How to stir peanut butter in 30 seconds.

[sixdogs]

Here's how you can stir a new jar of 100% peanut butter before you finish reading this. Apologies to all if everyone already knows this but I've done it for years and it was news to me when I figured it out.

Anyway, I discovered that an electric drill and a certain kind of egg beater-type attachment does a great job and does it PDQ. Maybe not 30 seconds but not much longer. Here's what that egg beater thing looks like:






It doesn't have to look exactly the same, just one with a twist of some sort in it. I got this at a thrift store.

Just chuck it in the drill, open the jar and have at it. You mostly run backwards with the beater on high speed but switching back and forth helps. Start on low till you get the hang of things. You never raise the swirling mass above the edge of the jar (duh) or it will be all over the kitchen and at the same level s the edge of the jar. As well, a regular egg beater attachment will not work, creates a mess and will damage the beater. Been there and done that.

Here's the bottom line:






Ignore the photo below. I didn't do that, the website did and I had a real struggle getting any picture to post. The sideways jar of peanut butter isn't my fault either. Beats me.

 

[k0ua]

That attachment is called a dough hook.

 

[bcp]

Looks like it works, but...

In my nearly 3/4 century, I've never heard of stirring peanut butter.

I do remember white "butter" in plastic bags, and you had to break a packet of yellow dye that was inside, and then knead the bag to make the butter yellow. Some kind of stirrer would have been good.

But I never heard of doing anything to peanut butter, or of a need to. Is Ohio peanut better different than that in the far western states?

Bruce

 

[SirReal63]

Kudos to James for knowing his kitchen implements.

 

[k0ua]

Looks like it works, but...

In my nearly 3/4 century, I've never heard of stirring peanut butter.

I do remember white "butter" in plastic bags, and you had to break a packet of yellow dye that was inside, and then knead the bag to make the butter yellow. Some kind of stirrer would have been good.

But I never heard of doing anything to peanut butter, or of a need to. Is Ohio peanut better different than that in the far western states?

Bruce

Organic peanut butter is not homogenized, and will separate with a layer of peanut oil forming after it sets for a while. You must stir to mix it back in.

 

[k0ua]

Kudos to James for knowing his kitchen implements.

I checked with the wife to make sure..

 

[Threepoint]

Sixdogs is speaking of 100% natural pb, where the oil tends to separate out over time due to the absence of additives found in the processed version, such as hydrogenated vegetable oil.

For me, I confess to being an off-the-shelf Jif Extra Crunchy guy. :licking:

At the risk of starting a flame war among my TBN friends: Natural Peanut Butter Naturally Bad, Says Cook's Illustrated - Chowhound

Now I'm hungry.

 

[k0ua]

Sixdogs is speaking of 100% natural pb, where the oil tends to separate out over time due to the absence of additives found in the processed version, such as hydrogenated vegetable oil.

For me, I confess to being an off-the-shelf Jif Extra Crunchy guy. :licking:

At the risk of starting a flame war among my TBN friends: Natural Peanut Butter Naturally Bad, Says Cook's Illustrated - Chowhound

Now I'm hungry.

Well, it appears our OP has the quick cure for the number one complaint of separation. Stir up with his dough hook and enjoy. I will not be enjoying any variety, as I am deathly allergic to peanuts. Death in a jar to me.

 

[sseelhoff]

Organic peanut butter is not homogenized, and will separate with a layer of peanut oil forming after it sets for a while. You must stir to mix it back in.

Almond butter separates also.

 

[Threepoint]

[snip] I will not be enjoying any variety, as I am deathly allergic to peanuts. Death in a jar to me.

Yep, I have an adult niece who went into anaphylaxis at a restaurant and nearly died due to a trace of peanuts in one dish, an appetizer or soup, I think. Very scary stuff. I think about that every time I hear the phrase "There's nothing not good about peanut butter." And I love peanut butter!

Thank goodness we're all more educated about nut allergies, and the risks they pose. I saw a report a year or so ago about a protocol for desensitizing some folks to the allergy. James, you probably already know about it. I think this was the clinical trial: New treatment may offer hope for peanut allergy - CNN.com

 

[k0ua]

Yep, I have an adult niece who went into anaphylaxis at a restaurant and nearly died due to a trace of peanuts in one dish, an appetizer or soup, I think. Very scary stuff. I think about that every time I hear the phrase "There's nothing not good about peanut butter." And I love peanut butter!

Thank goodness we're all more educated about nut allergies, and the risks they pose. I saw a report a year or so ago about a protocol for desensitizing some folks to the allergy. James, you probably already know about it. I think this was the clinical trial: New treatment may offer hope for peanut allergy - CNN.com

I am somewhat desensitized from when I was a child. I can eat small amounts now without the throat tightening. I most likely will just vomit if I eat to much. Of course I can detect peanut in almost anything. I can even tell you if a potato chip was cooked in peanut oil or not. But the reaction is not really life threatening. If a large amount of peanut butter was forced down me, I am not sure If I would die or not or just be real sick. I ain't finding out. But thru years of exposure to peanut products, I have become way less sensitive than I used to be as a child. My wife still enjoys peanut butter, I sure don't.

