I grew up on Adams (well, for the first several years of life, we had peanut butter ground at the natural food store (my parents were also into carob), but after that, Adams). I don’t eat much peanut butter, but I definitely don’t eat the non-natural stuff.
If it isn’t stirred well, the top of the jar will end up soupy and the bottom will end up dry - so my guess is that you’ve got to stir it better.
That’s true. You also need a supply of peanuts. We get ours in Georgia when we visit relatives. But, they aren’t hard to find in bulk.
The poster above mentioned getting it ground fresh at a natural foods store. You’d be surprised how much more flavorful it is fresh.
And a dishwasher. I haven’t made peanut butter, but I did make tahini once and it took forever to clean out the blender without a dishwasher.
I like the Smart Balance peanut butter. It isn’t so blah and grainy as natural peanut butter, and it stays mixed, and it’s a little sweet. The ingredients are: Peanuts, natural oil blend (flaxseed and palm fruit oils) molasses, salt. Has 1000 mg of omega-3s per serving. I’ve tried a couple of brands of natural peanut butters, and it’s just too much of a pain with all the stirring, and I don’t like the taste.
The only peanut butter I eat is the kind that’s just peanuts and salt, usually Smucker’s. Some of the “natural” peanut butters also have sugar or molasses . . . which of course are natural, but why do I need sugar in my peanut butter?
Tip: As soon as you buy it, even before you open it, put the jar away upside down. All the oil that’s worked its way to the top is now gradually working back, and will (ideally) be in just the right place when you do open it.
That’s part of it, but natural PB makes for bad cooking. Most chefs I’ve talked to wouldn’t dream of baking with it.