Non-US peanut butters typically have only one ingredient (peanuts) and therefore you get peanut oil separating out that needs to be stirred in. American peanut butter (at least the 'popular' brands) tend to be so full of preservatives and shit that they hold their state.
Made from Roasted Peanuts and Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.
The vegetable oils are saturated fats, which will mix with the peanut oil, but solidify at room temperature. That and the sugar are doing the leg work on keeping the peanut butter from separating. So yeah, saturated fats and sugar are unhealthy additives specifically for preserving the peanut butter. What exactly is your definition of a preservative?
Incorrect, hydrogenated is a synthesis artificial process that chemically alters them and turns them into dryer texture but it's less healthy and more artificial. I avoid it.
it's not the preservatives, it's the hydrogenated oils that are added - basically they substitute some of the peanut oil that would separate out for oils that won't separate (and stay hard, like a butter or like margarine)
lots of US peanut butters are "no-stir" by substituting some of the oil with basically a margarine-like fat (solid, hydrogenated oils replace some of the peanut oil so that the oil never separates and needs to be stirred in again)
If you use normal peanut butter, here are some tips I've found:
turn the peanut butter jar upside down so the lid is at the bottom where the solid peanut butter collects, and the oil collects at the "top" (which is now the bottom of the jar). This means when you open the jar and stir it, the oil is already at the bottom and you don't have hard peanut butter stuck at the bottom that you can't ever get incorporated
once you have opened a new jar and stirred it thoroughly, store the peanut butter in the fridge to make the peanut oil become more solid and doesn't separate as quickly, and in my experience this prevents having to stir it again for the rest of the life of the jar
But I also just eat the no-stir hydrogenated peanut butter now because it's extremely cheap and I'm unemployed.
That's the saddest part. It's cheaper to eat the manufactured factory food that they bugger around with than it is to eat healthy. What a cliff capitalism has led us to.
forever greatful the co-op by me has a fresh peanut butter machine, its only $2.99 a pound which isnt bad. At best the store brand US style PB is $2.50 a pound. Worth the 50cents imo, and It's even a bit cheaper I save 10% by bringing my own jar!
The cheap off-brand no-stir peanut butter I eat is $1.50 / lb ($0.35 / 100 g), the nice organic peanut butter I like to buy is $7.65 / lb ($1.69 / 100 g)
I could probably make my own peanut butter at home (I have a Vitamix), but I don't know where I would buy cheap peanuts.
Either way, I enjoy the taste of the cheap, no-stir peanut butter (I was raised on stuff like this), and I don't really understand or appreciate whatever health impact it may or may not have to eat the cheap peanut butter vs the more expensive one - whereas I very much do appreciate the economic cost of the higher peanut butter and that immediate effect on my grocery bill.
I guess it's better than never being able to afford peanut butter? I sort of have a renewed respect for mass produced / factory foods that make food more financially accessible.
I eat pasta that is fortified because the cheap pasta has extra vitamins added, there are some good things about this even if the pasta isn't as tasty as the more expensive brands.
The problem is that much of what Spain sells as peanut butter is built around the European expectation:
simpler ingredients
fewer sweeteners
“natural” separation accepted as normal
The EU keeps strict maximum levels for contaminants in foods, including aflatoxins. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets tight contaminant limits, and the EU’s own 2023 summary notes that maximum levels are set at strict levels considered reasonably achievable.
Aflatoxins are various poisonous carcinogens and mutagens that are produced by certain molds, especially Aspergillus species such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus.
I 100% don’t care, my American junk peanut butter is delicious. That health food shit you have to stir is oily, greasy, often has weird dry spots and grit, no thanks. I’ll keep enjoying my smooth, sweet and satisfying American junk peanut butter with out shame
Even the ultra sweet stuff is 2-3g of sugar per serving so it’s still pretty healthy
I tried "natural" peanut butter a couple years ago and never looked back. The no-stir stuff I grew up on was suddenly far too sweet. Yeah, you have to stir it a bit, and the first time sucks. But it's worth it for me.
Many US peanut butter manufacturers add emulsifiers and other chemicals into their peanut butter so that it remains homogenous.
The realization is that the person would be eating those emulsifiers, and some people have claimed that they have negative health consequences, which is probable, although I don't know if they do or not.
I actually quit everything last year. I still get some cravings every now and then, but throw that onto the pile of consequences from my youth. Not the worst withdrawals I've experienced, but definitely was the hardest to fully quit.
I chose that word because it is possible that there could be health issues caused by the emulsifiers in american peanut butters, but also I don't know if it is.
