Peanut butter preference can be a very personal thing. Some people like theirs chunky, others prefer theirs to be creamy and smooth. Some would rather have natural, others enjoy the familiarity of commercial brands that they ate growing up. Growing up, my family solved the problem of preference by having multiple jars of peanut butter on hand at all times, ensuring that everyone had something they liked for toast and sandwiches, in addition to making sure there was something to use for baking peanut butter cookies.
If you just want one jar in your kitchen, Food and Wine listed their three favorite brands for consideration: Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator (ultracreamy), Skippy Natural Creamy (unusually thick, natural) and Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Creamy (deeply flavored, made with Spanish nuts). No chunky peanut butters made their list, unfortunately, but all three of these sound worth a try for those who like it smooth.
Whichever peanut butter you eventually opt for, don't forget to try it out in your favorite peanut butter sandwich recipe.
New York Times Magazine's food issue
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Eat your broccoli orbs! 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-09-2007 @ 2:13PM
MJ said...
Tried many peanutbutters, and found out that theres only one for me and that JIf
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2-09-2007 @ 3:10PM
KF said...
I'm with MJ. I've tried the grind your own, the natural stir-in, and I just can't take the oil seperation. It's creamy Jif all the way.
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2-09-2007 @ 5:17PM
Foodie Bride said...
Crunchy Jif is #1 in my book, followed very closely by cream Jif.
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2-09-2007 @ 7:03PM
Sarah said...
I LOVE PeanutButter & Co! It makes me so happy to see they're rated well and getting some good press! :) Their "Cinnamon Raisin" and "White Chocolate Wonderful" flavors are to die for!
Reply
2-09-2007 @ 7:33PM
calamari said...
With natural peanut butter, when you bring the jar home from the store and you see oil floating on top, sit the jar UPSIDE DOWN on the counter for a couple days. Much of the oil will reabsorb into the peanut butter -- since gravity doesn't like the lighter substance on the bottom -- and stirring the mix together becomes much less messy.
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2-10-2007 @ 12:23AM
Chef JoAnna said...
My husband is a "Choosy Mutha" and he chooses Jif. He -thinks- he likes creamy, but the last time we shopped, he got two jars of Extra Crunchy and hasn't looked back. If I buy some other brand, it's only because I'm smearing it on dog toys.
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2-10-2007 @ 12:35AM
GhaleonQ said...
P.B. Loco and a few others blow the garbage organic varieties away.
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2-10-2007 @ 9:50AM
MAD said...
They left out P.B. LOCO!!!! They have some of the best PB ever invented!
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2-10-2007 @ 5:25PM
Adriane said...
*gasps* They left out Koeze's Cream Nut PB....oh man is that product good! Ground from Virginia Peanuts, one of the best natural PB's around bar-none.
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