Peanut Butter Reviews

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Peanut Butter Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Peanut Butter Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Newsday.com	Skippy Takes 1st Place in Peanut Butter Tasting Erica Marcus and Beth Whitehouse Sept. 5, 2007		In this amusing (and informative) roundup, the Long Island newspaper Newsday assembles eleven grade-school kids and asks them to taste an assortment of 16 peanut butters, rating them on a scale from "yuck!" to "yum!" Brands by Skippy finish on top in both the creamy and chunky categories, followed by Peter Pan and Jif (creamy) and Jif and Whole Foods (chunky).
2. SeriousEats.com	PBJ: A Serious Eats Special Report Ed Levine Apr. 2, 2007		In this quirky taste test, Serious Eats prepares a variety of PB&J sandwiches by combining Smucker's strawberry jam with eight kinds of creamy peanut butter. 365 Organic takes the top spot among processed peanut butters, followed by Jif, while Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted is rated best among natural brands, tasting like "very lightly salted, fresh-roasted peanuts."
3. Cook’s Illustrated >> Details/Subscribe	Creamy Peanut Butter--Updated Editors of Cook's Illustrated Oct. 2, 2006		In this roundup, Cook's Illustrated's "Tasting Lab" tries out nine varieties of peanut butter, both on their own and in peanut-butter cookies. The top finishers in the raw test are Skippy, Jif and Reese's, while the less-sweet Smucker's Natural is the top choice for baking purposes. Peter Pan creamy doesn't do as well, with the panel saying it "tasted like peanut-butter-flavored something, not peanut butter."

Peanut Butter Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Peanut Butter Ratings Comments on Reviews

4. The Washington Post >> Details/Subscribe	A Creamy Peanut Butter Taste Test Kathleen Stanley Jan. 3, 2001		In this blind test, the Washington Post presents 19 different creamy peanut butters to an (undescribed) panel of tasters. The top two finishers among processed brands are Simply Jif and Skippy, while Smucker's Natural is the highest-rated unprocessed brand. Last overall is Whole Foods Organic, which is described as the "worst looking and worst tasting." This article's age keeps it from ranking more highly.
5. The Washington Post >> Details/Subscribe	Crunch the Numbers Kathleen Stanley Jan. 31, 2001		Following up on its test of smooth peanut butters a few weeks before, the Washington Post feeds 15 crunchy brands to a tasting panel. Skippy Super Chunk (described as "a classic") is tops among processed brands, while the best unprocessed brand is Arrowhead Mills Certified Organic. As with creamy peanut butters, Whole Foods takes last place, its taste "bitter and bland at the same time." This article's age keeps it from ranking more highly.
6. KABC (Los Angeles)	Natural Peanut Butter Brands Put to the Test Lori Corbin Oct. 8, 2007		Lori Corbin describes the results of a natural peanut butter taste-test at a farmer's market in Torrance, CA. Maranatha Organic Smooth is the clear winner overall, followed by Laura Scudder's Nutty. It's clear there were at least three taste testers, but it's unclear how many others might have participated.
7. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	A Better Butter? Editors of Consumer Reports May 2002		In its most recent roundup, which is now over five years old, Consumer Reports had a panel taste 33 peanut butters, including smooth, crunchy, natural and reduced-fat brands. This is an excellent comprehensive test, but its age keeps it from ranking more highly.
8. Real Simple	A Peanut Butter Taste Test Editors of Real Simple Apr. 2004		Real Simple's editors conduct a taste test of the three leading commercial peanut butters, as well as one leading organic brand. The top finisher for creamy is Skippy, described as the "smooth, nutty stuff of childhood" (although the panel doesn't have good things to say about various Skippy spinoffs, like Reduced Fat or Roasted Honey Nut), while Jif Extra Crunchy takes the top spot in that category. Smucker's Natural is the panel's favorite organic brand. We wish editors had included more than just three brands.
9. Cook's Country >> Details/Subscribe	Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter Editors of Cook's Country Not Dated		In this very short article, Cook's Country reports taste testing of three brands of reduced-fat chunky peanut butter -- from Skippy, Jif and Smart Balance -- straight from the jar, spread on white bread, and baked in peanut-butter cookies. Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk takes top honors for its "well-balanced peanut flavor," though testers say it still can't compare with full-fat Skippy Super Chunk. We'd rate this article more highly if more brands been included and if we could tell how many testers were involved.
10. St. Petersburg Times	Reese's Wins Peanut Butter Battle Kathy Saunders Aug. 4, 2004		In this informal blind taste test, four panelists sample a dozen store-bought peanut butters. The top finisher is Reese's, which has "great texture, sweet flavor and nice color," followed by Albertson's house brand and Skippy. Laura Scudder's and Arrowhead Mills are panned as "bland and watery."
11. EatingWell.com	EatingWell Taste Test: Natural Peanut Butters Editors of EatingWell.com Not Dated		This online food site asks a panel of seven testers to rate natural peanut butters in three categories: taste, appearance and texture. The top finisher in all three is Nut ‘N Better Organic Creamy, a Canadian brand sold at Costco, followed by Smucker's Natural Creamy.

