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It seemed like a simple idea. Since I was already writing an article about peanut butter, why not do a tasting? After all, how many different brands could there be? Almost immediately, it became apparent that I would have to restrict myself to “unflavored” peanut butters, those with nothing added to the peanuts except salt and a sweetener, and perhaps flax seeds. Once I began doing research, it became apparent that there were so many brands of flavored peanut butters, and so many different flavors, that trying to taste even a significant percentage of them would have rendered this already-long article impossibly lengthy. Indeed, there are a number of manufacturers who only make flavored peanut butter. And even leaving out the flavored versions, I was amazed at the number of manufacturers producing this American staple.

General Observations and Conclusions

I had several unexpected difficulties with this tasting. One of them involved certifications. It is possible to obtain any number of verifications and certifications for a food product these days, assuming your food product meets the necessary criteria. It is not especially difficult to have most unflavored peanut butters certified kosher, for instance, by any of quite a number of kosher certifying agencies. But you can do much more. You can have your peanut butter certified organic or certified gluten free. It can be verified a non-GMO food product, or certified vegan, or you can have your palm oil certified sustainable. My problem comes in whether or not to list these certifications. Manufacturers want this done, naturally enough, as they've spent the money to differentiate their products from others which may have the same attributes but have not been certified or verified. In deference to my long-suffering editor and out of concern for the length of this article, however, I'll list only whether a product is kosher and whether it is Non GMO Project verified. Any other information can be obtained from a product's website or by contacting the manufacturer.

Another difficulty involved trying to establish who owns which brands. ConAgra owns Peter Pan. Planter's is now owned by Kraft. Skippy is owned by Hormel. Koeze Company produces both their own Cream Nut peanut butter and Sweet Ella's Organic. In a facility dedicated to “natural” (that is, non-emulsified) peanut butter, Smucker's produces their own “natural” peanut butter, as well as Laura Scudder's, Adams, and Santa Cruz Organic; Smucker's also owns Jif. And so it goes. I try to look around for independent brands in the products I taste-test, those who too often get overlooked because they aren't part of a corporation with a large advertising budget. But when the lines become blurred this way, it's a far more difficult task.

A third hurdle involved my taste buds. I'm a salt minimalist, and I find a lot of foods oversalted where many people have no issue with their salt level. There were also instances where the salt taste in peanut butters with higher sodium contents did not bother me to the extent that the salt taste in peanut butters with lower sodium contents did. I am at a loss to explain this. I found that the use of sea salt appeared to lead to “bursts” of salt on my taste buds, something that did not happen with conventional salt. I found that the use of emulsifiers and sugars or other sweeteners in a peanut butter sometimes masked salt taste, even if the sodium content was much higher. Again, I do not know why this happens. In addition, I found that the variety of peanut used really did make a difference in the end product. I already knew that I liked peanut butter made from Virginia and Valencia peanuts, but I did not recall ever having tasted peanut butter made from Spanish peanuts before---and I loved it. As always, I encourage you to try peanut butters for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

There are many perfectly adequate and “old standby” peanut butters on the market, and a lot of us have been eating them for decades or even generations. In addition to encouraging you to taste peanut butter brands new to you, if all you have ever eaten are supermarket brands, I hope you will try several brands made with simpler and fewer ingredients.

Peanut butters without emulsifiers, those usually called “natural”, tend to have a more pasty texture and are usually thinner in consistency than those that are emulsified. Like anything else, there's a trade-off here. If you have kids or don't want to be bothered stirring oil back into peanut butter before you consume it, you might opt for the better spreading consistency of emulsified peanut butter. If you're more concerned about the environmental consequences of palm oil production and/or eating the hydrogenated oils that function as emulsifiers, you might choose a less optimal spreading consistency consistency in your peanut butter.

A note on texture here: Some of the peanut butters I tried had a granular texture, the original texture of all peanut butters. This texture is not smooth, but it's not today's idea of chunky, either. Instead, there are small pieces of peanut in the peanut butter, the result of a coarse grind. I enjoy this texture very much. Some peanut butters, however, were gritty, and that's quite another story. The grittiness felt like very small, undissolved crystalline particles, which might have been from an added sweetener. In any case, grittiness in a peanut butter is a negative.

For more information on peanut butter, see Part I of this article.

Tasting Methodology

Peanut butters that have added sweetening and salt (and some with flax seed) were included under the “unflavored” umbrella, because so supermarket peanut butters contain at least one of the first two. Ingredients are listed as they are found on the label, except where you might see “contains less than 2% of ___________”; I don't care what the percentage is, because manufacturers are required to list ingredients in descending level of quantity anyway. In one or two cases, manufacturers list non GMO peanuts as an ingredient, without verification or certification.

