Like most people, my personal nut butter odyssey began in childhood with the frequent appearance of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my lunchbox. I never grew tired of them. Whenever my mother prepared something I didn’t like for dinner, I always requested one. My love of peanut butter soon extended to sweets, with peanut butter cookies and those decadent chocolate-peanut butter cups topping my list of favorite confections.
Unfortunately, the calorie counting and fat-gram monitoring of adulthood banished my beloved spread to the shelf for a time. As I learned more about international cuisines, however, I discovered that peanut butter is used as a cooking ingredient throughout the world. I soon began looking at my old friend in a new light and realized that because the flavor of peanut butter is so intense, a little goes a long way. Just a small amount is needed to enliven sauces, soups, and other savory dishes.
Around the same time, a wonderful thing happened: medical science revealed that there are “good” fats and “bad” fats. Nut butters were on the list of “good,” or monounsaturated, fats. Unlike saturated fats, which can clog the arteries and lead to high cholesterol and heart disease, monounsaturated fats were found to actually help lower cholesterol and improve heart function.
Since then, something equally wonderful has happened: an abundance of delicious, non-peanut, nut and seed butters have become available. This convinced me that a new book on nut and seed butters was in order. I wanted to include all of peanut butter’s creamy and delicious friends – the fabulous butters made from almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, chestnuts, and macadamia nuts, as well as sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and others.
Peanut butter was first developed in the United States in the 1890s as a high-protein health food. The original patent for peanut butter was given to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the Kellogg’s cereal magnate) who initially developed peanut butter as a protein alternative for his patients.
Peanut butter was first introduced to the American public in St. Louis at the 1904 World’s Fair, where over $700 worth of it was sold at a penny per sample. Peanut butter has been a favorite kitchen staple in American homes ever since. Commercial production of peanut butter began in earnest in 1908, but the early products had a gritty texture and spoiled easily. That soon changed. In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield found a way to prevent the oil from separating, and he received the first patent for a shelf-stable peanut butter that stayed fresh for up to a year. Today, of the peanuts grown in the U.S., nearly half are used to make peanut butter. The Jif brand alone is produced at the rate of 250,000 jars per day in the world’s largest peanut butter plant in Lexington, Kentucky.
During the twentieth century, peanut butter was used mainly for sandwiches and confections. These days, however, many health-conscious Americans have rediscovered peanut butter as an easy and delicious way to add protein-rich flavor to their meals and a great way to include more “good” fat in their diets.
Some people might dismiss peanut butter as “kid’s stuff,” but virtually everyone has a jar on hand to appease the child within – whether to make the iconic sandwich or perhaps indulge in one of life’s guilty pleasures: dipping a spoon (or finger) directly into the jar at midnight. Peanut butter is convenient and inexpensive, and a nutritional powerhouse rich in protein, fiber, niacin, magnesium, and B vitamins. No wonder peanut butter is America’s favorite comfort food! The fact is, we consume nearly 800 million pounds of the creamy spread each year.
Parents turn to peanut butter to nourish fussy kids. Young people and families alike crave it as a delicious and economical protein source, as do the millions of vegans and other health-conscious people. Whether enjoyed as a snack, as part of a meal, or dessert, Americans have a love affair with peanut butter!
“All natural” peanut butter is now commercially available. It is made only from 100 percent peanuts, while “regular,” emulsified peanut butter contains added ingredients. The addition of hydrogenated vegetable oil acts as a stabilizer to prevent the oil in the peanut butter from separating, and it gives peanut butter its spreadable consistency. Because hydrogenated oil should be avoided, make every effort to choose a commercial peanut butter that is all natural. Natural or “old-fashioned” style peanut butter contains no stabilizers and often does not contain added sweeteners or salt, and the peanuts used are usually organic. Natural-style peanut butter has a coarser texture and deeper flavor than the commercial brands of regular peanut butter.
Centuries before peanut butter made its first public appearance at the St. Louis World’s Fair, it was a staple for the people of Asia, Africa, and South America, who continue to use it in soups, stews, sauces, salads, and main dishes. In fact, over 90 percent of the world’s peanuts are grown in Africa and Asia. Peanuts were known as early as 950 BC and originated in South America. The ancient Incas used peanuts, and they are known to have made it into a paste-like substance. As a crop, peanuts emigrated from South America to Africa by early explorers and then traveled by trade into Spain and subsequently to the American colonies.
The use of nut butters remains common in many countries throughout the world, from the peanut sauces of Thailand to the peanut stews of Africa, as well as sesame dressings of Japan and almond sauces of Spain. In Morocco, almond butter (or “paste”) is used to make pastry fillings and other desserts, including a sweet spread known as amlou, made with honey and argan oil. Moroccans also combine almond paste with anise, cinnamon, fennel, sesame seeds, oil, honey, and flour to make a sweet and nutritious snack called sellou.