Probable is an apt word when something isn't necessarily impossible.
You will also note that I didn't use the word likely, because I can't say whether it is likely or not.
The FDA lets plenty of questionable stuff in food, so I wouldnt be surprised if theres questionable emulsifiers that are used sometimes. My main issue with those peanut butters is that the texture is like eating old toothpaste and the flavor is like your aunt's perfume at the funeral of the peanut :(
Peanut butter is mostly just hydrogenated oils, but emulsifiers in things like Ice Cream are horrible for you, added to prevent separation of ingredients. Some destroy the blood brain barrier, damage gut flora health, and a bunch of other bad stuff.
Citation needed. Most of the emulsifiers in ice cream are simply different sticky carbohydrates. Usually beans.
Studies show that there might be an impact that contributes to risk factors leading to an increased risk of certain metabolic disorders. This means that we need more study, not that there's anything that warrants changes in behavior or saying anything definitive.
Article in the guardian, and elsewhere a couple years ago. It's not a secret, the problems with some of these emulsifiers. In fact it's common knowledge to those of us whose heads are not inside the asses of billionaires which may not include you admittedly. No offense.
An article in the guardian is not a resoundingly strong source, particularly given how news sources like to report health topics.
If you look at any of the reviewed research by academics, it's pretty clear it's something they want to look at more, but it's hardly a definitive "horrible for you" or destroying the blood brain barrier.
In one study they only let mice drink emulsified water, and then gave them a food substance they were allergic to. This resulted in an increase in diarrhea.
If you're going to cite the guardian and "common knowledge" as your source, you might hold off on the "head in ass" accusations.
Local grocery store has a machine where you can grind peanuts into fresh peanut butter on demand for about 10 cents more per ounce than the mass market stuff, and it's amazing.
Or just mix the peanut butter up really well when you first open it before putting it in the fridge. Warm peanut butter mixes really easily, while cold peanut butter takes a long time to separate again.
I feel a lot of the big mass brand peanut butter is too sweet a lot of the less mainstream and even cheaper “off brand” peanut butter is less sweet at times. Unfortunately, do like my sweeter brands
These generalizations are bordering on bigotry. There are plenty of "American brands" that are small town home-based businesses. I'm literally bought pickled okra and spicy sweet pickles yesterday at the Farmers market.
The pasty emulsified super sweet peanut butter is nasty. I guess I just didnt grow up eating that stuff so I'm not desensitized to it (did have peanut butter a few times, but it was a normal one. Tastes like peanuts and slightly salty). But it tastes like vaguely sweet paste and the texture is horrid. It made me gag the first time I had it because I was like "Oh peanut butter? I like that stuff."
67 Comments
daychilde@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 143d
chemicals r scarry
edcation is laking
pigup@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 142d
This is true, was educated, am lake
charonn0@startrek.website · 23 pts · 143d
...are non-US peanut butters less viscous?
KoboldCoterie@pawb.social · 64 pts · 143d
Non-US peanut butters typically have only one ingredient (peanuts) and therefore you get peanut oil separating out that needs to be stirred in. American peanut butter (at least the 'popular' brands) tend to be so full of preservatives and shit that they hold their state.
lemmyman@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 143d
Here's the full list of ingredients for Jif:
Made from Roasted Peanuts and Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.
https://www.foodsco.net/p/jif-creamy-peanut-butter/0005150024191
It's not just peanuts but it's not really "preservatives and shit" either.
ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 142d
The vegetable oils are saturated fats, which will mix with the peanut oil, but solidify at room temperature. That and the sugar are doing the leg work on keeping the peanut butter from separating. So yeah, saturated fats and sugar are unhealthy additives specifically for preserving the peanut butter. What exactly is your definition of a preservative?
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 142d
Preservative refers to a substance that inhibits spoilage, decay, discoloration or other drops in quality.
It's one way to increase shelf life.
A stabilizer isn't a preservative because oil separation doesn't impact quality, shelf life or anything like that.
yogurt@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 142d
Peanuts already have saturated fat, the vegetable oils are better on that than the peanuts.
GeorgimusPrime@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 119d
Everything is palm oil these days
Einskjaldi@lemmy.world · -8 pts · 143d
Incorrect, hydrogenated is a synthesis artificial process that chemically alters them and turns them into dryer texture but it's less healthy and more artificial. I avoid it.
