Don’t Let Natural Peanut Butter Exfoliate and How to Remix It When It Happens
People are very picky about peanut butter. I love the smooth, creamy “bad for you” look that’s filled with sugars and unholy hydrogenated oils. If you want peanut butter to serve as a “healthy food”, a natural material is your best bet. Made from peanuts and sometimes with a small amount of salt, natural peanut butter contains no oils or stabilizers to prevent it from separating. This can cause oil to build up at the top of the can, which is an unattractive but not insurmountable obstacle.
How to store natural peanut butter so that it does not separate
An ounce or prophylaxis is worth a pound of strenuous stirring. The easiest way to keep natural peanut butter spreadable is to store it upside down . The oil, which is lighter than peanut solids, will rise to the bottom of an inverted jar, preventing it from pooling at the top. Turn the jar over and the solids will fall into the oil. Give the jar a quick shake (about 30 seconds) to re-emulsify everything, then distribute as usual. ( Real Simple recommends keeping the jar in the refrigerator to immobilize the oil after re-emulsification. It works, but it makes the nut butter much harder to spread.)
How to Re-Emulsify Natural Peanut Butter
If you (or an untrustworthy family member) forget to store peanut butter “properly”, don’t worry. There are several ways to re-emulsify a nut spread.
If the neck of your peanut butter jar is wide enough to fit an immersion blender, just stick it in there and blend everything together again. Start slowly, gently lowering the blender head into the jar. Using too much force and too high speed can cause oil to splatter.
If your immersion blender is too big for the neck of your jar, you can use a hand mixer . Remove one of the whisks from the mixer, insert the remaining whisk into the jar and, holding the jar firmly , mix on medium speed. When the peanut butter is smooth, remove the whisk and spread as usual.