Yes please! "Natural" peanut butter tastes better, but the stirring is IMO not worth it. If the jars were designed better, ie with more empty space at the top above the PB, it would be acceptable. Instead they are designed in such a way that it initially A: Makes you feel like you are bad at it and should try harder and practice, then B: Realize that that this is like those plastic clamshell packaging on some consumer goods: There is no right way to do it; it's a hostile design.
I think if they took your advice, people would complain that they were selling misleadingly empty jars (even if they correctly specified the amount you were getting on the label).
This seems likely. I wonder if explaining it through the packaging, e.g. coloured stripe marked "stir space" and an explanation on the back saying don't worry you are only paying per gram of peanut butter...
Except that the larger packaging size is not totally free - makes shipping more expensive and less units per shelf space. Not sure by how much. I bet peanut butter margins aren’t great.
For years we stored Adams natural peanut butter at room temperature with no ill effects. A large jar usually lasts less than a month. Then one day I noticed it says refrigerate after opening on the label. I wonder if that is the reason why, or if it's really prone to spoilage.
The fridge addresses the issue of the post: oil separation; more so than spoilage.
I wish I had the discipline to keep a jar of peanut butter around long enough for it to spoil. :)
Growing up we put the peanut butter in the pantry without separation issues because my parents were either fine with or oblivious to the stabilizing additives in the mass produced peanut butter brands.
Now, when I look at the ingredients list I only want to see “peanuts”! (And maybe <1% salt)
I would guess it’s because it will just last longer in the fridge, so they’re recommending it be refrigerated. I have lots of stuff that say the same that do fine in a cool, dark pantry. Though I’m sure if I left it long enough it would spoil sooner than in the fridge.
It will spoil/go rancid. Even the 'non-natural' big brands like Jif/Skippy taste and smell 'off' if they sit out for a few weeks after being opened.
There's no winning here, because putting it in the fridge makes it hard to spread. The best approach is to take out a week's worth or so and put it in a small/airtight container. Leave that out but put the main jar in the fridge.
I've been buying 100% peanut butter for years, never stored it in a fridge and never had it go bad. Maybe your room temperature is higher? It's strange as with a single ingredient product I would expect we would have the same results...
The separation and mixing is a pain though. Love the mixer idea!
Same here. Never even thought of the fridge or what cold peanut butter would be like. I just can’t imagine it and have never needed to. Weird. In other contexts too I’ve never experienced it. Work breakfasts, hotels, I really can’t ever recall fridge temperature peanut butter. Not to mention the size pots we buy would be annoying.
My solution is to have 3 kids. Peanut butter has no chance of spoiling around here, we go through it like it’s going out of fashion! On a more serious note perhaps simply buy a smaller jar if it spoils before you eat it all.
Funny I’ve been leaving it out in the pantry for years. It just switched to the fridge only because I find it too runny at room temp. My son dribbles it everywhere trying to make pb&js.
1. Is cold peanut butter a misery? I grew up in a cupboard pb home, and I enjoy fridge pb as much as cupboard pb. What temperature do you keep your fridge at?
2. Storing upside down is a precaution against oily messes because the oils separate on top of the peanut solids, and so is under the peanut solids when upside down. Also, I mentioned that at the fridge temperatures the oil congeals, and so remains mixed when refrigerated, avoiding any oily mess.
I discovered that it's much easier to dip apples slices in peanut butter if I nuke the peanut butter for 30 seconds. Now I don't get frustrated by my apples breaking off in my peanut butter.
When in a cupboard the oil separates on top, so it can make mixing more difficult by both having the oil spill out when stirring and having the driest peanut bits stuck deep at the bottom.
Upside down places the oil underneath and the driest parts more accessibly near the removable part of the container.
I always imagined after stirring and placing it in the fridge upside down provides that “last mile” guarantee until it gets to temp in the fridge.
After the first use it goes back in the fridge right side up.
I get these big 1kg tubs of the pure peanut butter on Amazon, the advantage is they’re perfectly cylindrical, so it’s easy to just give a good mix with a butter knife before spreading
I think you must! I once related to this but I decided to try and figure out a better way and I started using a knife instead of a spoon and had success.