Frenchgeek@lemmy.ml · 26 pts · 143d
That's a bubbler leaking hydrogen while submerged in the oil, and it's mostly a fancy word for margarine.
dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 11 pts · 143d
it's not the preservatives, it's the hydrogenated oils that are added - basically they substitute some of the peanut oil that would separate out for oils that won't separate (and stay hard, like a butter or like margarine)
even the "healthy" no-stir peanut butters do this
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 143d
No salt? XD
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
There is definitely salt in my aldi peanut butter, and a lot of sugar, I can tell just by taste without checking the label.
Ephera@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 143d
You can get some brands which have a pinch of salt added, but in my experience, most brands don't...
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 143d
Of the pure pbs, I've found several. I think Richards and Kroger do.
dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 30 pts · 143d
lots of US peanut butters are "no-stir" by substituting some of the oil with basically a margarine-like fat (solid, hydrogenated oils replace some of the peanut oil so that the oil never separates and needs to be stirred in again)
If you use normal peanut butter, here are some tips I've found:
But I also just eat the no-stir hydrogenated peanut butter now because it's extremely cheap and I'm unemployed.
melsaskca@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 142d
That's the saddest part. It's cheaper to eat the manufactured factory food that they bugger around with than it is to eat healthy. What a cliff capitalism has led us to.
Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 142d
forever greatful the co-op by me has a fresh peanut butter machine, its only $2.99 a pound which isnt bad. At best the store brand US style PB is $2.50 a pound. Worth the 50cents imo, and It's even a bit cheaper I save 10% by bringing my own jar!
dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 142d
The cheap off-brand no-stir peanut butter I eat is $1.50 / lb ($0.35 / 100 g), the nice organic peanut butter I like to buy is $7.65 / lb ($1.69 / 100 g)
I could probably make my own peanut butter at home (I have a Vitamix), but I don't know where I would buy cheap peanuts.
Either way, I enjoy the taste of the cheap, no-stir peanut butter (I was raised on stuff like this), and I don't really understand or appreciate whatever health impact it may or may not have to eat the cheap peanut butter vs the more expensive one - whereas I very much do appreciate the economic cost of the higher peanut butter and that immediate effect on my grocery bill.
Quexotic@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 142d
I have envy.
dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 142d
I guess it's better than never being able to afford peanut butter? I sort of have a renewed respect for mass produced / factory foods that make food more financially accessible.
I eat pasta that is fortified because the cheap pasta has extra vitamins added, there are some good things about this even if the pasta isn't as tasty as the more expensive brands.
AlexLost@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 142d
It's all the filler. Because it's there. And the mass production, sure.
stenAanden@feddit.dk · 22 pts · 143d
https://www.gamintraveler.com/2026/03/01/why-you-cant-really-find-american-peanut-butter-in-spain-and-most-of-europe/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin
Magnum@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 143d
Why do you call it "natural" separation lol
bufalo1973@piefed.social · 3 pts · 142d
Gravity is a natural process. The oil is less dense.
Magnum@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 142d
And why ""
AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 141d
Lol. I reas the article, and:
😳 Who the hell buys more than one kg of peanut butter??
thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 142d
When I left the US this was a BIG surprise for me
chunes@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 142d
It's not "American brand" peanut butter. It's just bad peanut butter.
I buy an American-made peanut butter that I have to stir.
CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 142d
I 100% don’t care, my American junk peanut butter is delicious. That health food shit you have to stir is oily, greasy, often has weird dry spots and grit, no thanks. I’ll keep enjoying my smooth, sweet and satisfying American junk peanut butter with out shame
Even the ultra sweet stuff is 2-3g of sugar per serving so it’s still pretty healthy
nieminen@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 141d
I tried "natural" peanut butter a couple years ago and never looked back. The no-stir stuff I grew up on was suddenly far too sweet. Yeah, you have to stir it a bit, and the first time sucks. But it's worth it for me.
AceTKen@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 143d
I don't get it.
bizarroland@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 143d
Many US peanut butter manufacturers add emulsifiers and other chemicals into their peanut butter so that it remains homogenous.
The realization is that the person would be eating those emulsifiers, and some people have claimed that they have negative health consequences, which is probable, although I don't know if they do or not.
TypFaffke@feddit.org · 13 pts · 143d
Emulsifiers gonna emulsify 🚬
EditsHisComments@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 143d
How to inhale peanut butter to undo ~10yrs of smoking?
VicksVaporBBQrub@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 143d
I was curious.
Apologies if you're actually quitting. My jocularity is quite weird.
EditsHisComments@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 142d
This made me kinda queasy looking at it lmao.
I actually quit everything last year. I still get some cravings every now and then, but throw that onto the pile of consequences from my youth. Not the worst withdrawals I've experienced, but definitely was the hardest to fully quit.
