....seems like 'the upside down method' works the best and is the easiest to boot....store jar upside down at least 1-3 days....


The Best Way to Mix Natural Peanut Butter

Tired of stirring your natural peanut butter? We tried four other methods to mix it up and found a definite winner. It's practically hands-off and totally mess-free!

....Natural peanut butter may be many things – free of hydrogenated oils and sugar, perfectly peanut-y, delicious – but it won’t win any awards for ease of use.

Because natural peanut butter (peanuts and salt, basically) doesn’t use stabilizer oils to keep it homogenized, you have to stir the peanut butter thoroughly when you first open the jar. This sounds easy, but if you’ve ever done it, you know it’s a cumbersome task to get it all mixed together smoothly. Some of the oil always globs out on the countertop!

Is there a better way to mix natural peanut butter than stirring it by hand? I tried four other ways and found what I think is a winning method.

Natural Peanut Butter Mixing Techniques
Here are five ways you can mix natural peanut butter:

The Spoon Method: The go-to method, wherein you take a spoon or a knife and stir (and stir and stir) the oil and solids together until the peanut butter is once again homogenous.

The Hand-Crank Method: This requires one of these, a contraption that’s specifically designed to mix natural peanut butter without all the mess. But does it really work?

Immersion Blender: Power blend that natural peanut butter right in the jar itself! At least, that’s the idea.

Food Processor or Blender: Scoop out the natural peanut butter from the jar and into either a food processor or blender, then blend. It must work at mixing it together, but is it worth the hassle?

The Upside Down Method: Store a jar of natural peanut butter upside down for one to three days, then shake for 20 seconds before opening it. Apparently storing the jar upside down enables the oil to rise back up through the peanut butter and essentially mix itself......


.....The Upside Down Method
What I Did: I turned the jar of Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter upside down in my pantry and left it that way for four days. Then right before opening it, I shook it for 20 to 30 seconds.

Hassle/Mess: None! Everything you do for this technique is done before the jar is even opened, so there’s no mess and no hassle. The only thing you really have to remember is to flip the jar upside down before you put it away in your pantry, and you’re good to go. Score: 10

Mixing Effectiveness: I’ll be honest: I’d read about this technique all over the internet, but was still totally prepared for it to be a bust. I was surprised, then, when I opened the jar of peanut butter and found that – yes! – this technique had actually worked. The oil had reintegrated, and the peanut butter was smooth and homogenous. Not quite as smooth as it was with the food processor, but definitely as good or better than I would have achieved stirring by hand. Win! Score: 9


mix'd......ish.......?!

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2022 12:40PM by NewtonMP2100.

Thanks - I'll have to give this a try

I've always done the upside-down thing, but never did the 30secs of shaking thing. I have a big jar that has been upside town for a week or so - I'll give it a try later today.

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“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in."

So, the “natural” peanut butter I buy comes refrigerated and stays that way at home. I’m actually kinda surprised that you can store plain peanut butter (without trans-fats, “mono- and di-glycerides”, or preservatives) in the pantry.

Or is that just until you open it? Should I be storing the opened peanut butter upside down in the fridge?

PS- loved Jif as a kid. I just hope I didn’t plant a ticking time bomb in my coronaries.

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pdq
So, the “natural” peanut butter I buy comes refrigerated and stays that way at home. I’m actually kinda surprised that you can store plain peanut butter (without trans-fats, “mono- and di-glycerides”, or preservatives) in the pantry.

Or is that just until you open it? Should I be storing the opened peanut butter upside down in the fridge?

PS- loved Jif as a kid. I just hope I didn’t plant a ticking time bomb in my coronaries.

“Natural” peanut butter is the same as what used to come in a large tin can from the government food stores they gave to those in lower income brackets; I don’t remember what the program was called. My grandmother got it and gave it to us as she either couldn’t eat that much or didn’t want it. Unrefrigerated. I’ve never kept peanut butter in the fridge. Even opened, it never went in the fridge. It’s never caused a problem.

Personally, I think it tastes better than the other stuff, but then I’ve nearly eliminated added sugar from my diet.

Diana

OK - I just shook up my large jar of PB (chunky, I should note) for a good 60secs and the results are mixed (haha). When you turn a large jar of chunky PB upside down, the chunks sink to the bottom (which is now on top because it's upside-down) - when you turn it back and open it up, the chunks stick to the lid a bit. Mixing this mess is easier than trying to stir the chunks up for the bottom, but it's hardly mixed.

The results of shaking for a good 60secs caused the oil to mix in somewhat, but the chunks didn't move from their location next to the lid much at all.

Mixing was still required. But much less than usual. If the PB was not chunky, you might be happy with your result as it is, but I'd still wanna grab a knife and mix it up some more.

Overall - a worthy tip - I will now do the additional step of 60secs of shaking before opening, but I won't be finished until I do a manual mix as well.

If you have a paint mixer handy, they would probably do the job completely.

