What's the deal with peanut butter?

[conuly]

Nowadays, the mark of a good quality peanut butter seems to be that the oil separates. I've heard friends bitching about how they want to buy peanut butter but they're annoyed and/or disgusted by separating oil. There's everlastingly people giving tips on how to incorporate that oil into the peanut butter again. It's like one of those things that's newly discovered and yet... not as new as all that.

But... I clearly recall storebrand peanut butter from my childhood - like, ten or fifteen years ago, which just isn't that long - with the oil separating at the top! And I never thought anything about it, I just stirred it in. I think even name-brand (but not fancy organic and all natural with nothing but peanuts and salt (and how that gets to be fancy I don't know!) stuff) would usually come home with a layer of oil on the top. Not an inch deep or anything, but some.

I don't see that at all now, except with the nice brands.

What the hell happened in the past ten years to not only change this situation but, apparently, to erase most people's memories of how to deal with oil in peanut butter?

Comments

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I bet the old stuff didn't have corn syrup. Maybe that made a difference? And people like instant gratification more now than they used to. I have to *gasp* STIR something before using it?!

[conuly]

It was a decade and a half ago. How could it *not* have corn syrup?

[sayga.livejournal.com]

Really?? Well, 15 years ago I was living in England and didn't encounter much corn syrup (and I was allergic/sensitive to corn, so we had to read labels carefully), but once we moved to the US I really noticed what I couldn't eat. So maybe my idea of "when" corn syrup started being used is a bit off.

Like when my brother was 15 we passed a tire store. He said to my dad, "When did they stop spelling tyre with a Y?" My dad laughed and said, "When you moved away from England!"

[conuly]

Corn is artificially cheap in the US, that's why corn syrup is in all sorts of improbable foods, but I'm thinking that's not the case in England, right?

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I have no idea anymore! But I do know I never saw a corn field in England.

[mayna.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the stirring, initially, but the stir pb usually ends up hard as a rock, and I have to microwave it to even get any out.

[conuly]

You're probably not stirring the oil in thoroughly enough to start. I've had that problem before, and stirring better is the only thing that solves it :(

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

Hydrogination, maybe. Or added corn syrup. If you add honey or maple syrup to peanut butter it stiffens up dramatically (we do this as a treat). I would guess corn syrup would do the same thing, thus keeping it from separating. Strangely enough it doesn't happen with almond butter. Hmmm, something in the peanuts!

I saw this awesome cool thing that was like a universal peanut butter jar lid with a paddle and handle attached through a hole in the lid, so you screwed it onto the jar and turned the handle on top to stir the peanut butter, then pulled the paddle through the opening to scrape off all the extra. Genius! But I just use a large chopstick and call it good.

[conuly]

I've seen it too, but do we really need more gadgets to clean and store?

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

The chopstick does not impact my life in a negative way and it is multi-use, so I'm happy to keep it.

[conuly]

Doesn't take up much space, either. I have less faith in the stirrer lid thing.

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

And yet... genius! I love cleverness!

[leora.livejournal.com]

Only the good peanut butter has oil that separates. It has always been this way, Citizen. We have always been at war with Eurasia.

[conuly]

But... I don't even have an Asia to be at war with!

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I don't remember peanut butter separating at all when I was a kid. I do remember the "good stuff" (was a CHOCOLATE peanut butter and YUMMY) I bought a couple years back went oily on me and I was like...Hm. *grab a spoon* *decide against sandwich, eat Chocolate PB with spoon instead*

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I bet the old stuff didn't have corn syrup. Maybe that made a difference? And people like instant gratification more now than they used to. I have to *gasp* STIR something before using it?!

[conuly]

It was a decade and a half ago. How could it *not* have corn syrup?

[sayga.livejournal.com]

Really?? Well, 15 years ago I was living in England and didn't encounter much corn syrup (and I was allergic/sensitive to corn, so we had to read labels carefully), but once we moved to the US I really noticed what I couldn't eat. So maybe my idea of "when" corn syrup started being used is a bit off.

Like when my brother was 15 we passed a tire store. He said to my dad, "When did they stop spelling tyre with a Y?" My dad laughed and said, "When you moved away from England!"

[conuly]

Corn is artificially cheap in the US, that's why corn syrup is in all sorts of improbable foods, but I'm thinking that's not the case in England, right?

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I have no idea anymore! But I do know I never saw a corn field in England.

[mayna.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the stirring, initially, but the stir pb usually ends up hard as a rock, and I have to microwave it to even get any out.

[conuly]

You're probably not stirring the oil in thoroughly enough to start. I've had that problem before, and stirring better is the only thing that solves it :(

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

Hydrogination, maybe. Or added corn syrup. If you add honey or maple syrup to peanut butter it stiffens up dramatically (we do this as a treat). I would guess corn syrup would do the same thing, thus keeping it from separating. Strangely enough it doesn't happen with almond butter. Hmmm, something in the peanuts!

I saw this awesome cool thing that was like a universal peanut butter jar lid with a paddle and handle attached through a hole in the lid, so you screwed it onto the jar and turned the handle on top to stir the peanut butter, then pulled the paddle through the opening to scrape off all the extra. Genius! But I just use a large chopstick and call it good.

[conuly]

I've seen it too, but do we really need more gadgets to clean and store?

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

The chopstick does not impact my life in a negative way and it is multi-use, so I'm happy to keep it.

[conuly]

Doesn't take up much space, either. I have less faith in the stirrer lid thing.

[breakableheart.livejournal.com]

And yet... genius! I love cleverness!

[leora.livejournal.com]

Only the good peanut butter has oil that separates. It has always been this way, Citizen. We have always been at war with Eurasia.

[conuly]

But... I don't even have an Asia to be at war with!

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I don't remember peanut butter separating at all when I was a kid. I do remember the "good stuff" (was a CHOCOLATE peanut butter and YUMMY) I bought a couple years back went oily on me and I was like...Hm. *grab a spoon* *decide against sandwich, eat Chocolate PB with spoon instead*