stlbites.com – st. louis food blog of bill burge

Peanut, Peanut Butter. Jelly, Jelly, Jelly.

Jan 3, 2008 groceries, health

Another blog I read was talking about about Koeze Cream-Nut Peanut Butter recently. Koeze claims it is “the absolute finest natural peanut butter available.”

Lewd comments aside, I’m a big fan of peanut butter, and really, is there anything more simplistically delicious than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Personally, my mom would set one out for me almost every day of high school for breakfast. I remember she would always cover it with a paper towel so that it wouldn’t dry out because, back then, there was no telling when I’d manage to finally drag myself out of bed. I don’t think I ever grew tired of it.

My mom, by the way, is a sure-thing if we’re taking bets on who makes it into heaven, but that’s a totally different non-food related topic for sure, and we’re here to talk about peanut butter.

Somewhere between then (Class of ‘95) and now, peanut butter is one of those foods that has been targeted by nutritionism as being bad for us. On one side the attacks are about the fat content of peanut butter, and on the other a different group is rallying against all the additives that go into what was once touted as a wholesome snack for children.

Without even getting into the nutritional lowlands of how many eat the PB&J (creamy peanut butter, jelly, white bread with crust cut off), look at what’s in a jar of (creamy) Jif:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN), FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES AND SALT.

Basically:

Peanuts and sweetener. 2% or less: sweetener, fat for creamy smoothness, fat for creamy smoothness, some stuff to keep it all bound together because people are afraid of real peanut butter which separates, and salt for flavor.

So while I clearly lean towards argument number two of the War on Peanut Butter, rather than just omitting it from my diet altogether, I decided the problem was the area between peanuts and salt (all that crap we’re throwing into the peanut butter) and not the peanut butter itself.

Of course the medical community now agrees (for now) because they say peanuts help prevent heart disease.

However, some people take research like that and spin it wildly out of control.

Using my own example, it reminds me of a diabetic guy I used to work with. Because his doctor had told him peanuts were a great snack, and a great source of protein, he’d hammer through jars week after week. When he didn’t drop the weight he’d been ordered to lose, try as I might to explain it to him, he couldn’t grasp that even with its heart benefits, and ignoring the fat content altogether, peanut butter is still a high calorie food at almost 100 per tablespoon.

Moderation ladies and gentleman; it is the key to your peanut butter love.

And so, as I’ve grown older, rather than eleviating the deliciousness of peanut butter from my diet all together, I opted instead to go the route of grinding my own; avoiding the bad: all that extra crap they mix in to make it shelf stable in the first place; and moderately enjoying the good: heart healthy fats.

While it’s not going to make it into cookie recipes any time soon–because it is, after all, peanut butter of the chunky variety–by the time you’ve taken the first bite, I dare you to tell me you notice the lack of added sweeteners because the jelly will have added plenty of that on its own.

Plus, with the newfound likes and dislikes of adulthood, jams and chunky preserves can now take the place of the gold standard: grape jelly; moving the whole production towards awesome new (simplistic) heights you never dreamed imaginable.

However, if you like your peanut butter wicked-smooth, I’m afraid you’re pretty much screwed.

I personally grind my peanut butter at Whole Foods, but Koeze says their Cream-Nut is available at Smokehouse Market, so I think I’ll give it a try and see if it really is “the absolute finest natural peanut butter available.”

For those of you outside of St. Louis you can find your local retailer on their website, or you can also buy it online here.

It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Tags: nutritionism, PB&J, Peanut-Butter