The Best Peanut Butter
By kmikeym from November 2, 2006
Unless you're allergic to peanuts you've been eating peanut butter since you were weaned off those small bottles of Gerber's mushy banana baby foods. Peanut butter is a staple of any kitchen and the national brands have a two titan battle for the cupboards of America. One the one side you have JIF, the Peanut Butter of the Smuckers Spreadable Goliath, and on the other side you have the seemingly David-like Skippy, actually owned by the monolithic Unilever company. But as we grow up we grow tired of the bland tastes of childhood and the mono-culture of the supermarket. We discover that the all-natural Adams isn't just for hippies, but actually tastes better. We might also try the "Grind The Peanut" station at the local co-op and enjoy the pure taste of unsweetened peanut butter.
But at the end of the day, no matter how much we may wish otherwise, we are Americans. And as Americans we demand the best. So what is the best peanut butter? If you are looking to invest in a peanut butter company then you might judge this by sales, but if you are going to eat it, you need more than sales data and popularity to determine which peanut butter deserves to be spread before you.
In order to achieve honest results the tasters did not know which peanut butters they were tasting. Each peanut butter was rated on Taste, Saltiness, Texture, and Spreadability on a 10-point scale.
The four peanut butters tested were Maranatha Organic, Kettle Foods Organic, Grind-To-Order from Winco Foods, and Adams Organic. The results were quite surprising.
Maranatha Organic - Score: 4.95
Kettle Organic - Score: 4.49
Grind to Order Winco - Score: 6.34
Adams Organic - Score: 7.55
While the Maranatha and the Kettle were both mildly disliked, the Grind To Order was a noticeable step up, but the end result was a universal pull to the Adams Organic. It's lowest score was in Saltiness, but was the only peanut butter to average over 5 in that category. One trend noticed was that overall score followed the same order as the saltiness score. Also we found that the older the taster, the more saltiness they wanted from their peanut butter, adding some evidence to our theory that there is a clear difference between a child's peanut butter and an adult's peanut butter.
But in the world of Peanut Butter it's Goliath that ends up stomping on the little David. The best tasting organic peanut butter is owned by Smuckers, so for those of you raised on JIF you can find satisfaction in knowing that your adult tastes are being met by the same company that raised you. Now that's America!
<< | Posted on November 2, 2006 at 1:00 AM | >>
man, i have been saying peanut butter is my favorite food since as long as i could talk. i like that you stuck to the organic stuff, but i wonder what would have happened if peter pan creamy was an option? of jiff super crunchy? or even some fresh ground? this is a colossal study of great importance!!!
Posted by matt mc @ November 2, 2006 10:11 AM
Yes, I think more peanut butter research is in order! interesting point about saltiness Curt!
Posted by Mikey @ November 2, 2006 10:28 AM
Yes! More peanut butter research!
This is already a fantastic study, and it really pains me to broach this criticism, but
HOW COULD YOU NOT TEST TRADER JOE'S?
That is by far the best (by which I probably mean "saltiest") peanut butter on the highly saturated (pun intended) market!
Lastly, to the brave men and women who volunteered for this study, I solute you.
Posted by David @ November 2, 2006 11:12 AM
I have to take responsibility for the selection, and although the field of peanut butter is so vast that it was really necessary to keep our test group limited, it was a mistake not to include Trader Joe's, since it's probably one of the most affordable choices.
In response to matt, we wanted to limit our test group to 'natural' peanut butters, but a taste test of hydrogenated sweetened peanut butters is a good idea.
On the subject of salt: It's a slippery slope, the use of salt to enhance/cover up flavor, and before we conducted the test, I had always felt that Adams 'regular' was too salty for an everyday peanut butter. I think they cut down on some of the salt for the organic, and the addition of roasted peanut oil lends an extra depth of flavor.
Lastly, I chose not to feature my personal favorite peanut-butter in the mix, because it is an aquired, but eventually addictive taste: Adams Chunky Unsalted. You might even try sprinkling your own fleur de sel!
Posted by robin @ November 5, 2006 10:23 AM
Interesting! I'll have to try that. I do love an acquired taste...
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Posted by tara @ July 27, 2007 3:47 PM
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Posted by tara @ July 27, 2007 3:47 PM
Post a comment:
It's interesting that the most salty PB scored highest. I was watching Food Network the other night and they were taste-testing chicken broths. The host said they had to do some kind of procedure to control/neutralize the saltiness, because the saltiest broth was always rated highest by taste-testers, even if it wasn't good otherwise. Perhaps the moral of the story is: If you're a bad cook, just add salt.
Posted by curt @ November 2, 2006 3:20 AM