|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:15:29 GMT -5
Two possible answers, choose brand, and then choose style. May the best brand win.
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster 
Posts: 10,049 
|
Post by LazBro on Sept 12, 2016 9:34:07 GMT -5
I've never noticed an appreciable difference between the big brands, so I chose Jif just cuz.
"Natural" also comes in both creamy and crunchy, so really that should be third selection one may toggle on and off.
|
|
|
|
Post by Some Kind of Munster on Sept 12, 2016 9:46:05 GMT -5
Kraft Unsalted/Unsweetened. You get the real peanuts flavour of "Natural" peanut butter with the proper smooth texture of regular peanut butter
|
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Sept 12, 2016 9:47:42 GMT -5
"Natural" is neither a brand nor the same as creamy vs crunchy. I like Trader Joe's natural creamy, but I also think PBCo is pretty great.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:52:13 GMT -5
Kraft Unsalted/Unsweetened. You get the real peanuts flavour of "Natural" peanut butter with the proper smooth texture of regular peanut butter If you're wanting to avoid the hydrogenated fats that gives it that texture, refrigerating natural peanut butter thickens it considerably and helps cut down on stirring in oil (especially if you store the jar upside down) it's not 100% the same, but close. |
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Sept 12, 2016 9:52:59 GMT -5
Just to make sure, by "natural" y'all mean "gross oil slick floating on top of grainy peanut-flavored concrete" right? Or is there some other form of "natural" peanut butter which I have heretofore not encountered? I want my peanut butter to only be made with peanuts and maybe some salt. That doesn't mean it has to be grainy or gross. Stir the oil in once and stick it in the fridge and it won't separate. |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:54:19 GMT -5
Just to make sure, by "natural" y'all mean "gross oil slick floating on top of grainy peanut-flavored concrete" right? Or is there some other form of "natural" peanut butter which I have heretofore not encountered? Well yes, and no. First off a tip, refrigerating natural peanut butter thickens it considerably and helps cut down on stirring in oil (especially if you store the jar upside down) it's not 100% the same, but close. But now there are brands using palm oil or coconut oil which is solid at room temp to avoid giving you the oil slick without using hydrogenated oils. Skippy's Natural for example. But I meant the stuff like Adam's. |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:55:38 GMT -5
I want my peanut butter to only be made with peanuts and maybe some salt. That doesn't mean it has to be grainy or gross. Stir the oil in once and stick it in the fridge and it won't separate. But then it's COLD! Yuck city. I could see that working if you primarily cook or bake with peanut butter, but for sandwiches? No way. Cold makes peanut butter not taste good? You really are a princess with a pea under the mattress aren't you? You could also turn the jar upside down and store AT ROOM TEMPERATURE and the oil will rise to the bottom of the jar so when you flip it to take some out it won't be all oil on top. You'll need to stir it once or twice to get it going but after that it should be fine. |
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Sept 12, 2016 9:56:56 GMT -5
I want my peanut butter to only be made with peanuts and maybe some salt. That doesn't mean it has to be grainy or gross. Stir the oil in once and stick it in the fridge and it won't separate. But then it's COLD! Yuck city. I could see that working if you primarily cook or bake with peanut butter, but for sandwiches? No way. I put my peanut butter on toast. It melts pretty quickly. I agree that you are having a princess and pea problem.  |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:59:01 GMT -5
Cold makes peanut butter not taste good? You really are a princess with a pea under the mattress aren't you? Well, yeah, isn't that the point of a poll? The only ingredient of a peanut butter sandwich which has any business being cold is the jelly. Cold jelly! YUCK. I kid. Please see my edit about a way to make just peanuts peanut butter room temp but also not needing to deal with a quarter inch of oil on top. Or you know, eat whatever you want. |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 9:59:38 GMT -5
I've never noticed an appreciable difference between the big brands, so I chose Jif just cuz. "Natural" also comes in both creamy and crunchy, so really that should be third selection one may toggle on and off. I may need to call in IT for that. |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Sept 12, 2016 10:00:37 GMT -5
Nah, I'm with Bats. Peanut butter loses significant flavor when cold, so if the application doesn't involve a heat source, it'd be a no-go for me, too.
Although, I like the oil slick. The oily peanut butter one scoops from the top after only a cursory mix is, like, the best. (Kinda messy though.)
