what there is here, so it's what we buy.

The oil on top is no big deal. We just leave the jar upside down for a few days, then stir, then stick it in the fridge. Still spreads fine. If your bread rips when you spread cold PB on it, maybe you need healthier bread, not softer PB...

Hong Kong Dave

O que nao mata engorda.

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Andrew Fenton

Andrew Fenton

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Before seeing this topic, I had just finished my breakfast: English muffin with TJ's natural unsalted crunchy peanut butter ('Ingredients: Dry Roasted Peanuts') and beach plum jelly. Wonderful. It actually tastes like peanuts; plus, it's far superior for cooking to the sickly-sweet versions of PB.

Actually, I live in a two-peanut butter household: my wife is a Jif partisan. I love her anyway.

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browniebaker

browniebaker

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Posted (edited)

I desperately want to like natural peanut butters. I have tried many brands of them. But I keep going back to Jif, which is what I grew up with. What I really want when eating peanut butter is a taste of my childhood, not just of peanuts.

Edited by browniebaker (log)
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cakewalk

cakewalk

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I find "regular" peanut butter and "natural" peanut butter to be two completely different animals. I like them both, each for different things. Jif extra crunchy, yum. And the stuff they grind for you from fresh peanuts, I love it. But it's apples and oranges, no? :unsure:

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mesmerize138

mesmerize138

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For a long time my local Whole Foods (a two minute walk from my house...absolute heaven) had honey-roasted fresh-ground peanut butter. It was BY FAR the best peanut butter I've ever had.

But recently they stopped carrying it and I've stopped eating peanut butter. When I've asked them about it, nobody's seemed to know where it went or why. I've got to admit that it does piss me off a little. :angry:

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browniebaker

browniebaker

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I find "regular" peanut butter and "natural" peanut butter to be two completely different animals. I like them both, each for different things. Jif extra crunchy, yum. And the stuff they grind for you from fresh peanuts, I love it. But it's apples and oranges, no? :unsure:

Good point. It's like liking Big Macs and hamburgers.

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NulloModo

NulloModo

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Not a big fan of peanut butter in general, although I don't dislike it either, I am simply not drawn to it.

I used to really enjoy a brand called 'Bama' when I was visiting my grandmother when I was a child.

Nowadays I much prefer the flavor of tahini or soy nut butter to peanut butter.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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bobmac

bobmac

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There's a Wild Oats (similar to Whole Foods) near me where you grind your own. Just peanuts -- no salt, no sugar. It's great! Just a little but crunchy. Oil doesn't separate as with some natural peanut butter in jars. I grew up on Skippy. Now it tastes disgustingly sweet to me.

"Last week Uncle Vinnie came over from Sicily and we took him to the Olive Garden. The next day the family car exploded."

--Nick DePaolo

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