2009.10.08
Ode to peanut butter
Peanut butter, peanut butter, oh how I love thee, peanut butter. I love thee on raw apple slices, on sandwiches with jelly or apple butter or honey, in chocolate candies, in cookies and pies and cakes, and even in savory dishes like Thai food. I would like to shake the hand of the man or woman who one day decided to put peanuts in a grinder and ultimately created thee magical spread.
I love thee crunchy or creamy. I even love thee in the reduced fat version if that's what I must eat. I love that eating thee gives me energy from protein and good fats, but I do not like that I must stop eating thee after a couple of tablespoons or else I'm liable to be shaped like a giant peanut. That might be the only drawback.
November is National Peanut Butter Month, and to celebrate that, the folks at Jif are having a contest for little peanut butter lovers. Kids can invent a sandwich that includes peanut butter as an ingredient and enter the recipe at www.jif.com. It's called the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest, and last year's winner was Jordyn Boyer, who created a peanut butter chicken cheesesteak po' boy with chicken, peppers, onions, apples and mozzarella cheese.
Jordyn won a $25,000 college scholarship, kiddos. And the deadline to enter is November 13, so put on your thinking caps and drag Mom and Dad into the kitchen and start playing around with peanut butter. You never know what it may do for thee.
"I would like to shake the hand of the man or woman who one day decided to put peanuts in a grinder and ultimately created thee magical spread."
Who was the man who changed the world with this momentous feat?
George Washington Carver is the genius to whom you'd like to meet.
Comment by Fishfood — October 8, 2009 @ 3:56 pm
Unrelated to peanut butter...your column in the RT this week was great. It was so well written and a joy to read. Thanks.
Comment by Jim D — October 8, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
Now I have to go buy a jar...
Comment by ginny — October 8, 2009 @ 4:38 pm
Aha! That does not surprise me, Fishfood. Thank you for the historical context.
Comment by Lindsey Nair — October 8, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Thank you, Jim. You are very kind.
Comment by Lindsey Nair — October 8, 2009 @ 5:25 pm
I love Crunchy Peanut Butter! I keep a jar and a spoon in my desk for when I get hungry and it's not quite lunch time yet . . .
Comment by Michelle — October 8, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
It's only worth a damn if it's natural peanut butter (which I eat for lunch every day).
Jif, Skippy and the others that add sugar and trans fats are an abomination, verily.
Comment by Dan Casey — October 8, 2009 @ 7:45 pm
I agree with just about everything, but you forgot to mention one of peanut butter's best qualities--it's cheap! I buy organic peanut butter that's just dry-roastd peanuts and salt, and it's still significantly less expensive than most protein sources out there.
Comment by Emma — October 8, 2009 @ 11:05 pm
The only time I had ever tried natural PB was many years ago and it was gross. It was not smooth and rather gritty.
They've obviously made some progress, though, as my boss has some he bought from the Co-op and it's wonderful! Jiff now has a natural PB option, which is the same price as regular Jiff. We got some over the weekend and it's so good! It has a great peanut-ty taste, as opposed to regular Jiff. I also like to get the freshly ground PB and almond butters at Fresh Market.
Comment by Lori — October 9, 2009 @ 9:35 am
No food ever deserved an ode more. I concur!
Comment by Sandi Saunders — October 10, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Does anyone out there eat peanut butter and sliced sweet gherkin sandwiches? It sounds weird, but is really good. It was my favorite as a child, and I still eat them. Another great PB sandwich: Grill your peanut butter and jelly sandwich in butter like you would a grilled cheese. Decadence on the cheap!
Comment by Connie — October 11, 2009 @ 7:46 am
The writer Sue Grafton has a series about a female detective named Kinsey Millhone (the Alphabet Series and I HIGHLY recommend them). Kinsey loves boiled egg sandwiches and Peanut Butter & Pickle sandwiches. Of course upon reading, I had to try both and came to love them dearly. I eat PB w/Bread&Butter pickles instead of the gherkins but both are great. Thanks for the reminder Connie, I am going to eat one now.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — October 11, 2009 @ 7:46 pm
Lindsey, I do not see a link direct to you so I used this "somewhat" relevant article.
We are entered into ANOTHER contest and we need our neighbors votes! They helped us out last time, but we just didn't have enough votes to pull out a victory. If they could visit our photo at this link and hit VOTE that would be fantastic. I thank EVERYONE in advance!
http://www.justborn.com/peanut-chews/promotions/gallery?CTM_ID=42074a89-a6df-4175-b3d0-923dec0d9ebd
Paul Griffin
Comment by Paul Griffin — October 11, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
Lindsey, awesome post, thanks! Diane practically LIVES on peanut butter! Peter Pan creamy only, no other brand will do for her. She eats thickly spread peanut butter on one piece of wheat bread for breakfast every day, and many days the same thing for one of her other meals. Talk about a cheap date!
Connie, I've been eating peanut butter and sliced dill pickle sandwiches since I was a kid, still love them! I'm sure the sweet gherkins would be delicious, too! PB and dill pickles sound weird, too, but it is a truly good sandwich!
Comment by Dennis — October 12, 2009 @ 9:24 am
Yesterday I had one of my old favorites, a peanut butter & potato chip sandwich. MMMMM
Comment by Lori — October 12, 2009 @ 10:40 am
I like peanut butter and potato chips and peanut butter and baco, but I have never tried it with pickles. I might get brave enough to try it sometime.
On an unrelated note, I was at Kroger yesterday and saw a wine called Chocowine. It's a chocolate flavored red wine. I like to try new things, but just couldn't bring myself to buy a bottle.
Comment by Debbie — October 12, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
So, Lindsey, when are YOU going to try the delectable peanut butter and pickle sandwich?!
Comment by Connie — October 19, 2009 @ 6:02 am
Hmmm... maybe I will try it in a fold-over before I go with the whole sammich
Comment by Lindsey Nair — October 19, 2009 @ 9:59 am
I have never tried a peanut butter and pickle sandwich. The combo scares me a lil??
Comment by Kristal L. Rosebrook — October 20, 2009 @ 5:46 am
Pickles and peanut butter are AWESOME together. I recommend that all try it at least once. I too thought it was a bit odd - I tried one 20 years ago and eat them still.
Comment by Walker — October 20, 2009 @ 12:24 pm