Who's "Butter" than the rest?

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a raging hunger that just won't quit? Well, it happens to me all too often. It's nothing for me to raid the pantry and knock out half of a peanut butter jar with nothing but a tablespoon at the ready. Peanut butter is creamy, delicious, and tastes great on a PB&J. The more popular brands such as Jif and Spiffy, however, contain hydrogenated oils, "the trans fat-laden ingredient that makes classic peanut butter so silky smooth. Well, that doesn't sound healthy!

So you think, I'll go natural! Well using the label "natural" is not actually regulated and as far as natural peanut butter goes, it just means that this "natural" peanut butter contains fully hydrogenated oils instead of partially hydrogenated oils. In addition to that, to make up for the lack of creaminess, these companies instead add palm oil to these natural peanut butters, while the nutritional label is almost identical to the label on a jar of classic peanut butter.This is all too much. Where can I get a good, clean, plain old peanut butter, not pay an "arm and a leg" and still get that good old-timey peanut buttery flavor that is rich, sweet but salty and thick yet creamy and easy to spread?

That's right. You go organic. I know you're thinking the peanut butter might be green, but it looks completely normal! Unlike that of the "natural" label you so often see branded on foods, the "organic" label has legal implications. There is a governing body called the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that grants certificates to companies that adhere to stringent standards. These companies must produce, manufacture and handle food items as legally defined by the USDA in order to receive the "seal of approval." Even WebMD thinks that peanut butter made from just organic peanuts and salt is better than conventional peanut butter with added hydrogenated oils and sugar.

Well, I'm a broke college student but I also want the best. I show preferential treatment to popular brands or sometimes even what looks less generic or more expensive. It's silly, but I do it! So, I adopted a blind taste test as seen here. I also decided on testing Creamy/Smooth Peanut Butter as this is my favorite. I'm hopeful and positive I'll find a good alternative. Let's get to it.

Meet the contenders

In the left corner we have: Nut' N

Better Organic Creamy Peanut Butter,  18 OZ,

$4.15 from HEB

In the middle we have: MaraNatha Organic No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter,  16 OZ, 5.99 from The Fresh Market

In the right corner we have: HEB Organics Smooth Peanut Butter 

No Stir, 18 OZ, $4.98 from HEB

I had my sister set up a blind taste test table in

which only she knew which sample belonged to

which brand.

My mom, my dad and I all tasted each sample.

To cleanse our palate so that the taste of one sample did not affect another, we ate water table crackers in between each taste test. 

We then ranked each sample from greatest to least favorite and tallied the results.

 

 Results

1st: The Nut'N Better was "dry" and "sticky" but had an "authentic roasted peanut butter flavor with a sweet but salty savory flavor that reminded one of the good old days."
2nd: The MaraNatha was "creamy and moist" but a tad but "runny." 3/3 questioned whether it was "actually made from peanuts. It taste like almonds and milk." "Doesn't look good!"
 3rd: The HEB Organics "made someone feel ill." It was "overly dry" and "so sticky I couldn't speak." "It was only salty, no hint of sweetness." "I don't like this one bit."

All in all: I think I'll stick with my good ol' partially hydrogenated oil-laden Jif peanut butter for no more than three bucks. I have been conditioned to enjoy that sweet, creamy, non-stick, dry roasted peanut butter taste I get from the more commercial brands. The organic brands just did not measure up. If you don't mind spending a few extra bucks for some good, creamy, and healthy peanut butter, there is "Nut'n Better" right at HEB for $4.15.