The Peanut Butter Reserve

Reviews:

The peanut butter storm has arrived. Listed alphabetically to avoid preferential treatment, enjoy the biggest peanut butter review, ever? What’s your favorite brand/flavor?

Bell Plantation PB2 ($3.99)

= 70% Powdered peanut butter? It makes sense, when peanut oil is produced there are lots of leftover crushed peanuts and Bell Plantation was smart enough to package and sell them. The texture is of a very fine flour that can be reconstituted with water for an 85% less fat peanut butter. Because it is lower in fat, it’s higher in carbs and protein but still manages to have about 1/4 of the calories. In my mind it’s a little pointless to reduce the fat because the fat is part of what makes peanut butter so healthy, but many bloggers have been raving about this stuff so I had to give it a try. So far it’s pretty good, I find it useful in things where regular peanut butter is more difficult to incorporate like protein shakes or baked goods. While it will never replace peanut butter, it’s great for adding peanut butter flavor to everything! Order online at Netrition, regular or chocolate flavor.

Best Yet Creamy ($2.99)

= 75% This jar is reminiscent of P.B. Loco Dreamy Creamy and America’s Choice Creamy. All of them are no-stir peanut butters with a touch of sugar. The consistency is perfect, especially once whipped with a knife. I picked this jar up recently but have never seen the brand anywhere before or since. Melts very well on toast.

Naturally Nutty Vanilla Almond Butter ($9.99)

= 95% I’ve tried several brands of almond butter but never liked them. And due to it’s higher price, I was never inclined to try others. After tasting a sample of this flavor, however, I immediately ordered more. The flavor is a perfect combination of vanilla and almonds like I never thought possible. The texture is wonderfully creamy as well, but not sticky like the other brands I’ve tried. This nut butter is best served on top of Blueberry Pancakes, the combination of flavors is wonderful.

Naturally Nutty Butter Toffee Peanut Butter ($6.75)

= 95% Previously reviewed: click here.

Naturally Nutty Chocolate Butter Toffee PB ($6.75)

= 80% The consistency is very similar to the regular butter toffee but the chocolate flavor takes over in this one. The sweetness is kept at just the right level and the gritty texture, a combination between creamy and crunchy, is maintained making this a delicious peanut butter straight from the jar.

Naturally Nutty Honey Roasted Cinnamon PB ($6.75)

= 80% I’ve had honey roasted peanut butter and cinnamon raisin peanut butter before but never honey cinnamon. The sugars are very low on this flavor but you would never know it. There is a strong cinnamon flavor with a hint of honey and roasted nuts. While it won’t replace my homemade cinnamon raisin, it will have a place next to it on my shelf.

Naturally Nutty Sunflower Butter ($?.??)

= 75% This variety isn’t yet available but I was sent a small jar to sample. Just like all their varieties, Naturally Nutty has incorporated flax and hemp seed and produced a very creamy nut butter. The flavor reminds me of the chocolate covered sunflower seeds even though there is no chocolate, but apparently there is a chocolate flavor in the works that will be available soon as well. I will be picking some of it up for sure. If you’ve never had sunflower butter before, be sure to give this a try when it’s released, it has definitely exceeded my expectations.

P.B. Loco ($5.95 – $6.95) – I still have a few small jars remaining, for a review of their whole product line click here.

Peanut Butter & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl ($6.00)

= 90% Cinnamon raisin is a popular flavor combination that works very well with peanut butter. This brand in particular is quite sweet, a little too much for my tastes. Like all their flavors, this is a no-stir peanut butter due to the addition of palm oil, which makes it much easier for daily use. While delicious, I prefer homemade because I like less sugar and a bit more cinnamon flavor. Best way to use this flavor is with sliced peaches on a toasted Linda Delite sandwich.

Peanut Butter & Co. Crunch Time ($5.00)

= 80% This crunchy peanut butter has a nice creamy texture between lots of large chunks. The chunks themselves aren’t quite as firm as some other brands but they have a very fresh roasted taste to them. Since their other flavors are so sweet I like that they don’t add sugar to this one, making the only ingredients peanuts and salt. As far as crunchy goes, this one is high up on my list.

Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams ($6.00)

= 85% I’m a dark chocolate snob. I have some every morning with coffee from a stash almost as large as my peanut butter one. This flavor is delicious, and while there is a lot of sugar, the chocolate and peanut butter flavors are balanced nicely so as not to be too sweet. It’s blended to a perfect creamy consistency that is best enjoyed on a banana or by itself. You can easily make this flavor to control the level of sweetness and strength of chocolate, click here for the recipe.

Peanut Butter & Co. Mighty Maple ($6.00)

= 75% A recent addition to their lineup, this is probably my favorite flavor of theirs. The maple flavor is strong yet the consistency remains creamy. Perfect on pancakes or waffles and delicious on toast or a sandwich. The recipe I use to make this flavor yields a much thicker spread, click here for the recipe.

Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator ($5.00)

= 80% A simple and delicious creamy peanut butter, containing only peanuts and salt. Texture is almost identical to “Crunch Time” except for the chunks but the peanut flavor is a little less intense because of their absence. Since there is no palm oil, there is quite a bit of oil separation which is easily rectified by mixing and storing in the refrigerator. The best way to describe the consistency is somewhere between Trader Joe’s and Naturally Nutty in terms of creaminess. Could use a pinch more salt in my opinion.

Peanut Butter & Co. The Bee’s Knees ($6.00)

= 70% Here is a recently released honey peanut butter similar to “Mighty Maple” except that honey is used instead of maple syrup. In both of the flavors, sugar comes before honey or maple syrup. This is probably for two reasons, the first being cost but also because honey and maple syrup bind strongly to peanut butter and make for a very thick consistency. While sweet, this flavor lacks a strong honey flavor. Whole Foods often has machines for grinding peanuts into fresh peanut butter and they usually have one filled with honey roasted peanuts. If you can find it, I recommend getting that for one of the best peanut butters you will ever have. Otherwise you can easily make this flavor yourself, click here for the recipe.

Peanut Butter & Co. The Heat is On ($6.00)

= 90% This is the most interesting flavor in my mind. Creamy, well-blended and spicy, its uses are very different and unique. Chili powder is the most apparent flavor but the cayenne and paprika come through as well. This peanut butter is great for use in peanut dipping sauce or in stir-fry. It’s also great on a turkey or chicken sandwich along with something to compliment it like apricot jam or a touch of sour cream to cool it off. It may be difficult to use a full jar, so I recommend mixing up a small batch of your own: 1 cup peanut butter, 1t chili powder, 1t crushed red pepper and 1t cayenne pepper.

Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful ($6.00)

= 70% The texture is very similar to the dark chocolate flavor, creamy and rich. I used to love white chocolate but find it too sweet nowadays. While sweet, it was not sickeningly sweet like I expected. The sweetness hits you right away but immediately turns into a strong white chocolate flavor that lingers on your tongue. Overall, this is a well-balanced peanut butter, perfect for any white chocolate lovers. You can also make it yourself, click here for the recipe.

Teddie Natural Smooth Peanut Butter ($2.45)

= 85%
A great jar from the New England area, this all natural peanut butter contains only peanuts and salt but for some reason the oil does not separate as with most natural peanut butter. The taste is fresh, it’s perfectly salted and the texture is soft and creamy (like a teddy bear) but thick and sticks to anything, I highly recommend it.

Trader Joe’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter ($1.79)

= 90% This is a staple in my pantry and I usually have anywhere from 3-8 jars on hand. It is ultra creamy, I doubt you will find one creamier. Even if you refrigerate it, it is still the consistency of room-temperature Skippy. It’s very easy to use in baking because it is already like a liquid and flows much easier than honey. My favorite use for this is to make homemade cinnamon raisin peanut butter, my favorite flavor of all time.

Trader Joe’s Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter ($2.99)

= 65% While I love the non-organic creamy variety (above) I’m not a huge fan of their non-organic crunchy. I’ve heard that organic ingredients are not only higher in nutrition but also have more flavor and this organic variety does not disappoint. Great texture, perfectly salted and while it’s all natural, the oil does not seem to separate much which makes it much easier to stir. Overall, it’s not quite as tasty as Whole Foods 365 Crunchy PB (only $1.69, click here for review) but makes for an excellent substitute when a Whole Foods is out of reach.

For all other peanut butter and product reviews, click on reviews on the sidebar or in the recipe index. Hope you enjoyed this mega peanut butter review!