Where oil had to be stirred back into a peanut butter before consumption, the stirring was done with a flat knife for two minutes, to make sure the peanut butter was thoroughly blended; where it took longer than 2 minutes, that's noted. The stirring was also done just prior to tasting. All peanut butters were tried off the spoon (or the knife), without any food serving as a vehicle. No more than four peanut butters were tasted at one sitting, with a maximum of two sittings per day. Ample water was imbibed after every peanut butter was tasted, and at least three minutes elapsed between the tasting of any two peanut butters.

Favorites (in alphabetical order):

---Appomattox River Peanut and Wine Company, www.appotmattoxpeanuts.com. Unsalted Gourmet Peanut Butter

---Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter Company, www.crazyrichards.com. Chunky Peanut Butter

---Fastachi, www.fastachi.com. Roasted Peanut Butter

---Justin's, www.justins.com. Classic All-Natural Peanut Butter

---Krema Group Ltd., www.kremaproducts.com. All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter and All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter

---Once Again Nut Butter, www.onceagainnutbutter.com. Organic Unsweetened & Salt Free Crunchy Peanut Butter

---Pacific Beach Peanut Butter, www.pbpeanutbutter.com. Organic Unsalted Peanut Butter

---Reginald's Homemade, www.reginaldshomemade.com. All-Natural Original Roast Creamy Peanut Butter

---Teddie, www.teddie.com. Unsalted Old Fashioned All Natural Super Chunky Peanut Butter

All Sampled Peanut Butters

It was not always possible for me to try all the iterations of any given brand. Peanut butter manufacturers are listed in alphabetical order. Within brands, peanut butters are listed in the order in which I tasted them. One serving of peanut butter is two tablespoons.

365 Everyday Value, www.wholefoodsmarket.com. All peanut butters I tasted are certified kosher, and all are Non GMO Project verified. The Organic Crunchy No Stir Peanut Butter contains dry roasted organic peanuts, organic expeller pressed palm oil, organic cane sugar, and sea salt; there are 105 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving. This had very little peanut aroma and less crunch than most. The texture was somewhat pasty, surprising for an emulsified peanut butter, and the flavor was slightly sweet, with some taste of roasted peanuts. The Crunchy Roasted Peanut Butter contains only dry roasted peanuts and salt. A strong roasted peanut aroma gave way to a good peanut flavor, but also a much-too-salty peanut butter (115 mg Na, 1 g sugars per serving). The Creamy Peanut Butter contains dry roasted peanuts and salt (140 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). It was much more difficult to incorporate the oil here than in most other non-emulsified peanut butters, and the consistency was thinner than most. There was a modest peanut aroma and some peanut flavor, but this peanut butter tasted mostly of salt. Dry roasted organic peanuts are the sole ingredient in the Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, with zero mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. This peanut butter was thinner in consistency, with a somewhat pasty texture. This product had a modest roasted peanut aroma, which belied a very strong peanut flavor (to the point where it seemed that the peanuts might have been over-roasted).

Appomattox River Peanut and Wine Company, www.appomattoxpeanuts.com. The Unsalted Peanut Butter, which contains peanuts and peanut oil, is a favorite. One serving has 1 mg of salt and 1 g sugars, and the peanut butter has an old-fashioned granular texture, while the crunchy peanut bits are especially light and crisp; there's a great roasted peanut taste, as well. The Gourmet Peanut Butter, which contains peanuts, peanut oil, and salt, has 1 g sugars and 60 mg of sodium per serving (the current label says 0 mg of sodium, but that's an error). Like the Unsalted, the Gourmet has that nice, old-fashioned granular texture and a good peanut flavor, but there was too much salt for me.

Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter Company, www.crazyrichards.com. Both peanut butters I tasted are certified kosher. The Chunky Peanut Butter contains only peanuts, with 0 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving. This has the typical thinner consistency of non-emulsified peanut butters, and, like most of them, it has a somewhat pasty texture. However, the moderate roasted peanut aroma belied the strong roasted peanut flavor of this product. Very good. The Creamy Peanut Butter also contains just peanuts and has a roasted peanut aroma that almost leaps out of the jar at you (that's a good thing). With 1 g sugars and zero mg of sodium per serving, you'll taste those peanuts, too. Somewhat thin consistency and somewhat pasty texture. Good.