HackerJoe@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 142d
WTF?
blarghly@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 143d
Why would this be probable? Evidence?
bizarroland@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 143d
Many things are probable.
I chose that word because it is possible that there could be health issues caused by the emulsifiers in american peanut butters, but also I don't know if it is.
Probable is an apt word when something isn't necessarily impossible.
You will also note that I didn't use the word likely, because I can't say whether it is likely or not.
daychilde@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 143d
"Plausible" is what you wanted. "Probable" means "likely".
bizarroland@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 143d
I meant it in the secondary definition of the term, which is "establishing a probability".
Plausible is also a good word for it, but probable is still apt
blarghly@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 143d
You aren't establishing a probability.
Or, by saying "probably" you are establishing a probability of > 0.5.... with absolutely no proof.
otp@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 143d
This is the first time I've heard that definition. It seems like a niche definition that can easily result in misunderstandings
saturn_888@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 141d
The FDA lets plenty of questionable stuff in food, so I wouldnt be surprised if theres questionable emulsifiers that are used sometimes. My main issue with those peanut butters is that the texture is like eating old toothpaste and the flavor is like your aunt's perfume at the funeral of the peanut :(
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 142d
Not sojalecithin?
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · -2 pts · 142d
Peanut butter is mostly just hydrogenated oils, but emulsifiers in things like Ice Cream are horrible for you, added to prevent separation of ingredients. Some destroy the blood brain barrier, damage gut flora health, and a bunch of other bad stuff.
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 142d
Citation needed. Most of the emulsifiers in ice cream are simply different sticky carbohydrates. Usually beans.
Studies show that there might be an impact that contributes to risk factors leading to an increased risk of certain metabolic disorders. This means that we need more study, not that there's anything that warrants changes in behavior or saying anything definitive.
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · -3 pts · 142d
Article in the guardian, and elsewhere a couple years ago. It's not a secret, the problems with some of these emulsifiers. In fact it's common knowledge to those of us whose heads are not inside the asses of billionaires which may not include you admittedly. No offense.
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 142d
An article in the guardian is not a resoundingly strong source, particularly given how news sources like to report health topics.
If you look at any of the reviewed research by academics, it's pretty clear it's something they want to look at more, but it's hardly a definitive "horrible for you" or destroying the blood brain barrier.
In one study they only let mice drink emulsified water, and then gave them a food substance they were allergic to. This resulted in an increase in diarrhea.
If you're going to cite the guardian and "common knowledge" as your source, you might hold off on the "head in ass" accusations.
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 141d
More of a source than an internet rando, and it's published in many places, look it up, or don't.
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · -1 pts · 141d
I did, obviously. Why do you think I was telling you what they said?
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9738911/
Here's the one with the mouse diarrhea.
_stranger_@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 142d
Local grocery store has a machine where you can grind peanuts into fresh peanut butter on demand for about 10 cents more per ounce than the mass market stuff, and it's amazing.
architect@thelemmy.club · 1 pts · 141d
Lowes? They are great!
BlackVenom@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 139d
No you're thinking of drawers of mixed nuts. I think they mean Menards.
lordnikon@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 143d
That's why just buying peanuts and a food processor is the way to go and just make the amount of peanut butter you need when you need it.
Tinidril@midwest.social · 2 pts · 142d
Or just mix the peanut butter up really well when you first open it before putting it in the fridge. Warm peanut butter mixes really easily, while cold peanut butter takes a long time to separate again.
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
Fancy stores you can buy peanuts and run them through the machine that turns them into peanut butter.
teyrnon@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 142d
Emulsifiers? Our Peanut Butter is also too sweet.
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 142d
I feel a lot of the big mass brand peanut butter is too sweet a lot of the less mainstream and even cheaper “off brand” peanut butter is less sweet at times. Unfortunately, do like my sweeter brands
Kaput@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 142d
Try "just peanuts" for a while, once you get used to it, you will find thé industrial stuff tasteless.
Jesthemes@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 141d
These generalizations are bordering on bigotry. There are plenty of "American brands" that are small town home-based businesses. I'm literally bought pickled okra and spicy sweet pickles yesterday at the Farmers market.
officerdwn@feddit.org · 3 pts · 142d
They stole the oil?
saturn_888@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 141d
The pasty emulsified super sweet peanut butter is nasty. I guess I just didnt grow up eating that stuff so I'm not desensitized to it (did have peanut butter a few times, but it was a normal one. Tastes like peanuts and slightly salty). But it tastes like vaguely sweet paste and the texture is horrid. It made me gag the first time I had it because I was like "Oh peanut butter? I like that stuff."