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Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Mopinions@theotherpress.ca

Flavour feud

» Peanut butter: smooth

(¥ The importance of being honest
¥ O'it’s not a big deal’ Canada

(Y The grand parade of lifeless packaging

And more!

Peanut butter is one of the staples of the snacking and easy sandwich world. Along with frozen waffles and instant noodles, it’s a mainstay in students’ food arsenals. But with so many
to choose from, how’s one to know which protein boost will go down easiest? Sure, you may be the betting type, but in this case, you just genuinely want the spread. So, without further
ado, Flavour Feud this week presents the peanut butter edition. To keep things even, we’ve restricted the choices to smooth PBs and made exclusive use of Wonder Bread as our neutral

pairing. Now stop deciding which cup you're going to use and pour the milk already.

Eric Wilkins
Assistant Editor

“a M assistant
Hi |, @theotherpress.ca
I raft Smooth (retail price $4.57/500g):

This has always been my grandparents’
go-to PB. If I wanted a sandwich, I knew
that modestly designed green label with
a teddy bear or two on it would be staring
back at me momentarily. The product itself
is much like the label. No muss, no fuss;
doesn’t try to do anything fancy. You take
a hefty chomp out of your simple combo
and you know it’s a solid PB. Kraft is your
second-line centre. It may not be the top
dog, but it’s more than capable of carrying
the load and with some star power to boot.

Skippy Natural Smooth (retail price
$4.97/500g): Until this article, ’d never
had a jar of Skippy in my life. I did know,
however, that the logo bore their iconic
squirrel. And for that reason, I'd always
felt in the back of my quality-advertising-
driven mind I would grab Skippy’s if I ever
felt I needed to make a switch. That day has
never come, but the opportunity to grab it
has, and lo and behold when it did, I was
horribly disappointed. The one reason: that
delightful cartoon squirrel wasn’t upon
the label; in its place was a messy collage
of branding and cartoon peanut butter,
as if consumers weren't already blatantly
aware of what they're purchasing. It was
like showing up to a pre-2005 Falcons game
with Michael Vick not playing. Sure, it’s
still peanut butter, but now its main draw
isn’t there. To make matters worse, my
childhood hopes for the brand were further
shattered when my mouthful revealed
Skippy to be nothing more than another
mediocre PB. It has slightly less buttery
texture than Kraft. Not that different to
be honest, but enough of a step down to
notice.

Planters Smooth (retail price
$3.47/500g): Planters is a fairly new player

on the market, coming out in 201. It should :
: buttery. A very disappointing

: product trying to compete ina
: niche already dominated bya

: brand that’s got it down pat.

come as a shock to all that it took the
peanut giant that long though, seeing as

it was a match seemingly made in heaven.
That in mind, it would have been quite easy
for the company to fail to meet the high
expectations set by PB lovers everywhere.
Fortunately for Planters, they met those
expectations. It’s a richer peanut butter, but
without being overbearingly so. It’s a tad
thicker but it washes down easily with the
standard beverage pairing of milk.

Adams Creamy (retail price
$4.97/500g): I grew up primarily on Adam’s
Crunchy, so naturally, I felt this could be
the one for me right from the start. I wasn't
wrong. Adam’s is the only true natural

: a true challenge discerning the

: different tastes initially, by the

: end of it, my stomach knew what

: it wanted: Adam’s. The natural PB

: brand just brings something unique

: to the table, and that uniqueness is

: of the good variety. Planters draws a

: close second, with Kraft in the middle,
: Skippy fourth, and Great Value bringing up
: the rear.

: peanut butter in this lineup and it makes

: fora distinctly different experience. Ninety-
: nine per cent peanuts with no added sugar,
: colour, or preservatives, zero trans fats.

: And then that gorgeous thick layer of oil

: that lets you know you've got the real deal

: on your hands. My mother always used to

: turn the jar over to deal with the oil but I’ve
: been a fan of mixing it in myself; there’s

: something deliciously enjoyable about

: watching the PB change before your eyes.