Dog for Dog, www.dogfordog.com. I know very little about canines, but people who do have assured me that many dogs adore peanut butter. I'm sure dog parents give their pooches peanut butter formulated for humans all the time, but these peanut butters are formulated specifically for dogs. I tried only the Dogsbutter with Flaxseed, which contains peanuts, golden flaxseed, and palm fruit oil. No nutrition information. Very slight peanut aroma and slight oil accumulation on top. Somewhat pasty texture with only a modest peanut flavor.

Earth Balance, www.earthbalancenatural.com. Both peanut butters tasted were certified kosher and Non GMO Project verified. The Creamy Natural Peanut Butter & Flaxseed contains peanuts, flaxseed, agave syrup, peanut oil, palm fruit oil, and salt (2 g sugars and 110 mg sodium per serving). Some roasted peanut aroma, nice spreading consistency. Some roasted peanut flavor, but the salt comes through too heavily for me. The identical ingredient roster and same sugars and sodium content are in the Crunchy Natural Peanut Butter & Flaxseed. Some roasted peanut aroma, great crunch. A little sweet and a little salty, with a good roasted peanut flavor, but there was also a strong taste of flaxseed.

Fastachi, www.fastachi.com. If you look at all the beautiful nut butters available on this website, you might not even get around to ordering the Roasted Peanut Butter. But you should. Made from roasted peanuts and salt (30 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving), this peanut butter is much thicker than most; it has a nice granular texture with some larger peanut chunks. The peanut flavor almost jumps out of the carton, and the sodium content is minimal enough that even I scarcely notice it. A favorite.

Georgia Grinders, www.naturalmond.com (this business started out making almond products, hence the URL). The All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter contains peanuts and sea salt (150 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). A very nice roasted peanut aroma and a tiny bit of texture, which I like. Good peanut flavor but intermittent bursts of salt taste, which range from light to overwhelming. The All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter contains identical ingredients and the same sodium and sugars level. With a little less crunch than some, this peanut butter had a lovely roasted peanut aroma. Here again, I found a very good roasted peanut flavor, but that was overwhelmed by salt bursts.

Hell's Kitchen, www.hellskitcheninc.com. This Hell's Kitchen is a restaurant/bar in Minneapolis that markets some of their food, including their peanut butter, which is one of the strangest iterations of this food I've ever seen. Both the Housemade Creamy Peanut Butter and the Housemade Crunchy Peanut Butter contain peanuts, honey, brown sugar, oil, butter, and salt. There is no nutrition information on either label, so I can't tell you how much sodium is in either product. Both peanut butters have a granular texture and are stiffer than most others, though still spreadable. The Crunchy is less crunchy than some others. Because these peanut butters contain real butter, they must be refrigerated after opening. I can taste the butter in these peanut butters, and it's a nice addition. However, both versions are shockingly sweet and too salty, with very little peanut flavor.

Jif, www.jif.com. All products tasted are certified kosher. Simply Jif Creamy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, molasses, sugar, and salt. A serving has 65 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars. There's a nice roasted peanut aroma here, with some peanut taste, but overall this is quite bland. Containing peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt, and molasses, the Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread is said to contain 90% peanuts---confusing to me, as technically, if it does contain 90% peanuts, it can be labeled as peanut butter. The sweetness in this spread was the first thing I tasted, followed by salt (3 g sugars and 80 mg of sodium per serving), with some peanut flavor. The Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter (105 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving) has roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, and salt. This had a good roasted peanut aroma and was very crunchy. It was a little sweet and a little salty, with modest peanut flavor. The Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread contains peanuts, corn syrup solids, sugar, pea protein, salt, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, molasses, and vitamins and minerals. This product had a good aroma of roasted peanuts. Otherwise, it was not pleasant---sweet, too salty (200 mg of sodium and 4 g sugars per serving), and slightly gritty, with minimal peanut butter. Jif Whips Creamy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, and salt (2 g sugars and 95 mg sodium per serving). A strong roasted peanut aroma combines here with a light texture and fine spreading consistency. The flavor is sweet and salty, with some peanut taste.

Justin's, www.justins.com. This peanut butter is certified kosher. The Classic All-Natural Peanut Butter contains dry roasted peanuts and sustainably sourced palm fruit oil. 2 g sugars per serving. Salt is not listed as an ingredient, but the label indicates a sodium content of 35 mg per serving. A moderate roasted peanut aroma. There's a little texture to this peanut butter, but it's not smooth or crunchy (or granular). A lovely roasted peanut flavor; if there is salt present, it's not intrusive. A favorite.

