Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter Review

What reviewers like:

• Good balance of salty and sweet
• Nice texture and aroma
• "Nutty" taste
• Best for sauces and cookies

What reviewers don't like:

• Some like Reese's or Jif better
• More sugar and fat than a "natural" peanut butter

Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter review highlights

We found the best peanut-butter reviews five years apart from Cook's Illustrated, a magazine that specializes in food and cookware, accepts no advertising and thoroughly tests whatever it evaluates. We also found helpful reviews from the St. Petersburg Times, The Washington Post and Newsday, three large daily newspapers with good food sections (meaning less reliance on wire-service copy than most).

Skippy Creamy is a processed peanut butter; it has hydrogenated fat, sugar and salt added, unlike "natural" peanut butters. But it pleases professionals and children, placing at the top or close to it in virtually every review, including one using children ages 8 to 13 as tasters. What pleases the palate are the sweet yet salty additions to the "nuttiness," the aroma and the familiar smooth texture. A 2001 rating by Cook's Illustrated scores the peanut butters according to their taste "raw," in a peanut sauce and in peanut butter cookies. Skippy's placed third "raw" behind Reese's (*est. $3.10 for 18 ounces) and Jif (*est. $3.15 for 18 ounces), but won the other categories. Of course, if you want something less sugary, try a natural peanut better like Smucker's Natural (*est. $4.15 for 16 ounces).

Also see full report: Peanut Butter

*In order of credibility (see our Ratings Criteria).

1. Cook’s Illustrated
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Peanut Butter
Editors of Cook's Illustrated
Oct. 2006

Cook's Illustrated accepts no advertising and tests heavily, so it has that kind of Consumer Reports credibility. In this report, Skippy Creamy beats the other eight contenders because of its "nuttiness" and texture.

2. Cook’s Illustrated
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Conventional Peanut Butters Cream "Natural' Varieties
Editors of Cook's Illustrated
May 2001

Cook's Illustrated is unbiased and thorough, using 20 staffers to taste eight peanut butters. Skippy Creamy places first overall, winning the sauce and cookie categories and finishing third "raw" behind Reese's and Jif.

3. St. Petersburg Times
Taste: Reese's Wins Peanut Butter Battle
Kathy Saunders
Aug. 4, 2004

This newspaper is owned by a charitable trust and thus has better resources than most newspapers its size, and it tries to do unbiased, high-quality work. Skippy ties for second with Albertson's store brand behind Reese's in a blind taste tests.

4. Newsday.com
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Skippy Takes First Place in Peanut Butter Tasting
Erica Marcus and Beth Whitehouse
Sept. 5, 2007

Newsday used eleven children ages 8 to 13 to taste-test eight creamy and eight chunky peanut butters spread on white bread, with no jam. Skippy Natural Creamy was first, followed by the standard Skippy Creamy. No comments from the kids, however.

5. The Washington Post
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A Creamy Peanut Butter Taste Taste
Kathleen Stanley
Jan. 3, 2001

The Washington Post subjects 19 smooth peanut butters to blind taste tests, although there isn't an indication of how many tasters there were or their qualifications. Skippy Creamy finished second to Simply Jif Creamy.

6. Real Simple
A Peanut Butter Taste Test
Editors of Real Simple
April 2004

Real Simple doesn't say how many tasters sampled the "top three best-selling brands and the best-selling natural brand." That means there's not a lot of competition for winner Skippy Creamy (beating Peter Pan and Jif Extra Crunchy).

Also see full report: Peanut Butter