I grew up with health food store peanut butter. The kind that is essentially just ground peanuts and a little salt, where the oil rises to the top and either has to be stirred in or poured off before you can make a sandwich. I was always envious of my friends who had jars of Skippy or Jif in their cabinets (our peanut butter had to be stored in the fridge so that it didn't go bad). These days I now prefer the peanut butter I grew up with, loving the flavor of the nuts and salt without any added sugar or fats. The folks over at AOL Food threw themselves on sword of bad food and tasted 35 different jars of peanut butter in order to find the very best of the best. Their winner was Whole Foods 365 Brand Crunchy Peanut Butter. I'm not a huge fan of crunchy peanut butter typically, but hearing that a collection of reliable foodies determined that it was the best of the bunch makes me curious to give it a shot.
Okay folks, what do you think? Did the AOL Food testers get it right? What's your favorite peanut butter?
I wasn't sure how to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day. I could put up a bunch of recipes that include peanut butter (and I will, after the jump), but I also wanted to ask one of the more important questions of all-time.
I've learned three things about making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over the years:
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
