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August 11, 2004
Is Natural Always Better?
I grew up in a health conscious house. My parents might know how to rock out when it comes to fine cooking, but I was raised in the typical oat bran bread, all natural peanut butter, and anti-soda and potato chip home. You would not find any sugary cereal in our cupboards or Doritos in our pantry (if we had actually had a pantry).
Because of all this, I grew to hate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There’s nothing quite like opening a jar of all natural PB and finding that 1" reserve of oil resting above the chalky, pasty, brown nut spread. Slather that natural goodness over a slab of dry, whole wheat/split oat bread and you get a nice mouthful of organic mortar—so dense that I'm surprised the Park Slope Coop hasn't used it as cement to fill cracks in the building façade. The spread might taste wholly of peanuts, but it lacks that creamy, artificial zing that I like to call yum. So, when I left for college, I promptly rebelled. I never turned back.
I have partaken in virtually every kind of peanut butter out on the market. Of course, we have already established that Bama Butter is my personal favorite (special thanks to the guy at Piggly Wiggly who, after reading about my search, emailed me about where to obtain it—luckily, my ever wonderful friend Sonnet called me from Virginia to ask if I wanted crunchy or smooth…she also obtained a Live+Strong bracelet for me—now how great is this woman?) however I will accept Skippy and the occasional Jiff. During more "health conscious" periods of my life, I have pretended to enjoy Peanut Wonder (aka imitation peanut butter). The truth, however, remains—Skippy and marshmallow fluff on Wonder Bread (sometimes I swap out the WB for rice cakes) is one of my most favorite treats.
Seriously, folks, does anyone actually like all natural peanut butter? Or am I just cynical from seventeen years of forced all-naturalness?
Posted by callalillie at August 11, 2004 3:09 AM | Food
Even I have decided that I don't like it! We now stock only JIF in the house...sorry for all those years of natural health!...in my older age, taste and consistency has become much more important. MOM
Posted by: Nancy at August 11, 2004 7:58 AM
Umm, no. It's pretty bad stuff. I tried it to see how that "natural" peanut taste would come through. Yikes. I like peanuts, and I like Skippy, I don't like whatever is in between. Mortar is a good way to describe it.
Posted by: whatisee at August 11, 2004 8:33 AM
For a long time I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches nearly every day. I preferred the taste of the all-natural, salt-free pb to Jif and Skippy. When I used it every day the oil didn't have a chance to separate, and there was less of the mortar effect because it was constantly being stirred. Now I rarely eat the stuff, mainly because I have better lunch choices, and a forlorn jar of the stuff sits in a kitchen cupboard.
Posted by: joe at August 11, 2004 9:09 AM
Well, it seems that we have at least two things in common, Corie. A love of cats and a rabid hatred of all natural peanut butter. Your description is spot on. Have you ever had purple cornbread made from 100% all natural corn meal?
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at August 11, 2004 10:08 AM
I LOVE Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter. I dislike all other natural peanut butter brands. And though should I go by the spoonful, I prefer Skippy, I can't stand it on a sandwich. Even natural jelly (like Pollaner All Fruit--which I love) has enough sugar for both the peanut butter and the jelly for me. And Wonder Bread? GROSS!! Eating Skippy is like eating candy. So, I guess it's all about what kind of eating experience you want.
Posted by: kar at August 11, 2004 10:13 AM
I recollect my experience with natural peanut butter well... it occurred sometime in early college when I first encountered organic-ness after 18 years of Pathmark brand Superchunky PB. When I spotted the oil, I immediately checked for an expiration date, as my first thought was that something was certainly amiss. Then, I blamed my roommate for putting the the jar in an ultra-centrifuge to dissuade my organic dabbling. When I finally realized that this was how natural PB was supposed to look, I bought a blender in a fruitless attempt to merge the oil/peanut-paste, which only accomplished ruining the machine. This is the worst food in history. The only substance that rivals its grostequeness is Marshmallow Fluff. I consider Fluff to be Natural PB's synthetic counterpart.
Posted by: Erin at August 11, 2004 10:32 AM
I suddenly feel like an evil food nazi. I've been feeding Thomas the all natural peanut butter for quite a while now. My overly health conscious sister (she's the type who bakes NOT fries eggs BUT ONLY the whites in the oven, then sponges them with a paper towel to remove any residual grease) bought the stuff and for a while it was the only peanut butter in the house. Thomas didn't refuse to eat it and so its supposed to be ya know, good for you, I continue to buy it. However this weekend when we went grocery shopping, I let him pick his own peanut butter and he chose super chunky Skippy 'cause there was a cool cartoon on the label. However, I never eat the stuff myself...
Posted by: Cynthia at August 11, 2004 11:16 AM
Just because I feel lonely on the pro-natural peanut butter side I have to point out that Greg also (all on his own) loves Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter, as does my dad, my friend Keke, and my cousin Meredith. I am NOT alone!!
Posted by: kar at August 11, 2004 3:30 PM
i only got that nasty ass healthfood pb as a kid too. and now i refuse to buy anything but the most processed! bring it on, creamy goodness.
Posted by: nicole at August 11, 2004 8:44 PM
i think it definitely has something to do with what you grew up with. like people who were forced to eat brick-like meatloaf as children, or those who eat their meat rare because their mom's always cooked it to leather as a kid.
Posted by: corie at August 12, 2004 6:14 PM
