Oh, I had a big problem. My jar of peanut butter was empty. Now I couldn’t make my favorite smoothie and one of my most made dishes from my book. So I bought peanuts in the supermarket to make peanut butter myself.
Why didn’t I just buy a jar of peanut butter?
Pure peanut butter
The peanut butter that I always buy is pure peanut butter (and organic). The only ingredient is a peanut. In my local supermarket, I only could buy processed peanut butter. It’s much smoother, but there are more ingredients such as oil and salt and sometimes sweetener.
With pure peanut butter, you see a hard mass at the bottom and oil on top. That is not added oil but the natural oil separation of the peanut. Before you start using this peanut butter, stir the pot well.
Make your own peanut butter
Making peanut butter yourself is very easy. In terms of ingredients, you only need peanuts. Choose unsalted roasted peanuts. You put the peanuts in a food processor and let it blend until you have peanut butter. You will notice that the peanuts crumble first, the next step is a thick mass. But then comes the natural oil separation from the peanut and you get nice, smooth peanut butter.
I also tried it myself with my handheld mixer and chopping tool (see video). That went wonderfully well. To be sure, I mix, stop for a while, continue mixing, etc. to prevent the mixer from overheating. Large quantities will be easier with a food processor, but not everyone owns that, so good to know it can be done differently.
Make nut pastes and seed pastes
So you see, peanut butter is made very quickly. But you can also do the same with all kinds of other nuts, or a mix of different nuts. For example, I also like the mixed nut paste from Horizon, which is made with hazelnuts and almonds.
If you are allergic to nuts, then a seed paste is a solution for you. Sunflower seeds, for example, can be turned into a delicious spread in the same way.
Adjust to your own taste
If you still like a little salt, you can add it. Or how about stirring pieces of peanut under it? Like it sweeter? Add a little maple syrup.
How to eat peanut butter?
You can do a lot with peanut butter:
- on a sandwich or rice cracker (possibly with slices of banana or a layer of jam on it)
- Mix half a tablespoon, together with frozen banana and a teaspoon of pure cocoa powder and plant-based milk into a delicious chunky monkey smoothie.
- Make peanut candy
- Make coconut curry
- Roasted cauliflower with peanut sauce
- Peanut cookies
Do you sometimes make peanut butter or other nut pastes yourself? Will you give it a try? Then be sure to share your findings at the bottom of this page.
