Oh man, this one is easy. I’ve decided to stop purchasing peanut butter because it’s so easy to make it at home. In fact, don’t limit yourself to peanuts! Any number/combination/ratio of nuts can be ground into butter. All you need is: the requisite nuts, some additional oil, salt, an optional sweetener (I prefer to use honey), a method to pulverize all of this together, and a storage container. It is of medium importance that the nuts are removed of any skin, which may require blanching. Using roasted nuts also helps boost the overall tastiness of the finished product.
My method is derived from Alton Brown’s method, which is published here. Basically, you are dumping ~1 cup of your preferred blend of nuts, salt to taste (maybe a teaspoon or so), oil, and the optional sweetener into a food processor and letting it rip. Start by adding just the nuts. One of the more satisfying parts of making your own nut butter is watching the nuts transform from whole entities into chopped nuts, then into a coarse paste, and then even further into semi-liquid form. After a minute or so of processing the nuts, add the salt and drizzle in some oil. From there, it’s time to improvise. Add some sweetener and pulse. Taste, drizzle in more oil for desired creaminess, add more sweetener or salt if necessary, and repeat. If you want a chunky nut butter, add some whole nuts at the end and process to your desired consistency. Once you’re there, just scrape into your designated storage container. It’s that easy! It’s delicious! Here’s some peanut and hazelnut butter I made recently, in a fancy-lad Weck jar.
If you don’t have a food processor, you could probably use a big-ass mortar and pestle, or pulverize your nuts in a plastic bag with a rolling pin (yikes!), or just order one to your house from the internet. Get one, they’re useful!
Happy quarant-or-otherwise eating!
I love peanut butter but it never crossed my mind to make my own. Honey and extra salt! Yum.
I would like to have a food processor, but there is literally no place for us to keep it, and Mrs. Butcher keeps adding things to the kitchen when there is no place to put them.
Mine is in the garage. So many times I want to use it but can’t be bothered to dig it out. I need to start pitching stuff on my kitchen out so I can move it back. And make my own peanut butter! Which in my opinion is the perfect food.
There is nothing better than freshly ground PB. When I lived in NM, there was a co-op that had a peanut grinder. Needless to say, I was a regular customer.
I’ve seen them in a couple of stores but worry about cleanliness. I won’t use hotel room coffee makers either. I know, they’re probably fine but….
I mean… if superfluous kitchen equipment keeps showing up anyway… For those concerned about space, food processors come in a variety of sizes and capacities. For making a few cups of nut butter, a smaller one might be more practical. They’re also great for pesto. Stick/immersion blenders can also be found with small food processor attachments, which could potentially replace two larger countertop appliances to save space!
I do have an immersion blender. Food processor attachment going on my Christmas list!
Guh, yum. Have been addicted to PB since a child.