[tboroson]

My family are peanut butter addicts. My girls won't touch natural peanut butters. They've tasted Daddy's junk pb, and won't go back.

The best I can convince them to eat is the Skippy Natural, which has palm oil instead of pho, and is lower in sugar. But, the stuff worries me. Between the mold (what's the name of it? I forget, and can't go grab my NT book because I'll wake dd) and the phytates, I'm concerned. So, I'd like to make my own. I'm thinking of ordering a bag of valencia peanuts, because I recall that they have less of the mold because they're grown in hotter, drier environments. Then, I imagine I should sprout them. Here's where I have some questions. I want to imitate a conventional style of peanut butter - very smooth grind, palm oil to keep it emulsified, a little Rapadura. Has anybody done this? Can I grind them smooth enough with either a food processor or a hand cranked meat grinder? Will just stirring the palm oil in be sufficient to emulsify the pb? And, at what proportion should I add the palm oil?

I have to admit, I'll be glad myself if I can make a peanut butter like this. As much as I try to love the healthy valencia peanut butter from Arrowhead Mills... I keep dipping back into the Skippy, too

: Peanut butter has been a comfort food for way too long - it's one of my holdouts

 

[fourboys]

I am not sure this will help but I made the NT almond butter - it is verry yummy. I used crispy (soaked and dried) almonds - Think peanuts would work too. If I remember it is 2 c nuts, 3/4 c coconut oil, and 2 tbs honey, then you just blend it in the food processor - it looks like it would be gritty but it is very smooth. You just need to take it out of the fridg. for a little while before trying to spread.

Wendy

 

[JavaFinch]

Tara,
Do you know what the levels of aflatoxin is for Arrowhead Mills? I emailed Maranatha PB (also use Valencia peanuts) to ask them because their FAQ just says they are 'within the federal guidelines' or something like that. I was concerned because I heard that organic PB actually has more aflatoxin.

I know mercola says Valencia don't have an issue with aflatoxin but you'd think if this was the case, Maranatha would have right on their site "Aflatoxin FREE" or something or "Lowest in Aflatoxins" - instead they just say they are within guidelines, which makes me wonder.

I read that Skippy, Jiff and Peter Pan had the lowest Aflatoxins of peanut butters tested in some Consumer Reports study ... very confused on this whole issue. I don't know if any of the organic Valencia peanut butters were included in this study. If anyone has info, I would SOOOO appreciate it! I also LOVE peanut butter.

 

[tboroson]

aflatoxin! Thanks, I just drew a real brain freeze on that one

No, I haven't heard about actual levels. I'm going to assume there is probably some contamination, but given their reputation of having very little, I'm just going on a gut feeling that it's safer. But, I still wish the Arrowhead Mills brand were sprouted or soaked for phytates.

 

[Threefold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourboys I am not sure this will help but I made the NT almond butter - it is verry yummy. I used crispy (soaked and dried) almonds - Think peanuts would work too. If I remember it is 2 c nuts, 3/4 c coconut oil, and 2 tbs honey, then you just blend it in the food processor - it looks like it would be gritty but it is very smooth. You just need to take it out of the fridg. for a little while before trying to spread. Wendy

works very well, I haven't done it in a long time, but i used to.

 

[fuller2]

I used to make peanut butter all the time. Just put the peanuts in the food processor and start it up. It can take at least 5 minutes of grinding to get it smooth--the oil releases at some point and you can see the consistentcy change dramatically. You don't need to add anything to it unless you want to.

It's pretty fun to watch, actually--your daughters might want to eat it if they help you make it.

 

[carnelian]

For certified completely mold-free peanuts go here

 

[kdmama33]

Holy expensive peanuts! It would cost me something like $50 for enough to make nut butter for my family for a month. (If they were instock and available, that is.) Makes almond butter look downright cheap.