Lucky for us in North America, in addition to our beloved peanutty spread, we now have available a wide variety of other nut butters, including almond butter, cashew butter, and seed butters, made with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Soy nut butter, made from roasted soybeans, is also available. Sesame butters, in the form of tahini and Chinese sesame paste, are also popular in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Both sunflower seed butter and soy nut butter are good options for those with peanut or other nut allergies.
We can also find a variety of specialty nut butters, including those that have jelly, chocolate, or flavorings blended right in the jar. In terms of freshness and flavor, however, nothing beats freshly ground nut butters. It is simple to make your own nut butter at home in a high-speed blender or food processor. Recipes for homemade nut butters can be found here.
Nut butters are an excellent source of protein, and they are rich in fiber, vitamins, and essential fatty acids. They are also high in fat, but the fats are mostly unsaturated. Recent medical findings extol the benefits of monounsaturated fats, such as those found in avocados and nut butters. Among other things, these “good” fats have been shown to help reduce high cholesterol, and, because they are low on the glycemic index, nut butters can help control weight gain and diabetes.
In addition to being rich in protein, nut butters are also excellent sources for B-complex vitamins as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron, making them ideal choices for quality protein and “good” fat. Studies have shown that regularly eating foods rich in unsaturated fat (such as nut butters) can actually help lower blood cholesterol levels. Nut butters are also naturally cholesterol-free.
Because the recipes in this book are free of all animal products, they are accessible not only to vegans but to those who are lactose-intolerant or need to limit their intake of cholesterol and saturated fat. Another thing to keep in mind is that the “per serving” amount of nut butter in most recipes is quite low, so even though many of the recipes may taste decadently rich, they are actually quite healthful.
In addition to being rich in fatty acids, fiber, and phytosterols (Chart 1), nuts are also good sources of protein, calcium, and potassium, and other nutrients (see Chart 2).
There are many cases in which particular nuts shine with regard to specific nutrients. For example, Brazil nuts are the highest food source for the essential mineral selenium; sunflower seeds are rich in vitamin E; and cashews are high in iron.
For more detailed information about the many health benefits of nut butters, be sure to read the Foreword by best-selling author Julieanna Hever aka the “Plant-Based Dietitian.”
A variety of nut butters can be found in natural food stores, well-stocked supermarkets, and from several online sources. Natural-style nut butters contain no additives and need to be kept refrigerated to prevent rancidity.
When kept in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator, nut butters will keep for several months. Natural nut butters are unprocessed, and the oil and solids sometimes separate in the jar. Just stir them back together before use. Since natural nut butters become stiff when chilled, bring them to room temperature for a few minutes before use to improve spreadability.
It is estimated that three million Americans are allergic to peanuts and other nuts. The good news for those afflicted is that the different varieties of nut butters are interchangeable in most of the recipes in this book. If you or someone you cook for are allergic to peanuts (but not other nuts), simply substitute another variety of nut butter for peanut butter in the recipes.
Likewise, if you have sensitivity to another nut (or simply prefer certain nuts over others) feel free to use whatever nut butter you prefer in any of the recipes in this book. Typically, sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter are delicious alternatives to nut butters for those who have allergies.
For convenience, you can use commercial nut butters in any of the recipes in this book. Homemade nut butters, however, are superior in flavor and can be more economical. In addition, most commercial nut butters (other than peanut butter) can be expensive and more difficult to find. It may, therefore, prove more economical (and flavorful) to make your own. Just be sure to make them in small batches, as fresh-ground nut butter is more perishable than commercial varieties.
It bears repeating that homemade butters should also be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container (a small wide-mouth jar with a tight-fitting lid is perfect) where they will keep for up to a month. For easier spreading, nut butters should be brought to room temperature before using them in a recipe.
Generally, there is a 2-to-1 ratio of nuts used to the nut butter yield (for example, 1 cup of nuts makes approximately 1/2 cup of nut butter).
Making your own nut butters at home is as simple as grinding nuts in a food processor until they form a paste. Grinding your own nut butters can actually be a gratifying experience. The results taste fresh and delicious and can be more economical than buying commercial nut butters. On the next page is a basic recipe for homemade nut butter made in a food processor. Nut butters can also be made in a blender, but they can be more difficult to manage because it takes more effort to keep scraping them down from the sides and bottom of a blender than it does in a food processor.
The choice to roast nuts used for making nut butter is a matter of personal preference. Raw foodists wouldn’t consider it, but some nuts, such as walnuts, can be bitter when raw, and the roasting process removes any bitterness. Roasted nuts add more depth of flavor to nut butters. To me, roasted nut butters taste like an intense, creamy version of the nut from which it was made.
To roast nuts, preheat the oven to 375° F. Spread the raw nuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring a couple of times to prevent burning. They should be fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate or shallow bowl to cool.
Roasted nut butter can take up to 12 to 15 minutes to make in a food processor, depending on the nut. A small amount of oil, such as coconut oil or neutral vegetable oil, may be added when making butter using harder, drier, or older nuts.