Peanut Butter Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Peanut Butter Ratings Comments on Reviews

12. Epicurious	Lunchtime Challenge: Peanut Butter and Beyond Editors of Epicurious Not Dated		With an eye toward kids with peanut allergies -- or those who can't bring PB&J sandwiches to school because of other kids with peanut allergies -- Epicurious has a panel of kids test a variety of apple, almond and cashew spreads. Favored by kid testers is Woodstock Farms Natural Almond Butter, followed by Nature's Promise Organic Almond Butter.
13. UrbanHonking.com	The Best Peanut Butter Editors of UrbanHonking.com Nov. 2, 2006		The owner of this blog gets together with his friends (including a few "foodies") to try out four brands of organic peanut butter: Maranatha Organic, Kettle Foods Organic, Adams Organic and Winco Grind-to-Order. The winner is Adams (made by Smucker's), the saltiest of the bunch, but also the best tasting.
14. The Watery Gourmet	Taste Test: Peanut Butter "Aaron MC" Sep. 16, 2007		Although it's difficult to judge this blogger's food credentials, he does an impressive job sampling and rating ten different peanut butters. His favorite is Skippy Natural, thanks to its "toned-down sweetness," followed by regular Skippy and Jif. The worst-scoring peanut butter is Wal-Mart Great Value, about which he wonders, "were peanuts actually involved?"
15. Hungry-Girl.com	Weekly Weigh-In "Hungry Girl" Sep. 13, 2007		In 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 (100 calories per two tablespoons, compared to about twice that for reduced-fat brands) and better for cooking, but Hungry Girl says reduced-fat brands taste much better. Overall, she calls the contest a tie.
16. Runner's World >> Details/Subscribe	PB2: Powdered Peanut Butter Contributors to Runner's World As of Dec. 2007		This discussion thread -- which is representative of many we found on the web -- discusses the pros and cons of PB2, a powdered, low-fat peanut butter. Some runners posting here love it, some hate it, and many are confused about its health benefits compared to processed peanut butter.
17. Sunday Mirror	Food: Tried & Tested Smooth Peanut Butters Rhiannon Vivian Nov. 14, 2004		Rhiannon Vivian includes mostly UK brands in this taste test, but the top-rated peanut butter is the American and "really delicious" Skippy Smooth (probably identical to Skippy Creamy in the States), which she describes as "very sweet with a chocolatey undertone."

Peanut Butter Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Peanut Butter Ratings Comments on Reviews

18. Food & Wine Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Taste Test: Best Supermarket Peanut Butter Ratha Tep Feb. 2007		In this very brief piece, Tep recommends three supermarket peanut butters, presumably on the basis of a taste test: Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator, Skippy Natural Creamy and Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Creamy. However, she doesn't say how many peanut butters she tried overall.