Peanut Butter: Comparable to Wine

Story by Jake Safane

What’s your favorite way to consume peanut butter? -Katherine

Peanut Butter’s Similarities to Wine

By Jake Safane

When it comes to some plant-derived products like wine, coffee, and chocolate, untold lines have been written describing the flavor nuances of each mouthful. For others, such as peanut butter, hardly anyone seems to think twice about variations, beyond maybe whether there’s additives like sugar.

However, you can often find more subtleties within the peanut butter realm than you may have realized.

For instance, “there are definitely savory notes within some peanut butter,” along with potential flavors like smoke from roasting, and perhaps some bitterness, says Karen Green, a food consultant and an investor in gourmet UK peanut butter brand ManiLife.

Peanut butter flavor begins with which peanuts are used. There are four main types: runner, Spanish, Valencia, and Virginia.

“The runner is the staple of the peanut industry,” says Bob Whitney, organic program specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. “It's generic enough that it can be used in all kinds of foods.”

But generic does not have to equal bland. Many peanut butter brands use runners, saying it has the best flavor.

“It’s optimal for peanut butter in terms of fat content and performance under roasting,” says Stu MacDonald, founder of ManiLife.

Still, some brands use other types for their desired flavors: Valencia is often described as sweet. Beyond the overall peanut type, there are also pricier peanut butters using high-oleic (i.e., high-oil) peanut varieties. Those are good for flavor and shelf life, says Whitney.

The terroir also matters. Like all plants, peanuts are affected by environmental factors like sunshine and moisture, says Aimee McCammon, CEO of Pic’s, a gourmet peanut butter brand from New Zealand.

Pic’s sources peanuts (mainly runner, but occasionally some Virginia) from Australia and Brazil to reach its desired flavor profile, but the taste can still vary based on Mother Nature. So, using tasting notes from its suppliers, Pic’s adjusts roasts.

“Making coffee is a good analogy for peanut butter because you take a raw ingredient, and then the way you roast that ingredient really changes the flavor profile,” says McCammon. Pic’s goes for “a slightly sweet, well-rounded flavor with a touch of caramel.”

The peanut butter grinding process also matters. Crazy Richard’s, a gourmet peanut butter brand in the U.S., double grinds its runner peanuts to create a smooth, oily product. “Most of the flavor in a peanut is from the peanut oil itself. So if you have a lot of oil, then you're going to have a stronger flavor,” says Kimmi Wernli, Crazy Richard’s president and CEO.

Along with this advanced peanut knowledge are growing peanut sales. “Ten years ago, the amount of shelf space in a grocery store that was dedicated to nut butters was way smaller than it is today,” says Wernli.

Still, gourmet peanut butter hasn’t fully matured. People need a “gateway,” says McCammon, an above-average product that delights the palate and opens the mind.

Maybe it’s time for peanut butter sommeliers.

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More Food Reading:

• It is wild that some ice cream companies do this now, this “it’s 14 ounces! It’s a pint!” buffoonery. Looking at you, Häagen-Dazs.

• You can’t make “synthetic” food in Italy.

• SPAM is donating product to Maui. They certainly had to do something.

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This newsletter is edited by Katherine Spiers, host of the podcast Smart Mouth.

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