Jif peanut butter - back in your local stores yet?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
21

Good question. I always liked/preferred crunchy (or extra-) but in a family of six, where most of them preferred smooth, I just gave up and started eating smooth. I’m the shopper so it’s easier to buy what the main part of the family will eat.

I’m curious about your use of smooth in sauces, though. That’s the one time my daughter and I will get a small jar of crunchy, because so many peanut sauces call for chopped peanuts in addition to the sauce, so crunchy makes that easier.

Once purchased and used for that one dish, the small jar of crunchy doesn’t last long, because I’ll eat it. But she also often buys raw whole peanuts from Sprouts to use in the dishes, too.

:slight_smile:

22

I guess I just like my sauces smooth. Even so, I do like chopped or coarsely ground for toppings/garnish.

1 Like
23

When I moved to Ecuador, I called my soon-to-be family there and asked what from the US they wanted me to bring. Only answer was “crunchy peanut butter.” in Spanish , of course. I bought two big ole tubs, and they that was my in. Crunchy peanut butter.

I’ll eat Skippy. What I grew up on.

1 Like
24

Atouk zug zug Lana! Possibly the greatest movie of our time. Best theme song, if nothing else. Lyrical genius.

Tonda used to frequent my aunt’s bar in Sout M’waukee. Loose cannon Tonda was. Scary dude.

At one point I loved crunchy, especially when it first came out. Now, for whatever reason, I prefer smooth. My kids are split down the middle on it, as are my wife and me.

1 Like
25

Peanut-butter adjacent food mention: Did you ever try llapingachos when you were in Ecuador? They are one of the dishes I remember most from our (now long ago) travels, and they were served with a smooth peanut sauce. Yum.

1 Like
26

I bought some in Sams (South Carolina) last week. We grew up on Jif and prefer it.

1 Like
27

Atouk WANT zug zug Lana. Ringo zug zug Barbara latahs.

T. Rex gets high, everyone eats one giant poached egg. Only Korean caveguy speaks English. Yeah, pretty much a perfect movie.

28

I am reminded of a peanut butter taste test that Boston Globe conducted some years ago. Only one of the products was made entirely with peanuts: Teddies. The panel rated it near the bottom. It seems that people want peanut butter loaded with sugar.

3 Likes
29

I think most people are accustomed to more sugary PB and so would select for that.

Two of my daughters have taken to eating “natural” PB (if not organic, but they only get that if it’s a great sale). A taste panel loaded with people like them would probably prefer the Teddies or Smucker’s “All Natural” varieties, either of which they buy depending on what is on sale.

Note Teddies adds salt, more than JMS does (if the label info is right, 115mg sodium Smuckers to 125 mg Teddies). As their adverts call it, “just a pinch of salt”. The sodium grosses up to ~ 318 mg of sodium chloride, about 1/32 of a teaspoon for table salt - so, “just a pinch” is a pretty good descriptor.

Both Natural products have 2 grams natural sugar per 2 TBS serving, while stuff like Jif has 4 grams per (2 of which are added sugars, between plain sugar and the dab of molasses).

On the one hand, adding 2 grams of sugar to a 32 gram serving doesn’t seem like much, but on the other hand it is doubling the natural amount of sugar, and I’m sure that comes through with people who are used to the more sugary product.

30

Teddies comes smooth or chunky with or without salt.

31

Thanks. I see the one labeled “Unsalted” on their website but none of the (big chain) stores here carry it. Likely the same problem we’ve discussed - people buy what they are used to.

I wonder if Sprouts carries the unsalted.



Edit - you made me wonder so I looked up the JMS Natural and they also have an unsalted version. Again, haven’t seen it on the big chain shelves, though.

If the BG taste test involved one of the no-sugar-and-no-salt-added Teddie types, that’s like a double whammy vs. the mass market taste expectation.

32

Ever try grinding your own peanut butter?

Shelled peanuts (unsalted if you prefer), food processor, and voila, peanut butter. Truly natural peanut butter.

Once you’ve tried this, going back to commercial stuff is almost like eating another kind of foodstuff entirely.

3 Likes
33

Actually, yes we (we is me and 2 of my daughters) have made our own peanut butter, almond butter (also almond flour), and cashew butter (and cashew flour). But the butters were not, specifically ground, but rather we used Cuisinart bladed. So if that’s not considered “ground”, then no, we did not grind it.

My daughters are much more adventurous than me. They’re the ones who suggested all this stuff.

None of it was really “better”, as far as I and they could tell, vs. the “Natural” labeled stuff we could buy. But they were fine stuff. But given the cost of loose nuts, it wasn’t really saving them much (if any) money.

This is not the case with the almond and cashew flours, though. My #3 daughter says she can make them cheaper than she can buy. But I’m not positive she’s getting exactly the same product she’s comparing against (maybe she is - I just haven’t dug into it).

34

Food processor is just as good as “grounded” in my book.

I really enjoy freshly ground (or, ahem, processed) peanut butter because the oil tends to rise to the top and I get to control how much viscosity I want in my peanut butter. (Yes, commercial peanut butters with no added oils also do this, but I find the homemade variety separates much easier and quicker.)

And sometimes, I just skim and reserve the oil for cooking. Now that’s something really unique. Freshly ground peanut oil for stir-fry. :yum:

1 Like
35

A local family grocery here brings their own and sells it. Kinda chunky, no salt, no sugar. I like it !

1 Like
36

Damn, don’t go giving me ideas!

My daughters, though, spend most of their time trying to get the oil re-incorporated after it’s set up for a bit. I honestly had never thought of harvesting that top oil.

Now I will.

37

I meant grinds their own!

1 Like
38



No More!

My 3rd daughter bought this widget for stirring oils back into natural nut butters and tried it out last night. Said it was very easy and works great.



She didn’t spend any time working it down through the new jar the way the guy does in the video, though, she just jammed it straight down to the bottom and was done in about 10 seconds.

1 Like
39

I store my peanut butter upside down. I’m not sure that it really does much good, however.

1 Like
40

Several months later and Jif peanut butter is still not available at our local supermarket in Northern Virginia. Is it back on the shelves where you are?