 

[jerrybob]

I heard a rumor about peanut butter.......hate to spread it!

 

[Bird]

Looks like it works, but...

In my nearly 3/4 century, I've never heard of stirring peanut butter.

I do remember white "butter" in plastic bags, and you had to break a packet of yellow dye that was inside, and then knead the bag to make the butter yellow. Some kind of stirrer would have been good.

But I never heard of doing anything to peanut butter, or of a need to. Is Ohio peanut better different than that in the far western states?

Bruce

Bruce, you must be nearly as old as I am. I still remember when that white margarine with the dye was something new.

And I, too, never heard of having to stir the peanut butter. My wife eats sandwiches of peanut butter and banana slices. Personally, when I eat peanut butter, I stir it, alright, to mix the syrup, honey, or jelly that I'm using to thin it a bit so it doesn't stick to my teeth and the roof of my mouth.

Organic peanut butter? How's that different from the others? Additives? I used to make our own peanut butter. I guess maybe you could call it organic. I used to buy raw shelled peanuts by the hundred pound sack at the Lee County Peanut Company, Giddings, TX. I roasted two pounds at a time, as needed, in the microwave after we got a microwave. Before that I roasted them in the oven. Once roasted to my satisfaction, I stirred in butter or margarine. Real butter worked best, especially if it was going to be some time before I ate all of them. Then I stirred in salt. And then I learned that all I had to do to make peanut butter was to dump a pound or so in the food processor and let it run until I had the peanut butter I wanted. I preferred the smooth instead of crunchy. It looked, tasted, and had the same texture as what you buy in the store.

 

[zzvyb6]

I just use a drill powered paint mixer. A used one can add some color to it. All peanut butter is organic. It has molecules with CARBON in it.

 

[AchingBack]

No need to stir. Simply pour peanut oil from top of jar into another container for later use in cooking. The peanut butter underneath is easy enough to spread without the oil on top being stirred in.

 

[sixdogs]

Let's take the word organic" out of this. Plain old peanut butter that is just crushed peanuts and has salt added is what we are talking about and it will settle as it sits with the oil floating to the surface and the thickened peanut mass settling to the bottom and developing concrete-like symptoms. It must be mixed and is very difficult.

More "modern" peanut butter that has sugar and oils added to it and is super whipped...homogenized...does not, or is less likely to separate. For health/medical reasons I cannot eat the added oil and don't want the sugar so I am restricted to the plain old peanut butter which I prefer anyway. Crunchy if it matters.

Back in the 1950's I think the only PB you could get was the 100% kind and those of us that liked PB & J sandwiches were relegated to the tedious task of mixing it if it sat for very long. It was a struggle, hence the electric drill and dough hook above. There may have been a blended PB back then but I think it cost more and my mom was having none of that because the$$ were tight.

Try some 100% PB. It has a much stronger and more pure peanut taste . We get ours at Costco. It is only somewhat available in supermarkets and may often have that confusing word "organic" added to it. It will cost more because peanuts cost more than the substituted ingredients. I have seen blended PB that had peanuts as the second ingredient. Hope this helps.

EDIT...if you have not had 100% PB in a while (I'm sure you had it as a kid) and love peanut butter, try some you will likely not switch back.

 

[4570Man]

No need to stir. Simply pour peanut oil from top of jar into another container for later use in cooking. The peanut butter underneath is easy enough to spread without the oil on top being stirred in.

Now that's an idea. The all natural peanut butter is a little runny for my liking anyway.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I usually just stir with a butter knife but I use regular store bought peanut butter.

Now I'm gonna fix me a pbj sammich.

 

[reb]

No need to stir. Simply pour peanut oil from top of jar into another container for later use in cooking. The peanut butter underneath is easy enough to spread without the oil on top being stirred in.

This thread is timely for me. I just got through mixing a jar of almond butter with a table knife. If I had poured off the oil, the butter at the bottom would have been much too thick to spread. Gonna find a small dough hook for the next time.

 

[sixdogs]

This thread is timely for me. I just got through mixing a jar of almond butter with a table knife. If I had poured off the oil, the butter at the bottom would have been much too thick to spread. Gonna find a small dough hook for the next time.

You can pour almost all the oil off of almond butter--and it mixes fine-- but the oil has health benefits so take it easy. Also, run the drill in reverse to get started and take it easy. Then switch F and R. Running forward at higher speeds, until you catch on, can fling stuff a considerable distance.