I flip the jar for 30 mins or longer and knife it up.
Shaking it has done nothing for the butter, but it amuses Owen.

The almond butter doesn't last long enough for me to worry about going rancid as we discussed a month or so back.
1 lb jar might last a week. I snack it constantly.

which reminds me .....

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!#$@@$#!

Quote
pdq
So, the “natural” peanut butter I buy comes refrigerated and stays that way at home. I’m actually kinda surprised that you can store plain peanut butter (without trans-fats, “mono- and di-glycerides”, or preservatives) in the pantry.

Or is that just until you open it? Should I be storing the opened peanut butter upside down in the fridge?

PS- loved Jif as a kid. I just hope I didn’t plant a ticking time bomb in my coronaries.

The brand of natural peanut butter I buy - Teddie - does not come refrigerated. Peanut oil is stable enough to not need it for a reasonable length of time. I do turn the jar over when I get it or a few days before I will be opening it. A little stirring is needed, nowhere as much as when going straight from a new jar that has not been turned over for a bit. Sometimes I shake it to distribute the oil that has collected through more of the peanut paste before stirring..

I refrigerate after opening to keep the oil from separating out again, no need to invert. Occasionally have to stir a bit of oil back in, but not much.

Oh and "natural" under US food regulations is not strictly defined. So you can also find "natural" peanut butter that does not need stirring. Instead they substitute palm oil for the peanut oil that would result from grinding roasted peanuts.

They used to use lecithin as an emulsifier, which is natural and comes from either soy beans or egg yolks, among other places. Maybe they stopped, so the peanut butter can be vegan.

Honestly, I have a peanut butter only 1 gallon paint can stirrer I use on my 1/2" cordless Hitachi drill. It has a low speed setting, and lots of torque. Works beautifully. When I am done, I lick it well, let the cat finish off any residual flavor, then in the dishwasher.

Immersion blender? Too wimpy, and will blend the crunchy right out.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2022 04:30PM by Racer X.

I use the knife method as it keeps my biceps looking like The Rock's...

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A little break from the grief...






Disclaimer: This post is checked for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Any attempts at humor are solely the responsibility of the author and bear no claim that any and all readers will approve or appreciate said attempt at humor.
My name is DP, and I approve this message.

Quote
DP
I use the knife method as it keeps my biceps looking like The Rock's...

Which makes you look extremely funny because the rest of you is built like chris ROCK.

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********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

Quote
Racer X
They used to use lecithin as an emulsifier, which is natural and comes from either soy beans or egg yolks, among other places. Maybe they stopped, so the peanut butter can be vegan.

Honestly, I have a peanut butter only 1 gallon paint can stirrer I use on my 1/2" cordless Hitachi drill. It has a low speed setting, and lots of torque. Works beautifully. When I am done, I lick it well, let the cat finish off any residual flavor, then in the dishwasher.

Immersion blender? Too wimpy, and will blend the crunchy right out.

Haven't come across any peanut butter brands using lecithin, but they could be out there. Mostly see lecithin listed as an ingredient when looking up peanut butter snack foods like granola bars.

Some manufacturers have removed lecithin from products they will be also selling in the European market. They major source of lecithin is soy, it may contain enough soy proteins to trigger allergies in the more sensitive individuals. As such it would need to be plainly marked on any product sold there. Much of the soy crop is GMO as well, another regulated item in Europe.

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JoeH

Quote
Racer X
They used to use lecithin as an emulsifier, which is natural and comes from either soy beans or egg yolks, among other places. Maybe they stopped, so the peanut butter can be vegan.

Honestly, I have a peanut butter only 1 gallon paint can stirrer I use on my 1/2" cordless Hitachi drill. It has a low speed setting, and lots of torque. Works beautifully. When I am done, I lick it well, let the cat finish off any residual flavor, then in the dishwasher.

Immersion blender? Too wimpy, and will blend the crunchy right out.

Haven't come across any peanut butter brands using lecithin, but they could be out there. Mostly see lecithin listed as an ingredient when looking up peanut butter snack foods like granola bars.

Some manufacturers have removed lecithin from products they will be also selling in the European market. They major source of lecithin is soy, it may contain enough soy proteins to trigger allergies in the more sensitive individuals. As such it would need to be plainly marked on any product sold there. Much of the soy crop is GMO as well, another regulated item in Europe.

You can get lecithin from rapeseed (canola oil) cottonseed and sunflower oils. So it might be a GMO thing, as there are plenty of non animal sources.

from wikipedia "Because of the EU requirement to declare additions of allergens in foods, in addition to regulations regarding genetically modified crops, a gradual shift to other sources of lecithin (such as sunflower lecithin) is taking place."

It's a shame. Such an easy 3rd innocuous ingredient to peanuts and salt.

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********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2022 05:04PM by Racer X.

I get almond butter, but it's functionally the same. Count me in for the upside down method. When I'm not being lazy I use the the store machine that grinds it for you and I bring in a glass container that's shallow and wide. Makes it easy to mix.