Koeze Company, www.koeze.com. These peanut butters are certified kosher. The Cream-Nut Crunchy Natural Peanut Butter is a favorite. Containing Virginia peanuts and sea salt, it's a very thick peanut butter, with a granular texture, moderate roasted peanut aroma, a lot of crunch, and a terrific peanut flavor. The (minimal) downside to this peanut butter: the small bursts of salt on the tongue as I ate it. I would prefer an unsalted version, but one is not made at this writing, and 35 mg of sodium per serving is hardly excessive (1 g sugars per serving). The same amount of sodium and sugars, and the same ingredients, are in their Cream-Nut Smooth Natural Peanut Butter. This peanut butter isn't completely smooth, as it has the old-style granular texture all peanut butters used to have. This product also has great peanut flavor...and the same minimal downside.

Krema Group Ltd., www.kremaproducts.com. Both varieties (Krema All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter and Krema All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter) are favorites. These peanut butters contain only Spanish peanuts, which are very high in oil and slightly sweet in flavor. Both contain 10 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. The Creamy has a mild roasted peanut aroma, with more of a granular than a completely smooth texture. The Crunchy has a moderate roasted peanut aroma, with so many peanut chunks that it can be a little difficult to spread. But with fabulous peanut flavor like this, nobody is going to complain.

MaraNatha, www.maranathafoods.com. The Organic No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter has organic dry roasted peanuts, organic palm oil, organic unrefined cane sugar, and sea salt (3 g sugars, 65 mg sodium per serving). Despite the “no stir” label claim, there was a moderate layer of oil atop this peanut butter when the jar was opened (it was easy to stir it back in, however). A very slight roasted peanut aroma, a little sweetness, a little too much saltiness, and a good roasted peanut flavor characterized this product. The same ingredients are found in the Organic No Stir Crunchy Peanut Butter (as well as the same sugars and sodium content). There wasn't much peanut aroma here, and the peanut butter wasn't very crunchy. Some roasted peanut flavor, but too salty. There's a discrepancy in sodium levels here. Both of my jars indicate 65 mg of sodium per serving, while the website states that both products have 70 mg of sodium per serving.

Once Again Nut Butter, www.onceagainnutbutter.com. All peanut butters I tried are certified kosher and Non GMO Project verified. The Old Fashioned Unsweetened & Salt Free Creamy Peanut Butter contains dry roasted unblanched peanuts (zero mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). This required more effort than most others to incorporate the separated oil. Strong, deep-roasted peanut aroma. Very strong roasted peanut flavor, but an aftertaste I didn't like. The Organic Unsweetened & Salt Free Crunchy Peanut Butter is a favorite. Containing only dry roasted blanched organic peanuts (zero mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving), this product had a moderate roasted peanut aroma with a fine amount of crunch. A beautiful natural sweetness complemented the sturdy roasted peanut flavor, and it isn't as thin as most natural peanut butters. Great! The Organic American Classic Crunchy No-Stir Peanut Butter contains dry roasted blanched organic peanuts, organic palm fruit oil, organic cane sugar, and salt (55 mg sodium and 2 g sugars per serving). Less crunchy and less sweet than many other no-stirs. Moderate roasted peanut aroma. Not much peanut flavor, too much salt, and a slight grittiness. The Organic Unsweetened Crunchy Peanut Butter contains dry roasted blanched organic peanuts and salt (40 mg sodium and 2 g sugars per serving). With a moderate roasted peanut aroma and somewhat pasty texture, there was good peanut flavor here---but with a little too much salt.

Pacific Beach Peanut Butter, www.pbpeanutbutter.com. Both peanut butters I tasted are certified kosher. The Organic Valencia Peanut Butter contains organic Valencia peanuts and salt (58 mg of sodium and zero g sugars per serving). This product had a slight peanut aroma and a lovely granular texture. The peanut flavor was wonderful, but I found the salt just enough of a distraction that I could not classify it as a favorite. Very good. The Organic Unsalted Peanut Butter, however, is most certainly a favorite. Containing only organic Valencia peanuts, with zero mg of sodium and zero g sugars per serving, nothing stands in the way of the peanut flavor that shines through. A moderate roasted peanut aroma and nice granular texture complete this happy picture.

Peanut Butter Americano, www.pbamericano.com. I tried only the Classic variety here, which contains roasted peanuts and sea salt (one serving has 35 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars). This product was much paler in color than any other peanut butter I tried; it actually smelled (and tasted) as though the peanuts were not roasted. There was almost no peanut aroma and ditto peanut flavor. Bland, with a bit of salt.

