Peanut Butter

How to make peanut butter at home

Making your own peanut butter is not at all difficult - and has several benefits.

Why would anyone bother to make their own peanut butter when every supermarket and convenience store has jars and jars of the stuff? Well, if you're happy to eat peanut butter that's laden with palm oil, fructose syrup and other questionable additives, you might as well buy it in the store. But it's another story if, like me, you favor the healthier additive-free variety.

I prefer so-called natural peanut butter because it contains peanuts and nothing else - except perhaps a little salt. (For more information about the nutritional aspects of peanut butter, see our article Is peanut butter really good for you?.) The problem is that none of the supermarkets in my city sell the natural product; I can only get it from a heath-food store on the other side of town. Making peanut butter at home is therefore an attractive op ... Read more »

Prep time: about 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1? c. unsalted roasted peanuts

1 tbsp. peanut oil

Utensils:

food processor (you'll need help from your adult assistant)

bowl

mixing spoon

storage container

measuring cups and spoons

Directions:For smooth peanut butter:

Mix the peanuts with the peanut oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.Process the mixture until it's very smooth.Store your smooth peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge. It will be good for 2 weeks.

For chunky peanut butter:

Take about ? cup out of your 1? cups of peanuts and set them aside.Mix the rest of the peanuts with the oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.Process the mixture until it's very smooth, then stir in the peanuts that you had set aside.Process a few seconds more to create the chunks in your c ... Read more »