Really it doesn't matter, because I almost never eat peanut butter. I like it, but it's just not something I think to eat. And Baby Snape doesn't like it, so it's not in rotation or anything.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 10:02:36 GMT -5
"Natural" is neither a brand nor the same as creamy vs crunchy. I like Trader Joe's natural creamy, but I also think PBCo is pretty great. I think it's fair to say it's a style though. Skippy's has a natural, so does Jiff, etc. Yeah there's natural creamy and natural crunchy, but the common denominator is they lack hydrogenated oil and usually have one or two ingredients (peanuts, salt). I guess I could have broken it down to natural creamy and natural crunchy, but, well I didn't. |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 10:05:14 GMT -5
I've never noticed an appreciable difference between the big brands, so I chose Jif just cuz. "Natural" also comes in both creamy and crunchy, so really that should be third selection one may toggle on and off. I find Jiff has a flavour that makes it noticeably different than the others. (Which I happen to like) I think it has to do with the fact one of their ingredients is molasses while most other brands use just sugar or sometimes confectioners sugar. |
|
|
|
Post by Liz n Dick on Sept 12, 2016 10:05:59 GMT -5
I'm a Skippy girl, through and through, and I always draw a heart in the smooth top whenever starting a fresh jar, the way they did in commercials when I was a kid. (Did Annette Funicello draw those hearts? Or am I conflating two Skippy campaigns?)
That said, I'm not really a huge fan of peanut butter. As I get older I like it more and more, though. I concede that the natural stuff tastes better, but like @patrickbatman, I prefer the texture and non-refrigerated-ness of the highly chemical kind.
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Sept 12, 2016 10:08:15 GMT -5
Actually, now that I think about it--does anyone's answer change if we're talking about cooking with it vs. making sandwiches? I can see the added sugar in most supermarket peanut butter brands being a negative if you're making a savory Thai or Ghanian recipe with peanut butter. Yep. Cooking -> natural, creamy. Sandwich -> unnatural, crunchy. One of the great early Food Board threads was pairesta's ode to the bad food we love. "When Crappy is Better." In this thread I admitted that while I recognize I should only eat natural peanut butter, on flavor alone, gimme traditional, sugary, partially hydrogenated bliss any day of the week. |
|
|
|
Post by Liz n Dick on Sept 12, 2016 10:08:15 GMT -5
With regards to cooking with peanut butter, most recipes I've seen for baking with it actually specify that the non-hydrogenated natural stuff is an inferior ingredient. For whatever that's worth. I mean, I'd prefer natural for cooking situations, but for baking peanut butter cookies? Hydrogenated all the way, baby!
|
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 10:09:55 GMT -5
Actually, now that I think about it--does anyone's answer change if we're talking about cooking with it vs. making sandwiches? I can see the added sugar in most supermarket peanut butter brands being a negative if you're making a savory Thai or Ghanian recipe with peanut butter. I don't cook with it a ton, but I wonder if a natural brand would separate out if cooked with rather than emulsifying smoothly into a sauce? I think as well that with baking again the natural might be too oily, but I could be wrong. |
|
|
|
Post by pairesta on Sept 12, 2016 10:11:15 GMT -5
Actually, now that I think about it--does anyone's answer change if we're talking about cooking with it vs. making sandwiches? I can see the added sugar in most supermarket peanut butter brands being a negative if you're making a savory Thai or Ghanian recipe with peanut butter. I have two Thai cookbooks and both have a "don't you FUCKING DARE USE PEANUT BUTTER IN THIS" admonition in their recipes. "You have to pound the peanuts in a mortar and pestle, preferably a Thai mortar and pestle to get the right text--" Me: "Mmm-hmm". /opens a jar of Skippy |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 12, 2016 10:12:24 GMT -5
Actually, now that I think about it--does anyone's answer change if we're talking about cooking with it vs. making sandwiches? I can see the added sugar in most supermarket peanut butter brands being a negative if you're making a savory Thai or Ghanian recipe with peanut butter. Yep. Cooking -> natural, creamy. Sandwich -> unnatural, crunchy. One of the great early Food Board threads was pairesta 's ode to the bad food we love. "When Crappy is Better." In this thread I admitted that while I recognize I should only eat natural peanut butter, on flavor alone, gimme traditional, sugary, partially hydrogenated bliss any day of the week. Amen. I buy natural because I like it as a snack and don't want the bad health effects, but I fantasize about the other stuff. I'm married to the good girl with a job and good financial planning skills, but still dream about my ex that was the drummer in that band. |
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Sept 12, 2016 10:19:22 GMT -5
With regards to cooking with peanut butter, most recipes I've seen for baking with it actually specify that the non-hydrogenated natural stuff is an inferior ingredient. For whatever that's worth. I mean, I'd prefer natural for cooking situations, but for baking peanut butter cookies? Hydrogenated all the way, baby! Yeah, on the occasions I use PB in baking I do buy a jar of jif or whatever. I feel like hydrogenated oil and sugar negates the otherwise healthiness of peanuts, but if I'm already making cookies or peanut butter pie... Also, Amish peanut butter. Which is possibly the least healthy thing you can think of. Peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, brown sugar, corn syrup... |
|
|
|
Post by Il sole sotto la terra on Sept 12, 2016 10:30:50 GMT -5
Peanut butter should consist of peanuts and salt. Nothing more, nothing less.