Peanut Butter & Co., www.ilovepeanutbutter.com. All peanut butters I tried are certified kosher, and all are Non GMO Project verified. The Crunch Time No Stir Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter contains peanuts, dried cane syrup, palm fruit oil, and salt (3 g sugars, 100 mg sodium per serving). Strong roasted peanut aroma and lots of crunch. A little sweet, too much salt for me. The Old Fashioned Crunchy Peanut Butter has peanuts and salt (1 g sugars, 40 mg sodium per serving). This peanut butter is not as pasty-textured as many other natural varieties. A slight roasted peanut aroma and lots of crunch. Very good roasted peanut flavor but still too much salt for me. The Old Fashioned Smooth Peanut Butter also contains peanuts and salt, with the same sugars and salt content as its crunchy counterpart. It was much more difficult to incorporate the separated oil back into the peanut butter than it was for most others and took longer than my standard 2 minute stirring time. A moderate roasted peanut aroma with a somewhat pasty texture. I didn't mind the salt level as much here as in the crunchy version, and there was a decent roast peanut flavor, but there was also an aftertaste I didn't care for. The Smooth Operator Peanut Butter contains peanuts, dried cane syrup, palm fruit oil, and salt (3 g sugars, 100 mg sodium per serving). This product had a moderate roasted peanut aroma. It was mildly sweet, with a decent flavor of roast peanuts, but the salt level was a little too elevated for me.

Peanut Butter Boy, www.peanutbutterboy.com. A distinctly eccentric website. These peanut butters use only unblanched peanuts. The Crunch Power Peanut Butter had a great amount of crunch (which is to say, a lot of it). Containing peanuts, palm oil, and salt (125 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving), this was almost too solid to remove from the jar. A modest roasted peanut aroma, but unfortunately the taste was far too salty. The Super Smooth contains identical ingredients and the same amount of sodium and sugars per serving. Although it is called “natural low stir” on the label, my jar required the same amount of stirring as most other non-emulsified peanut butters. A strong roasted peanut aroma with a moderate roasted peanut flavor, but too much salt.

Peter Pan, www.peterpanpb.com. All peanut butters I tried are certified kosher. The Crunchy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed and rapeseed), and salt (110 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). This product had a mild roasted peanut aroma, and it was very crunchy. The flavor was slightly salty and a touch sweet, with some peanut taste. The Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Spread contains roasted peanuts, corn syrup solids, soy protein concentrate, sugar, salt, hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed and rapeseed), and minerals and vitamins. 4 g sugars. 150 mg of sodium per serving ensured a salty taste, along with some sweetness and some grittiness; substantial peanut flavor was lacking. The Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter Spread (if this does contain 90% peanuts s indicated on the label, why is it a peanut butter spread? Again, I'm confused) contains roasted peanuts, sugar, fractionated palm oil, and salt (3 g sugars and 120 mg of sodium per serving). Despite the fact that this spread is supposed to be “no stir”, mine had a thin layer of oil on top, though it was a simple matter to stir it back in. Strong roasted peanut aroma and lots of crunch. There was some peanut flavor, but the spread was too salty. The Whipped Creamy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, sugar (2 g sugars per serving), hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed and rapeseed), and salt (105 mg per serving). Unfortunately, the excellent spreading consistency and strong roasted peanut aroma were accompanied by a slightly gritty texture. There was modest peanut flavor with a little sweetness, some saltiness, and an unpleasant aftertaste. The Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread has roasted peanuts, sugar, fractionated palm oil, and salt (140 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). This peanut butter had almost no aroma and a very slightly granular texture. There was some peanut flavor but too much of a salt taste. The Simply Ground Creamy with a Bit of Crunch contains roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated cottonseed and rapeseed oils, and salt (125 mg sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). Modest roasted peanut aroma and a nice texture accurately described on the label. Much too salty, with little peanut flavor.

Planter's, www.planters.com. Both products I tasted are certified kosher. The Creamy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed, and soybean oils), and salt (150 mg sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). This product had a strong roasted peanut aroma, with a moderate roasted peanut flavor fading quickly to a salt taste. The Crunchy Peanut Butter has an identical ingredient list, with the same amount of sodium and sugars per serving. There was a nice aroma of roasted peanuts, but the product was too sweet and too salty. The Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread contains roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt, again with 150 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving. There was a strong roasted peanut aroma to this product. The flavor begins with roasted peanut, but that changes quickly to sugar and salt.

Reese's, www.thehersheycompany.com. Certified kosher. The Creamy Peanut Butter contains roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed, and soybean oils), salt, peanut oil, monoglycerides, molasses, and cornstarch (140 mg sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). Some roasted peanut aroma. Salty and sweet; the flavor doesn't seem to have much to do with peanuts. I had not seen any other peanut butters with cornstarch as an ingredient; when I called Hershey to find out why it was used here, a customer service representative told me it was a thickener.

