Peanut Butter: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentA recent evaluation of creamy peanut butters by editors at Cook's Illustrated magazine includes 15 brands. A preliminary round of blind taste testing eliminates five. Of the 10 brands standing, half are "natural" or "organic." With regards to creamy peanut butter, texture was universally the most important deciding factor, while taste preferences varied. Texture was also the predominant criteria when the peanut butters are used to make cookies and a sauce. In the end, five brands are recommended, including two natural peanut butters made with palm oil, rather than hydrogenated oil. Crunchy peanut butters are covered in a separate review.

Our AssessmentThe editorial team at SeriousEats.com conducts a blind taste test of 16 creamy peanut butters in this update from their 2007 review. Each peanut butter is rated on a 10-point scale for smoothness, spreadability, sweetness, saltiness and peanut taste. Skippy Creamy is the favorite with a rating of 7.62. Reese's Creamy and Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator (the founder was asked to join the panel of judges as an expert opinion) tie for second with a rating of 6.69. Skippy Natural Creamy is another top-rated natural peanut butter with a rating of 5.85, but Jif Natural Creamy falls close behind with a rating of 5.75. Natural crunchy peanut butters are assessed in a separate review.

Our AssessmentEditors at KitchenDaily.com compare 32 creamy and crunchy peanut butters, including supermarket and specialty brands. Each brand receives a rating on a 5-star scale in four separate categories: taste, mouth feel, spreadability and overall appeal. This peanut butter review not only reveals all the brands tested, but also ranks them from worst to best. Two chunky varieties -- Skippy Super Chunk and Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Crunchy -- tie for the top spot with a near-perfect score of 19 points.

Our AssessmentThe foodie site Epicurious.com conducts a blind taste test of 21 creamy peanut butters, using a panel of 12 judges. The top three picks are Peter Pan Creamy, Reese's Creamy and Nature's Promise Organic Smooth Peanut Butter. The bottom three picks are also identified: Justin's Organic Classic was "bland and salt-deprived," Santa Cruz Organic Light Roasted Creamy had an unpleasant texture and tasted like "a combination of wax and cardboard," and the flaxseeds and agave syrup in Earth Balance Natural Creamy ended up "tasting like dirt." We don't know what other creamy peanut butters didn't make the cut.

Our AssessmentIn a brief review of natural peanut butters at Real Simple magazine, writer Lindsay Funston names a winning peanut butter and a runner-up in three separate categories: creamy, chunky and unsalted. Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Creamy, Smucker's Natural Chunky and Joseph's Sugar-Free Creamy are the three winners. Smucker's Natural Creamy, Santa Cruz Organic Light Roasted Chunky and Once Again Old Fashioned Smooth are the runner-ups.

Our AssessmentAdam elicits the help of his mom and sister to taste test seven natural creamy nut butters. Although the taste test doesn't appear to be a blind one, it's one of the few reviews that includes an almond butter. Peter Pan Natural Creamy and Skippy Natural Creamy tie for first. Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator is the third favorite. Barney Butter Smooth Almond Butter is grainier than peanut butter and didn't have as robust a flavor, but they prefer it to Kroger Natural Creamy (a private label brand sold by Kroger grocery stores) and Better'n Peanut Butter.

Our AssessmentEditors at Epicurious.com, the online home of Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines, elicit the help of four children to taste test nine nut butters and unusual peanut butters. A brief summary of the judges' comments is provided for each. Woodstock Farms Natural Almond Butter was preferred to Nature's Promise Organic Almond Butter. The cashew butters by these two companies receive mixed reviews. Natural Sunbutter, which is made from ground sunflower seeds, and Woodstock Orchards Unsweetened Apple Spread both receive a thumbs-up. Testers like the flavor of I.M. Healthy Honey Chunky SoyNut Butter, but the thick texture resembles "spackling." The kids liked the reduced-fat Better'n Peanut Butter more so than the adults. Naturally More: What Peanut Butter Should Be, which has flax oil, flaxseed and other unusual ingredients, was too difficult to stir.

Our AssessmentThis food magazine's website uses a panel of seven testers, including adults and children, to rate natural, creamy peanut butters in three categories: taste, appearance and texture. The top finisher in this older review, Nut 'N Better Organic Creamy, isn't available for sale online. Smucker's Natural Creamy takes second in all three categories. Four other peanut butters are identified.

Our AssessmentAmerican professional racing cyclist Jeremy Powers has rated five natural peanut butters. It doesn't appear to be a blind taste test and it's not clear why these particular brands were included in the review (although Peanut Butter & Co. supports a U.S. women's pro cycling team). Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roast Crunchy and Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator are rated as "awesome." Powers says Smucker's Natural is too salty, and MaraNatha Dark Chocolate lacked peanut taste and was "chalky." A small number of users have provided ratings on a 10-point scale.

Our AssessmentIn this blog entry, dieting blogger "Hungry Girl" compares Better'n Peanut Butter to reduced-fat brands by Jif, Smucker's, Skippy and Laura Scudder's. Better'n Peanut Butter is more healthful (50 calories per tablespoon, compared to about twice that for reduced-fat brands) and better for cooking, but Hungry Girl says reduced-fat brands taste much better.

Our AssessmentTheNibble.com says its reviews are not influenced by advertising and this one reads like it isn't, although it's not a comparative review. The review asserts that PB2 is actually powdered peanuts rather than powdered peanut butter, and while it in no way rivals peanut butter for taste, appearance and texture, it's a great choice for dieters and for recipes.

Our AssessmentGoodGuide.com ranks more than 150 nut butters on health as well as environmental impact of the production process and social responsibility of the manufacturer as a company. The health rating includes nutritional value, the presence of potentially harmful additives and manufacturing processes that affect quality. Peter Pan Creamy and Jif Creamy are among the peanut butters that receive the lowest health rating, because they contain partially hydrogenated oils, which may contain trace amounts of trans fat. Natural almond butters and organic peanut butter (all without salt) by MaraNatha receive the highest health rating. Arrowhead Mills organic peanut butter and Santa Cruz Organic peanut butter also receive a high rating among natural peanut butter.