: It’s like cooking for those who have no

: cooking ability. Getting back to the peanut
: butter itself, it’s a fantastic gooey mess.

: Despite the initial oily topping, it mixes

: surprisingly well for an excellent texture. It
: tastes like a quality peanut butter and each
: bite was left wanting only by the fact that

: the consumption of this nutty goodness

: had to temporarily be halted as the previous
: scarfing was downed.

Great Value Smooth (retail price

: $2.97/5o0g): I feel the need to state here

: that none of these are bad choices. That said,
: to my exceptionally refined peanut butter

: palate, Great Value (Wal-Mart’s brand)

: comes up short against the competition.

: It’s good, not great. Tasty, but not exactly

: leaving you lusting after more. There’s a bit

: of a frosting feel to Great Value and it comes
: off a bit cheap.

Kraft Peanut Butter with Chocolate

: (retail price $4.57/ 500g): This selection

: really has no business being here. It’s not
: really a peanut butter. You're not

: going to amble down the

: aisle looking for
: nutty brown

: goodness

: and pick up

: this little

: number. PB

: with chocolate
is Kraft trying

: to be Nutella. And ina
: contest to see which product is
: more like Nutella, Nutella will
: obviously take the punch. Not

a

that chocolatey, not that peanut

Verdict: Although it was

    

 

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
© opinions
@theotherpress.ca

kK" Smooth: Everybody loves those
two cuddly bears on the packaging;
we've grown up with it after all. In almost
every household there is Kraft Peanut
Butter, an easy-to-get, mediocre option.
Peanut butter is hard to differentiate.
They’re all good. But I fear this taste test
may have inspired me to migrate away
from it as the go-to choice. Kraft, in fact,
sets a pretty low bar.

Skippy Natural Smooth: Terrific
consistency, but lacklustre taste. Often
recognized as a big player in the mid-tier
of the peanut butter, it’s surprising to see
that the price is as high as it is. Skippy is
an apt choice for those who want a nice
feeling of peanut butter as it melts in
their mouth, but it’s hard to consider ita
first choice.

Planters Smooth: Not surprising
that a brand known for its peanuts would
in fact do peanut butter so well. What is
surprising was that it existed at all. Not
easy to find, but worth looking
for, Planters’

   
    
  
  

: authentic peanut taste and savoury
: consistency makes it a worthy and
: noticeable contender.

Adams Creamy: Highly touted, but

: often messy, Adams doesn’t win the battle
: with flavour, but with an experience. The
: 100 per cent natural selection is anything
: but hoity-toity. The peanut butter

: does not stick in your mouth, it lingers

: allowing the subtle taste to fade on your

: tongue.

Great Value Smooth: If you are in

Wal-Mart, with a budget, looking for

: peanut butter, don’t hesitate to get the

: Great Value. Indeed, it is. For a fraction of
: the other peanut butter choices, you are

: getting an unpredictably delightful taste

: of peanut butter that goes down as easily

: as many of the other selections.

Kraft Peanut Butter with

: Chocolate: The wild card, Kraft Peanut
: Butter with Chocolate is as much peanut
: butter as Nutella is peanut butter. For

: those who like to jump around
: with spread, Kraft

: Peanut Butter with

: Chocolate is

a

worth trying—however, it is not
peanut butter. The taste is not
as sweet as peanut butter and
fainter than Nutella. If you are
yearning for a chocolate spread,
it really is a one horse race—but
that is for another Flavour Feud.
Verdict: This was one of the
toughest taste tests of my life.
You literally cannot go wrong
picking a peanut butter. There
is good and there is great,
sure, but in the grand
scheme of things, they’re
all great. As you know,
many elements that go into
peanut butter; a lot of the
preference has to do with
personal taste. For me it
all comes down to flavours,
the taste of peanuts. So the
winner is Planters.

Photo from Thinkstock