Reginald's Homemade, www.reginaldshomemade.com. The All-Natural Original Roast Creamy Peanut Butter, containing dry roasted unsalted peanuts and peanut oil, is a favorite. With zero mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving, the peanut aroma all but leaps out of the jar at you, and there's a terrific roasted peanut flavor. I suspect that the peanuts for this are roasted a tad deeper than for many other peanut butters, but that's just a guess. The All-Natural Original Roast Crunchy Peanut Butter contains identical ingredients and the same sodium and sugars level. With a moderate roasted peanut aroma and an unusually good spreading consistency for a non-emulsified peanut butter, my only complaint was the amount of crunch, which wasn't enough for me. Solidly good roasted peanut flavor.

Scotch Corner Foods, www.scotchcornerfoods.com. The Salt of the Earth Peanut Butter has peanuts and sea salt (125 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). A slight roasted peanut aroma and a very nice roasted peanut flavor, but there was too much salt.

Santa Cruz Organic, www.santacruzorganic.com. Both of these peanut butters are certified kosher and Non GMO Project verified. The Organic Crunchy Dark Roasted Peanut Butter contains organic roasted peanuts and salt (45 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). This peanut butter had a very strong, deep-roasted (but not burnt) aroma, with a somewhat pasty consistency and not as much crunch as some others. A terrific peanut flavor but too much salt. The Organic Creamy Dark Roasted Peanut Butter contains identical ingredients but has 50 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. Again, there was a strong, deep-roasted peanut aroma, and the texture was quite pasty. An excellent roasted peanut flavor, but bursts of too much salt taste.

ShopRite, www.shoprite.com. The Unsalted 100% Natural Peanut Butter is ground in-store but not to order. The sole ingredient is U.S. Selected Fresh Roasted Peanuts. This peanut butter has a moderate roasted peanut aroma. I enjoyed the granular texture and good degree of crunch. It did indeed taste like peanuts, but it was also extremely dry. Five mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving.

Skippy, www.peanutbutter.com. All peanut butters tasted are certified kosher. It was difficult for me to detect the higher sodium levels in these peanut butters. The Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread contains roasted peanuts, palm oil, and salt, with 150 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving. This is a no-stir peanut butter spread, with a nice roasted peanut aroma but a decidedly modest peanut flavor that disappeared quickly. The Creamy Peanut Butter also has 150 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving. The ingredients here are roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean, and rapeseed oil), and salt. A nice roasted peanut aroma. A slight sweetness, with some peanut flavor, but this peanut butter had an aftertaste I found almost bitter. The SuperChunk Peanut Butter has 125 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving, and it is indeed supremely chunky---a positive. This peanut butter tasted slightly sweet, with some peanut flavor. The ingredient list is identical to that of the Creamy Peanut Butter. The Natural SuperChunk Peanut Buttter Spread contains roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt (125 mg sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). This had a strong roasted peanut aroma and was very crunchy. With a good spreading consistency, there was a modest peanut flavor and some salt taste.

Smart Balance, www.smartbalance.com. All peanut butters are certified kosher and Non GMO Project verified. The Natural Rich Roast Chunky Peanut Butter & Oil Blend contains peanut butter (peanuts, dried cane syrup, salt, and molasses) and natural oils (palm fruit and flaxseed). One serving of this product has 3 g sugars and 140 mg sodium. A moderate roasted peanut aroma, with lots of crunch. Modest roasted peanut flavor, but that fades quickly to an aftertaste of flaxseed. The Natural Rich Roast Creamy Peanut Butter & Oil Blend contains the same ingredients and has the same sugars and sodium level as its chunky counterpart. This product had almost no peanut aroma. There was a robust initial flavor of roasted peanut, but that was quickly overwhelmed by salt and a flaxseed taste.

Sprelly, www.sprelly.com. The All Natural Peanut Butter contains “all natural” peanuts and sea salt. No nutrition information. A strong roasted peanut aroma combines with a lovely granular texture; this product is not as pasty as many other non-emulsified peanut butters. A very mild peanut butter and a light salt presence. Very good.

