* Here are some old reviews to refresh your memory. Sunland is now out of business due to careless safety precautions and a resulting salmonella outbreak in 2012.

New apartment means empty fridge and empty cabinets. Unfortunately we have very limited cabinet space, so only 1 shelf is devoted to peanut butter. Because of this, space is precious and expectations are high – only the best jars are allowed to grace my shelves. The two latest shipments from the Peanut Butter of the Month Club did not disappoint, featuring a caramel flavor from Sunland as well as a recently-recommend jar from Krema. In addition, I picked up a few jars before leaving California of brands that I never tried. That and more coming up next on the Peanut Butter Boy. Read on for details…

Reviews:

Sunland Caramel Peanut Butter

= 75%
 
I didn’t know this flavor existed but it is literally dessert in a jar. I previously tried Sunland raspberry peanut butter and was not impressed. This one however, is different. It has a very authentic caramel flavor and while it’s quite sweet, it’s not overly sweet. I think it’s uses are pretty straightforward: on a spoon, with an apple, or baked into a peanut butter apple pie.

Sunland Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

= 75%
 
Sunland is certainly redeeming itself. Again, this peanut butter is very sweet but not overly so. It is smooth and creamy and is almost as thin as chocolate syrup. I would recommend stirring it and then refrigerating it, the resulting texture should be closer to a chocolate fudge sauce. But as is, this peanut butter is perfect for drizzling on desserts, such as on top of some banana pudding.

East Wind Smooth Peanut Butter

= 85%
 
I’ve reviewed many East Wind peanut butters, so I was surprised to receive a new one from the club. I love this brand of peanut butter and wish it was more available. This variety is very smooth and has a strong fresh peanut taste. Despite being so smooth, it is very thick and not suitable for making flavored peanut butters because it tends to thicken even more. I added a touch of salt and it was an excellent peanut butter but not quite as good as their equivalent crunchy variety.

Krema Crunchy Peanut Butter

= 85%
 
Someone recently recommended this brand to me and the following week it showed up at my doorstep. There are a ton of large chunks in this peanut butter and they are deliciously crunchy and satisfying. Between the chunks it is creamy and smooth. Again, I added some kosher salt – I believe that peanut butter needs some salt to bring out its true flavor. The one downside to this peanut butter is that it is very sticky but that’s how it should be, right? This is a perfect peanut butter for a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Laura Scudder’s Nutty Peanut Butter

= 60%
 
Despite living in California for 2 years, I never got around to trying this peanut butter until the last week. Luckily, I wasn’t missing much. There is an abundance of small chunks in this peanut butter but they aren’t that crunchy, they’re almost mushy. The salt level is good and there is a pleasant roasted peanut flavor but overall a fairly bland peanut butter.

Adams Crunchy Peanut Butter

= 50%
 
This natural peanut butter is very similar to Laura Scudder’s Nutty variety except a much paler color (see photo to the right). The color of peanut butter generally represents the level of roasting with a darker color and stronger flavor resulting from a longer roast. As expected, this pale peanut butter has very little peanut flavor and despite having the same amount of sodium per serving, it doesn’t taste as good and salty as Laura Scudder’s. Again, there are numerous small chunks in this one but they aren’t very crunchy and overall disappointing. This Smuckers-owned brand needs an overhaul.

Best Yet Crunchy Peanut Butter

= 75%
 
I previously reviewed Best Yet Creamy and was fairly impressed. It reminded me of my favorite traditional store brand peanut butter, America’s Choice. Similar to the creamy variety, there is a touch of sugar which gives it a great overall taste – perfect on a spoon and great for pb&j sandwiches. The chunks are very nice in this peanut butter and while it’s nothing spectacular, it’s a good run-of-the-peanut-mill no-stir peanut butter.

Filed in Peanut Butter, Reviews

27 Responses / Leave a comment »

  1. Julia says:

    Have you ever tried peanut butter toasted? Apply peanut butter to a piece of toast and run under the broiler until peanut butter bubbles. Let cool till you can eat it with out burning your mouth.

  2. Trying a zillion different PB’s has to be the BEST JOB EVER! Very jealous :O).

  3. Katrina says:

    I love all your pb reviews. I’ve gotta find that caramel one. Mmm.

  4. VeggieGirl says:

    CARAMEL peanut butter?? I’d be all over that.

  5. Ben says:

    The only peanut butter I have in my cabinet is the kind they sell at the grocery store. Sad, right? Where do you get your jars?

    • Nick says:

      Yikes, you need some help sir. Well Whole Foods has a good selection but I don’t believe in paying a lot for peanut butter, so go with the 365 brand they sell, it’s excellent. But most of those above are from the PB of the Month club. Other than that, any decent sized grocery store will have a few brands of pb. Shop around, it’s worth it!

  6. Shelby says:

    You have the best job ever, reviewing different PB’s all the time.

    That caramel one has my name all over it! Yum!

  7. So many options….What’s a girl to do?

  8. NORA says:

    Nick! Darnnnnn I’m sorry you didn’t like the Laura Scudder’s. Oh well! To each his own! Honestly though, after having the Whole Foods and TJ’s, I haven’t bought Laura’s in a while…. so I might be disappointed if I go back to it as a staple. Glad you tried it though!!! :)

    • Nick says:

      It wasn’t bad, just didn’t have enough flavor or crunch for me – but as you can imagine, I have high standards =). See, there you go….not only do I believe those brands to be tastier, but they’re also about half the price of Laura’s. Twice the peanut butter for the same price? You’re completely justified in not going back to Laura’s yet =).

  9. ttfn300 says:

    wow, that caramel one? you got the right call on pie, or maybe your ice cream… yum :)

    • Nick says:

      Oh good point, on the ice cream….forgot about that. I bet if you nuked it in the microwave first so it was real runny it would drizzle perfectly…

  10. Sagan says:

    Thanks for the reviews! The Peanut Butter of the Month Club sounds so good.

  11. ratzx31 says:

    honey roasted peanut butter

  12. ratzx31 says:

    peanut butter with chocolate rice!!!

  13. VeggieGirl says:

    You had me at “caramel”!!

  14. dawn says:

    have to tell you: I tried Justin’s Honey Almond Butter and I was just blown away by how good it was. You have to try it, it was AMAZING. I know you’ll dig it just as much as I did. I found it at Whole Foods.

    • Nick says:

      Huh…I’ve seen it but wasn’t sure how good it would be. I’ve only liked 1 other almond butter before but if you say so…

  15. Nick, I like peanut butter to. But we don’t Have some of the brands of peanut butter that you have. Your peanut butter and All recipes Are all very Good. That ADAMS 100% NATURAL peanut butter crunchy also looks very nice, but we don’t have that brand. Goodbye Nick.

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