Peanut butter is one of the most popular spreads in the United States, and hardly any kids don’t love peanut butter sandwiches. It is actually quite a healthy food, as nuts are naturally very high in minerals and the natural oils contain nutrients that are difficult to obtain otherwise. If you enjoy eating it, and are currently buying it from the shops, maybe you should try making your own. It is not only cheaper, but is also healthier – and if you have kids then they will love watching hard nuts turn into a creamy spread.

To make peanut butter you need peanuts and you need a machine to crush the peanuts with. A food processor, blender, stick mixer, or even a juicer machine can do the job. If you have a juicer, make sure it is OK to use – it needs to be one of the slow speed masticating type of juicer machine that has a slow turning auger and crushes fruits or veggies.

You can crush the nuts raw or toast them very lightly if you want. To toast them, put them in thin layer on baking tray and put in the oven at a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes – only enough to make them a tiny bit crispy. Then crush them. If you like smooth butter you need to process quite well, often stopping and stirring to mix in the chunks that will get stuck around the edges of the bowl you are using. If your product seems a bit dry and crumbly, don’t worry, you just need to do what commercial processors do and add a little bit of oil. Add a drizzle of any vegetable oil while you process, and you will get a nice, buttery texture every time.

To avoid damage it is imperative that you check whether your machine is in fact suitable – the owners manual will tell you! If you do break something always first check if you can get it fixed on warranty. If not, you will need to find the best deal on replacement juicer parts. This is always online – you cut out the costs associated with retail and the premium manufacturers like to charge.

Tagged with: • • • • •

Filed under: Featured

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!