Sweet Ella's, www.koeze.com. Sweet Ella's Peanut Butter is produced and sold by Koeze Company. The Organic Smooth Peanut Butter is made from organic peanuts and sea salt (1 g sugars, 35 mg sodium per serving). There's a modest roasted peanut aroma here, with a slight granular texture I enjoy. A very good roasted peanut flavor, but a trifle salty for me. The Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter contains the same ingredients and has an identical sugars and sodium content. It was very similar in character to the Smooth version, but with a good amount of crunch. It was easier to incorporate the separated oil back into both of these peanut butters than for most other non-emulsified varieties, and both the Smooth and Crunchy editions had a better spreading consistency than most other natural peanut butters.

Teddie, www.teddie.com. All varieties I tried are certified kosher. The Old Fashioned All Natural Smooth Peanut Butter contains dry roasted peanuts and salt (125 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). There was a strong roasted peanut aroma here, and some peanut flavor, but it was overwhelmed by salt. The All Natural Chunky Peanut Butter with Flaxseed contains dry roasted peanuts, flaxseed, and salt (100 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). This product had more of a flaxseed aroma than a peanut aroma. There was some roasted peanut flavor, but the peanut butter also tasted somewhat of flaxseed and salt. Good amount of crunch. The Unsalted Old Fashioned All Natural Super Chunky Peanut Butter is certainly accurately named, at least as far as the crunch goes---super chunky, indeed! Zero mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. A modest roasted peanut aroma. Somewhat pasty texture, but a gorgeous roasted peanut flavor with no distractions. A favorite. A strong aroma of peanuts, perhaps roasted to a deeper degree than many others, characterized the Organic All Natural Chunky Peanut Butter, which contains organic dry roasted peanuts and sea salt (100 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). The first thing that hit my taste buds when trying this product was salt, followed by an excellent peanutty flavor. The Organic All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter contains organic dry roasted peanuts and sea salt (125 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). Somewhat pasty texture. A moderate roasted peanut aroma led to a strong roasted peanut flavor with bursts of salt. Good. The Unsalted Old Fashioned All Natural Smooth Peanut Butter was very good. Containing only dry roasted peanuts (zero mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving), this product tasted like roasted peanuts, with a somewhat pasty texture and a modest roasted peanut aroma. The All Natural Smooth Peanut Butter with Flaxseed has dry roasted peanuts, flaxseed, and salt (125 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). There was a slight roasted peanut aroma here, with a very pasty texture. Some peanut and salt flavor at the beginning, which faded quickly to a flaxseed taste. The Old Fashioned All Natural Super Chunky Peanut Butter contains dry roasted peanuts and salt (100 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). It's very chunky, with a decent roasted peanut flavor and aroma, but too much salt.

The J.M. Smucker Company, www.smuckers.com. All peanut butters are certified kosher. The Natural Creamy Peanut Butter contains peanuts and salt (105 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). With a modest roasted peanut aroma, the initial flavor here was of peanuts, quickly fading to salt. The Natural Chunky Peanut Butter (peanuts, salt) had a more developed roasted peanut aroma. It wasn't as crunchy as others of this type, and the peanut flavor was overwhelmed by a salt taste. 90 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. The Organic Natural Chunky Peanut Butter contains only organic roasted peanuts and salt (45 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). There's a strong roasted peanut aroma here. This peanut butter has a pasty texture and isn't as chunky as some others. Decent roasted peanut flavor that seems to be a darker roast than most others, with a little salt at the finish. Good. The Organic Natural Creamy Peanut Butter contains ingredients identical to its chunky counterpart, with 50 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. It was exceptionally difficult to incorporate the separated oil back into this peanut butter, a task that required a lot of effort and far longer than my standard two minute stirring time. A strong roasted peanut aroma led to a decent roasted peanut flavor, with a bit of an annoying salt presence.

The Peanut Principle, www.thepeanutprinciple.com. The Beat Me to the Crunch Crunchy Peanut Butter contains only non GMO dry roasted peanuts (2 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). A moderate roasted peanut aroma and a ton of big peanut chunks were big pluses, but unhappily I did not care for the taste of the peanuts used.. The Keep'n It Smooth Creamy Peanut Butter contains an identical ingredient and the same sodium and sugars level. This product had a strong roasted peanut aroma with a somewhat pasty texture; I had the same issue with flavor here, however. Despite having no emulsifiers, these peanut butters had very little oil separation and better spreading consistencies than most of the other non-emulsified examples.

