A recipe for homemade peanut butter

My husband described this newsletter as "meandering."

I love peanut butter. I eat it by the secret spoonful. I leave the evidence, the mostly licked-off spoons, at the edge of the kitchen sink, driving my husband mad. 

In college, I lived off the same packed lunch: a peanut butter (no jam) sandwich and a banana. I brought it to school and to the shitty internship I had, which I walked to for some reason, 45 minutes one way. The bread was store-bought, whole wheat, dry, and disappointing. The peanut butter, though, was good; the natural kind.

Like most discerning mothers, mine didn’t buy sugary cereals or smooth, name-brand vegetable oil-emulsified peanut butter. We were an Adams family, the all-natural two-pound jar from Fred Meyer, which we stored in the fridge. I resented the stirring chore of a new jar and the eventual dry bits at the bottom. I remember youthful jealousy of the brands with TV commercials and bright, mid-century-ish packaging. Yet by the time I bought my own groceries, the emulsified, highly processed muck held no allure. I was all-natural, all the way. 

Alicia Kennedy has already written the seminal piece on the ethical limitations of palm and soybean oil-emulsified peanut butter, so I won’t bother. I didn’t need convincing, the natural kind is better. However, I will say the ultra-processed nostalgia so many of us have—the perplexing urge to defend junk food even though it contradicts our espoused beliefs and, if we will admit it, tastes like the plastic it comes in—is ultimately just a poor simulacrum for childhood. I am not free from this nostalgia. I still dream of congealed American cheese on a fast food cheeseburger. 

I now make peanut butter. To be clear, there are more impactful things to make from scratch than peanut butter: for instance yogurt, or bread, pizza, or refried beans. If you like the natural kind, there are options at mainstream grocery stores that miraculously contain just what they should: peanuts and salt. 

I’ll be honest: I wouldn’t bother making peanut butter if I didn’t have a dishwasher. The natural oils are a nightmare to clean…. I realize I am not making a great case for this at-home method, but here are a few: Homemade peanut butter tastes better than store-bought, you avoid packaging (even if glass), and…. Get this, you never have to stir.

Below, you’ll find another barely-a-recipe recipe in the From Scratch Pantry series.

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Homemade Peanut Butter

I’ve tried both nuts.com and nutstop.com for peanuts. I was happy with the taste, value, and minimal packaging from nutstop.com, plus they came unroasted. Of course, you can buy roasted peanuts, but freshly roasted ones taste better. (Please let me know if you know of a bulk, packaging-free resource in NYC for unroasted raw peanuts!)

Peanuts can go rancid with time, so I store the 10-pound bag in freezer bags in the fridge or freezer. 

Ingredients:

• 450 grams (3 cups) of blanched raw peanuts 

• 1/4 tsp sea salt (or ½ tsp kosher salt)

Required Tools:

• Food processor 

Instructions:

1. Roast the peanuts in a lipped sheet pan in a 350F oven for 30 to 45 minutes until the white peanuts become a deep golden brown. Taste a few to see if they are roasted to your liking, but be cautious not to burn. 

2. Once the peanuts cool, transfer them to a food processor, add the salt, and begin processing. This will take anywhere from 3 to 4 minutes. If the motor gets overheated, take a break halfway through. Be patient and process until the peanuts are smooth—the texture will transform from grainy to doughy to finally smooth and glossy. It’s a sight to behold.  

3. Transfer to an airtight jar with a lid. 

The peanut butter will last up to one month at room temperature and even longer in the fridge. 

Notes:

• “Blanched” means the skins have been shucked.