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Peanut ButterYou are here: Kitchen >> Peanut ButterUpdated December 2007With a few exceptions, there are three basic kinds of peanut butter: smooth, chunky and natural (that is, without any hydrogenated fats, which extend shelf life and keep oils from separating out). Within any one brand -- say, Skippy or Jif -- the main difference between creamy and chunky peanut butter lies mostly in texture, not in taste. Still, most reviewers consider creamy, chunky and natural peanut butters separately. (The exceptions include Newsday and The Washington Post, which include both natural and processed brands in separate tastings of creamy and chunky peanut butters.) Among reviewers, neither of the two other national brands of processed peanut butter (with a couple of notable exceptions) outscores Skippy or Jif. As you might gather from its name, Reese's peanut butter (*est. $2.40 for an 18-ounce jar) is exceptionally sweet and smooth, which doesn't make it a particular favorite of adult reviewers (unfortunately, Newsday does not include Reese's in its kids' taste test). Cook's Illustrated's testing team does like its "full-bodied" flavor, but says its tasters took exception to Reese's "stiff texture" and "strange color." A roundup by the St. Petersburg Times in 2004 puts Reese's in the top spot, thanks to its "sweet flavor, great texture and nice color." Peter Pan ranks among the top choices in only one roundup -- by Newsday -- and even here, kids rank Peter Pan Creamy (*est. $2.40 for an 18-ounce jar) behind Skippy Creamy and Skippy Natural Creamy. Cook's Illustrated is less generous, saying Peter Pan "tastes like a peanut-butter-flavored something, not peanut butter." Natural peanut butterBecause processed peanut
butters like Skippy and Jif have such a stranglehold over the taste buds of Interestingly, the top-rated natural peanut butter, Smucker's Natural (*est. $3.20 for a 16-ounce jar), goes to great lengths to conceal its mass-market origins -- it's manufactured by the same company that makes Jif. In its test of creamy peanut butters, The Washington Post singles out Smucker's Natural as a good choice for adults, with "none of the sweetness associated with childhood favorites," while Real Simple magazine raves about Smucker's Natural Chunky's "intense peanut flavor and nutty texture." Oddly, even though Smucker's Natural finishes last in the taste test by Cook's Illustrated (whose editors seem put off by its grainy texture and the need to mix in the oil before serving), it finishes first in the baking category, producing cookies with "huge peanut flavor" and "a nice balance between crunch and chew." Not inclined to yield any market share to its competitors, Skippy's also has a natural brand, Skippy Natural (*est. $2.40 for a 16-ounce jar, for creamy or chunky). Both varieties score highly among kids in Newsday's roundup -- which raises some concerns about how "blind" this taste test actually was, since Skippy takes the top four spots, and kids aren't generally inclined toward natural peanut butters. The only other sources to top-rate this peanut butter are a blog, The Watery Gourmet, and Food & Wine magazine, which describes it in a terse blurb as "unusually thick," with oil that "barely separates." Since these two picks are from shorter and less credible reviews, especially compared to the raves about Smucker's, we chose not to include Skippy Natural in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. Once you get past the brands
from Jif and Skippy, the best natural peanut butter becomes a matter of budget
and taste. One brand that has garnered some attention is Santa Cruz Organic
Dark Roasted Creamy (*est. $5 for a 16-ounce jar). This brand finishes tops
among natural peanut butters in the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich test
by Serious Eats, where writer Ed Levine says it tastes like "very lightly
salted, fresh-roasted peanuts." It's difficult to find a
consensus about other natural peanut butters, as enthusiasts' preferences
vary so much. Some sources we found rave about
Maranatha Organic
(*est. $5 for a 16-ounce jar)
, which takes first place in an impromptu taste test of