Trader Joe's, www.traderjoes.com. All peanut butters are certified kosher. The Organic Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter contains organic Valencia peanuts and sea salt (2 g sugars and 40 mg sodium per serving). Very little aroma with an exceptionally pasty texture. The natural sweetness of the Valencias is plain to taste, ditto a slight saltiness. The Crunchy Unsalted Peanut Butter (from Unblanched Peanuts) contains only dry roasted peanuts (1 g sugars and zero mg sodium per serving). A moderate aroma of deeply-roasted peanuts. Not as much crunch as some, good deep-roasted peanut flavor. The Organic Crunchy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter has organic Valencia peanuts and sea salt 92 g sugars and 40 mg sodium per serving). This product had a great roasted peanut aroma but a very thin, pasty consistency, and it has less crunch than most others of this type. A very nice roasted peanut flavor with barely noticeable salt. The Organic Creamy No Salt Valencia Peanut Butter contains only organic Valencia peanuts (2 g sugars, zero mg sodium per serving). This product had a thinner consistency than many, with a moderate roasted peanut aroma. A nice roasted peanut flavor, but a very pasty texture. The Creamy Unsalted Peanut Butter is made from dry roasted peanuts (1 g sugars, zero mg sodium per serving). This was the most difficult non-emulsified peanut butter I encountered, in that it was almost impossible to incorporate the separated oil back into it. The task required more than double the standard two minute stirring time, and even then I couldn't get the peanut butter completely mixed. The Organic Crunchy No Salt Valencia Peanut Butter contains only organic Valencia peanuts (2 g sugars, zero mg sodium per serving). A strong aroma of deep-roasted peanuts. Somewhat pasty consistency. Deep peanut flavor but there are others I like better.

Vermont Peanut Butter Company, Inc., www.vtpeanutbutter.com. Both peanut butters I tasted are certified kosher. The CreamyPeanut Butter contains roasted blanched and unblanched peanuts and sea salt (40 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). More difficult to incorporate the separated oil than most others of this type. A moderate roasted peanut aroma. Nice peanut flavor, but occasional bursts of salt detracted from it. Good. The Chunky Peanut Butter has an identical ingredient list and the same sodium and sugars content. This peanut butter has a moderate-to-strong roasted peanut aroma. I enjoyed the large chunks of peanuts in a granular-textured base. Decent peanut flavor, but the salt bursts were somewhat annoying.

Wegman's, www.wegmans.com. All peanut butters tasted are certified kosher except for the Natural Peanut Butter, but certifications appear to come from two different agencies. The Creamy Peanut Butter (roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed, cottonseed, soybean), salt, molasses) had a slightly gritty texture. A strong roasted peanut aroma and a strong roasted peanut flavor could not entirely overcome the slightly sweet, salty flavor (150 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars per serving). The Crunchy Peanut Butter (roasted peanuts, sugar, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed, cottonseed, soybean), salt, molasses) had almost no aroma, with a great crunch and a decent roasted peanut flavor. One serving contains 130 mg of sodium and 3 g sugars. The Natural Peanut Butter (ground in-store but not to order, contains only peanuts) had some roasted peanut aroma and a nice granular texture, but it tasted flat and not especially fresh. No sodium or sugars content was listed. Peanuts are the sole ingredient in the Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (10 mg sodium and 1 g sugars per serving). This peanut butter had a moderate peanut aroma and was thinner than many others, with a very pasty texture. The strong roasted peanut flavor was quite good. The Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter (contains only peanuts) had a strong aroma of roasted peanuts. Good peanutty flavor, lots of crunch. 10 mg of sodium and 1 g sugars per serving. The Organic (No Stirring Needed) Creamy Peanut Butter contains organic peanuts, organic palm oil, organic sugar, and sea salt, with 85 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving. There was some oil separation on the top surface, despite the “no stirring needed” claim. This product had a strong aroma of slightly stale roasted peanuts, as well as a slight grittiness. The predominant flavors were salt and slightly stale peanut. The Organic (No Stirring Needed) Crunchy Peanut Butter (organic peanuts, organic palm oil, organic sugar, sea salt) contained 85 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving. Characterized by a strong roasted peanut aroma, this tasted a little salty, with only a mild peanut flavor. The Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread has roasted peanuts, corn syrup solids, soy protein, sugar, molasses, salt, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed, cottonseed, soybean), and vitamins and minerals. This spread had a moderate roasted peanut aroma with some peanut taste, but it was sweet (4 g sugars per serving), salty (230 mg of sodium per serving), and gritty.

Woodstock Foods, www.woodstock-foods.com. This peanut butter is certified kosher and Non GMO Project verified. The Organic Smooth Easy Spread Unsalted Peanut Butter contains only organic peanuts. This product had a strong roasted peanut aroma; it was easier to incorporate the oil back into the peanut butter than with many others. A very pasty texture and a strong roasted peanut flavor, but there are others I like better. 5 mg of sodium and 2 g sugars per serving.