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| Making a PB&J with experiment brand #1 and Smuckers Apple Jelly. |
Peanut Butter (PB for short) – It goes with just about anything. At least it does if you are a peanut butter junkie like I am. I don’t do the crazy stuff like I used to do when I was younger – PB on popcorn, potato chips, Doritos, cereals, burgers, etc. – but I still have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost daily. I know (and know of) a lot of athletes who regard PB as one of the “Super Foods” because it is filled with protein, vitamins, and healthy fats. It is a quick and easy way to plug NUTrition into the diet.
While many people claim that the amount of hydrogenated oils in peanut butter are too insignificant to cause issues (less than 1%) I figure that with the amount of peanut butter I take in, I should start looking at peanut butters that don’t contain hydrogenated oils. So I introduce to you my new blog mini-series: The Peanut Blogger. I will share with you my adventures in testing out new –and hopefully healthier- peanut butters. Usual Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist; I am just stating my opinions on different products as I go.
My favorite peanut butter is Jif. So I thought a good place to start is the Natural Jif Creamy peanut butter. As an added bonus the label claims that there is “No Need to Stir” like most natural peanut butters. Awesome, I can have my peanut butter cake and eat it too. (I hate stirring back in the separated oils every time I open a new jar as well have having to refrigerate it. Spreading cold peanut butter is a pain.) Seeing as I am such a Jif fan, I thought it was going to be awesome but I got a rude surprise when I first tasted it.
I had to double-check to make sure I was eating peanut butter and not some weird Nutella hybrid. The peanut butter has a sweet taste but very little peanut flavor. While it did remind me of Nutella, it wasn’t nearly as sweet as that. As I scanned over the ingredients I see that sugar and molasses is used. There aren’t any more grams of sugar in this jar versus the standard Jif, so that doesn’t explain why it tasted sweeter. Did I mention that it was weird?
The other thing that throws me off is the consistency. I know I got creamy but this seems unnaturally so. I am not sure what kind of processing they went through to get it so smooth, but it has me worried. Perhaps this is a result of the molasses. Creepy, unnatural, wrong; it says it’s peanut butter on the jar but this just ain’t PB.
As much as I love the regular Jif, I would not buy this product again. There must be better alternatives out there. As soon as I finish this jar (I am not one to waste “food” and as I am sure you know well by now, we are on a budget.) Next, I have a two pack of Kirkland Signature Organic peanut butter lined up. I hope I like the first jar, if not it is going to be hard to work through two of them…
I love PB, you must have got you love of PB from me. I like Skippy's Extra Crunchy,I am not a choosy mother,Jiff is fine too. My favorite is Laura Scudders, but the stirring is an issue.
ReplyDeleteWaiting to hear about the Kirkland as I too am a Costcoite.
I need to try Laura Scudders again. I haven't had it in a long time and can't remember what it tastes like anymore.
ReplyDeleteI am only a few days away from opening the Kirkland jar.