Eating healthy on a budget.

[Kaido]

For many years I made my own peanut butter from raw peanuts I bought in Chinatown, Oakland for about $1/lb. I'd roast them in the oven on a cookie sheet and after cool put them in my blender. But it's tough on a blender (burned out several making nut butters), and even if you have a high powered blender that can handle it, the cleanup is messy! Nowadays I don't bother, I just buy ready made and endure the stirring... just way simpler and the PNB is yummy!

I'm gonna have to try that roasting trick!

FWIW, don't use a blender, use a food processor. Partly because of the bowl shape & blade design, and partly because it just takes a lot of time to go through the processing stages to turn into a smooth, creamy butter. I mostly only do it for non-peanut nuts though, like cashews: (primarily due to the expense of stuff like cashew butter, plus it literally tastes twice as good homemade)

https://thehealthyfoodie.com/cashew-nut-butter/

Because I'm sadly addicted to JIF lol

 

[Kaido]

I usually buy a few jars a ahead, and turn them upside down while storing them. This moves the solid plug that is usually stuck to the bottom of the jar to the top of the jar, making it MUCH easier to get a decent mix when you first open it. Then you put it in the fridge and it stays mixed. If I just open and stir right away, that hard mass stays stuck on the bottom, and sucks when you get down to it at the end of the jar.

How do you spread it from the fridge? If I'm making something like a PB&J sandwich, the cold nut butter usually ends up tearing the bread

 

[PeterScott]

How do you spread it from the fridge? If I'm making something like a PB&J sandwich, the cold nut butter usually ends up tearing the bread

I find the it varies from jar to jar, but if you get a really good mix, it usually stays soft and spreadable in the fridge, if you use it regularly.

If you leave it untouched a week in the fridge, it can harden. I have 3 jars in the fridge since I bought some on sale. The jar on the go is soft and I stir it a bit each time I get some, but when I finish that one, chances are the other jars will have hardened. Then I just leave out for an hour or two and give it a stir, then that jar will be fine as long as you use it regularly.

Though I am not trying to spread on super soft bread. I usually apply it directly to a banana, or home made flax biscuits that are kind of dense.

 

[Muse]

I'm gonna have to try that roasting trick!

FWIW, don't use a blender, use a food processor. Partly because of the bowl shape & blade design, and partly because it just takes a lot of time to go through the processing stages to turn into a smooth, creamy butter. I mostly only do it for non-peanut nuts though, like cashews: (primarily due to the expense of stuff like cashew butter, plus it literally tastes twice as good homemade)

https://thehealthyfoodie.com/cashew-nut-butter/

Because I'm sadly addicted to JIF lol

I have an old aluminum cookie sheet that's quite big. It has vertical raised edges on 3 sides (all but one of the short sides). I put as many nuts as will fit without stacking any and roast at around 350F for maybe 25 minutes. You don't want to decidedly burn your nuts but you want a definite roasted taste. Your sense of smell will help and experience. Personal preference plays a role in this.

95% of my roasted nut butter experience is with peanuts (Valencia's), but I have made cashew and almond butter too, the former in roasted and raw fashion, the latter always roasted (I have roasted a lot of almonds!).

If I were to do it today, I would start with a cold oven with the nuts inside already. It adds some to the in-oven time, but uses less gas all in all and probably saves some time too. You can even turn off your oven and leave the nuts in there at least until the oven cools to, say, 200-250F.

Pull the sheet out carefully not to spill any nuts, let cool before putting into your blender or whatever. The process of grinding adds heat, you don't want it too hot, really, especially if there's a danger of damaging your device's motor. I add some salt (less than most people would) while grinding.