One Of These Peanut Butters Is Not Like The Others

Which of these organic peanut butter brands made chef Glenys Morgan feel like a nut: MaraNatha Natural No-Stir, O Organics, Kirkland Organic, Nuts To You Organic?

Even in a childless household, peanut butter is a staple. Use it to feed the inner child, especially on toasted whole grain bread, or to make saté sauces, dips and, of course, those thick and crunchy peanut butter cookies with the fork marks on top.

I like my peanut butter lightly salted and non-hydrogenated. I also prefer organic peanut butter because it’s pesticide free.

Organic peanut butter needn’t be expensive. I chose four and compared them for price, flavour and availability. After the oil settled, the winner was Safeway Organic. Lightly salted, with no bitterness, it didn’t coagulate into a mass that’s forever hard and lifeless, which is nice to find when the craving hits.

MaraNatha peanut butter costs $8.69 for 500 g at Safeway; Safeway O Organics costs $4.69 for 500 g; Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter costs $7.99 for 2 kg at Costco; Nuts To You Organic Peanut Butter costs $7.99 for 500 g at Save-on Foods in North Vancouver.

What to Do with Organic Peanut Butter: Try Thai Peanut Dip

Use as a dip for vegetables (especially crisp-blanched asparagus spears), skewered chicken meat or grilled prawns. Or thin the sauce to use as a dressing for noodles. Yield: About 2 cups

1/2 cup organic peanut butter, either smooth or chunky
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (Japanese Kadoya brand is excellent)
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp Thai hot sauce or Chinese chili sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup yogurt OR coconut milk
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Purée all the ingredients in the food processor or whisk by hand until thoroughly blended. Be careful not to overmix or the mixture will become very thick. Store in the refrigerator up to one week; return to room temperature before using. To thin, add a bit of warm water, yogurt or coconut milk. As the dip ages, the fresh garlic may develop a stronger flavour. Beef or pork skewers are a match for the robust flavour.

Photo: C. Phaisalakani