The Truth About Peanut Butter

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The next time you go near a jar of store-bought peanut butter, take a look at the ingredients list...

Chances are it will say something like: "Peanuts, Vegetable Oil...."

Now, hang on a minute.

Vegetable Oil?

Peanuts are rich in natural oils, why would they need to add vegetable oil?

Hmmmm. Lets see...it MAY have something to do with extracting the peanut oil and selling it off elsewhere for higher profit margins, and then substituting it for some cheap (and nasty) vegetable oil, in the peanut butter.

Not only does it make good financial sense to the manufacturer, but vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated have better spreadability, allows a longer shelf life, and the oils don't separate.

(I'm assuming the vegetable oil has been hydrogenated, at least partially. Natural vegetable oil is liquid at room temperature, not solid.)

If you see a jar of natural peanut butter, you will notice that the oils naturally separate and there is a layer of oil on the top. Don't let this turn you off. This layer of oil is easily stirred into the spread.

You can find these at good health food stores or whole food markets. They should contain no other ingredient, except  peanuts. (If allergies are not an issue, experiment with some of the other nut spreads. Cashew, almond, hazelnut and brazil nut spreads are all delicious.)

Several months ago, I quietly changed over from brand-name peanut butter to natural peanut butter.

My five year old still hasn't noticed...

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