natural peanut butters by KABC in Reviews of the Whole Foods house peanut-butter brand, 365 Organic (*est. $4.50 for a 16-ounce jar) are even more paradoxical. It's the top choice of Serious Eats, beating out Skippy, Jif and Reese's in the smooth peanut butter category. Writer Ed Levine says it has the "freshest peanut taste" and "seemed to us as if had less sugar and more salt than the others" (which may explain its appeal to his adult palate). However, 365 Organic, here called Whole Foods Creamy or Chunky, ranks dead last in The Washington Post's taste tests of creamy and chunky peanut butters, described as both "worst looking" and "worst tasting." (To be fair, though, the formulation may have improved since these tests were conducted in 2001.) Reduced-fat peanut butterTo many connoisseurs, reduced-fat peanut butter is a culinary oxymoron. They suggest that if it doesn't have the fat and oils, then it's not really peanut butter. As much as they tinker with their formulas, food makers can't seem to make reduced-fat brands taste as good as full-fat, processed peanut butters, or even natural peanut butters lacking extra sugar or hydrogenated fats. Even worse, it turns out that some reduced-fat peanut butters don't necessarily entail reduced calories. In a fascinating post on Diet-Blog.com, for example, the author examines Reduced Fat Skippy Creamy (*est. $3.25 for a 16-ounce jar) in excruciating detail, discovering that it makes up in carbohydrates (specifically, corn starch) what it lacks in fat. Peanuts, as she points out, "are all about fats and protein," meaning that Skippy has "simply taken a good basic product and manipulated it to conform to our dieting obsession." Other reviewers, though, are more forgiving of the flaws of big-brand reduced-fat peanut butters -- provided, of course, you don't expect full-fat, processed taste. In a review by Cook's Country comparing reduced-fat peanut butters by Skippy, Jif and Omega, Reduced Fat Skippy Super Chunk earns top honors for its "well-balanced peanut flavor" and "extra-chunky texture," but testers says it's grainy and unnaturally sweet compared to "real" Skippy. Because we were unable find wholehearted endorsements of any major-brand, reduced-fat peanut butters, we've highlighted a wacky-sounding product that has garnered some serious online attention from dieters. PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter (*est. $12 for four 6.7-ounce jars) is exactly what it sounds like: finely ground roasted peanuts (no other ingredients) that you mix with water to the desired consistency. A discussion thread on Runner's World is fairly representative of the buzz PB2 is generating: Many posters are skeptical, while others strongly defend this product, praising its ease of use and roasted peanut flavor. Based on its ingredients, this is as close to a genuinely low-fat peanut butter as you're likely to find, which is why we've included PB2 in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. Unfortunately, PB2 is not available in stores; it has to be ordered online from BellPlantation.com. Otherwise, you could try one of the major-brand reduced-fat products, none of which particularly stands out. Important Features: Peanut butterReviewers say the following about shopping for peanut butter:
Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
* Also see our Comparison Chart.
Most major blind taste tests we found cover the big, national peanut butter brands, chief among them Skippy and Jif. Organic brands are included in more modestly scaled reviews, and thus are more contingent on the writers' (and tasters') individual preferences. Skippy is clearly preferred overall, and Smucker's Natural has an edge among peanut butters without hydrogenated fats.
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It's not clear exactly why, but an increasing number of toddlers and grade-schoolers are exhibiting peanut allergies -- most of them mild, but some of them life-threatening. Not only can't these kids eat peanuts or peanut butter (or cookies or candy bars containing peanuts), but also many school systems are banning peanuts altogether, in order to create a "peanut-free" school environment for allergic kids. For this reason, the days of packing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in your kid's lunchbox may soon be a distant memory. That's why there may soon be a big boom in alternative, non-peanut spreads, such as cashew, almond or apple butters. With this development in mind, Epicurious.com had a panel of kids test a variety of spreads, their favorites being Woodstock Farms Natural Almond Butter and Nature's Promise Organic Almond Butter. We can't vouch for these products based on a single review, but we'll update this report as more taste tests of non-peanut-spreads become available. Some high-end blenders and food processors are capable of grinding peanuts to make your own peanut butter. However, you'll need something powerful (such as a Vita-Mix blender) to accomplish a fine enough grind that draws out the oils. The sources cited in our All Reviews section provide a wide range of comparative and in-depth information about various peanut butter brands. Specific information can also be found on manufacturers' websites: Advertisement
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