Just peanuts = an egg
Peanuts and salt = mayonnaise
More than just peanuts and salt = Miracle Whip
|
|
Gumbercules
AV Clubber 
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
Posts: 2,987
|
Post by Gumbercules on Sept 12, 2016 13:40:22 GMT -5
Like most, I went with the 1999 hit Smooth, by Skippy. However, if you've ever had the honey roasted peanut butter from whole foods (and you don't mind it being some weird middle ground between smooth and chunky), it's delicious.
|
|
Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist 
Posts: 7,494
|
Post by Trurl on Sept 12, 2016 22:25:53 GMT -5
Whatever emulsifiers and stabilisers they add to unnatural peanut butter give it a weird texture that reminds me of something you'd use on a construction site. It's like spackle, or maybe something you'd add a curing agent to before using it to plug through holes in a foundation.
|
|
Invisible Goat
Shoutbox Elitist
Grab your mother's keys, we're leaving
Posts: 2,630
|
Post by Invisible Goat on Sept 12, 2016 22:41:28 GMT -5
As long as I can bathe in it I'm good
|
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 13, 2016 10:04:32 GMT -5
Whatever emulsifiers and stabilisers they add to unnatural peanut butter give it a weird texture that reminds me of something you'd use on a construction site. It's like spackle, or maybe something you'd add a curing agent to before using it to plug through holes in a foundation. Mmmmm spackle. |
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 13, 2016 10:05:19 GMT -5
Choosy moms choose Jif and who am I to disagree? Based on the poll results so far it's not just you and choosy moms! (It's the molasses I tell you!) |
|
|
|
Post by Liz n Dick on Sept 13, 2016 12:35:26 GMT -5
I had no idea how much I was swimming against the tide by choosing Skippy.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pastafarian on Sept 13, 2016 13:26:41 GMT -5
I had no idea how much I was swimming against the tide by choosing Skippy. Less swimming against the tide and more trudging through the food paste. You're not alone though. At least one person chose Peanut Butter & Co. Slightly behind Peter Pan as of this writing. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
|
Post by repulsionist on Sept 13, 2016 13:30:30 GMT -5
Not that's these brands are corporately different than BigAg nut butters, but Santa Cruz (owned by Smuckers/General Mills) and MaraNatha (not BigAg-owned but corporately distributed by The Hain Celestial Group and Christianity-inspired [Oh, Jesus! Come Back Soon!]) are my peanut butters. I only rarely visit the grinding station at the "Co-Op" PCC which I am the Football of the Sea regularly lionizes in daBox. And that's mostly for almond butter. Fake Middle Class, you're so expensive with your litany of choices. Yoga! Pilates! Help me untwist from this bind. [Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've read and comprehended the Buddhist aphorisms about the naysayer and anger. No schooling necessary. Re-tooling brain patterns required.] To wit, I am a regular P'B'n'J kinda guy, skewing crunchy but tolerant and accepting of creamy. An ersatz Epstein I am. Though with the kind of single-mindedness I'm bawling with here one might call me a Rorschach, which rhymes with Horschach. Kotter, be praised! |
|
