As a bit of fun, we Parkrunners did a bit of peanut butter taste testing last Saturday and there were a few surprises. We tried Sainsbury’s, Meridian and Whole Earth brands of peanut butter. Naturally this was accompanied by good coffee and homemade bread.
I was the only one who knew which the different samples were, so it was blind taste testing for everyone else. Each was a smooth version. It’s probably easier if I just go through the quotes….
Sainsbury’s
This was the cheapest brand and had only 94% peanut butter in the squidgy plastic jar. The rest was made up with sugar, palm oil and salt. Here are the comments:
”a good taste of peanuts…. but a bit supermarket brandish”
”well at least it looks like peanut butter”
”looks a bit processed”
Meridian
This was the premium brand and the only one with 100% peanuts. It was much darker than the others, perhaps because the skins were in there.
It was a sloppier butter than compare to the others – even the little flag wouldn’t stay upright. As noted on the lid, the natural oils do separate during storage and this is natural, it just needs to be stirred to have an even consistency. This is no big deal and it does convey an unprocessed impression, together with the feeling of getting a dose of good oils.
The comments included:
“Like my teeth were instantly coated with plaque”
”I’m sure it’s good for me but I wouldn’t buy it”
”I like it, it’s the best of these”
”it’s creamy and soft”
”looks really processed, doesn’t look like peanut butter”
”it’s okay for me but maybe a bit dry”
Whole Earth
This was the mid range peanut butter in our test. It is made with 96% peanuts with (sustainable) palm oil and sea salt.
”not a terribly strong peanut butter taste”
”easy to like”
”sticks to the roof of my mouth – which I like!”
”a good honest peanut butter, nothing fancy”
And an extra by Paul – Aldi
Yes our friend Paul C brought an extra peanut butter for us to try. Paul has a reputation for being a canny, thrifty shopper and it was going to be interesting what he had come up with. Paul’s Aldi version was the crunchy peanut butter. Bargain basement, probably similar to the Sainsbury’s version we thought.
It was fine, although we were a bit peanut buttered out. Nevertheless it was judged as being “smooth in a crunchy kind of way” and “best for texture”.
We did have a little chat about what we should have with our peanut butter, if anything. Some recognised how jam, or even my marmalade (!) can go with peanut butter. Nobody on this planet seems to share my liking of a bit of mayonnaise with their peanut butter!!!
So in wrapping up, there wasn’t really a clear winner although the cheap Sainsbury’s peanut butter was easy for everyone to like. I think we realised some foods take a bit of getting used to, nothing wrong with that, it’s just the way it goes as we can get accustomed to certain tastes in the things we eat.
It’s Whole Earth Crunchy for me, every time!
But do you have it with anything – jam, mayonnaise etc? I might be the only one on the planet who has mayonnaise with my peanut butter.