Better for the Butter
The fresh nut campaign continues:
In addition to fresh nuts, nut butters and other nut products need to be stored in the fridge. It’s still a foreign concept to many, but it’s better for the butter and it’s better for you.
I grew up eating the classic brands of peanut butter, like everybody else, and storing it in the cupboard. We ate a lot of it in my house, but even so, a jar could last for several months. It spread beautifully and always tasted just fine, but now I know why: the hydrogenated oils kept it at the ideal lab-approved consistency, and the sugar hid the rancid flavour. Now when I look at the list of ingredients on one of those jars, I’m amazed that the product is still called ‘Peanut Butter’.
Ten years ago, I started buying the ‘real thing’ – this came from a giant PB machine in the store which at the push of a button ground up the nuts and filled up a container of my choosing. Amazing. I kept the PB in the fridge; it never needed stirring, and it never hardened to an unspreadable consistency. Fresh ground PB that is taken home and stored in the fridge is always perfect.
Not every store has this option. Moving to the country meant I had to give up my favourite grocery store and my PB machine. I now buy pure PB in the jar, which separates on the shelf and must be stirred at home before refrigerating. It firms up a little, separates a little, but it’s still pure peanut butter. I will never go back to the chemical soup I used to buy and I’ll give anyone grief who does.
(Of course, if you absolutely must buy the chemies, make sure you keep them in the fridge.)
