Keeping natural peanut butter soft?

[mayfair]

Is there a way to keep natural peanut butter from hardening in the fridge? The jar says to keep it refrigerated, but I'm not sure it's necessary. The only ingredients are peanuts and salt, so I thought it would be fine to keep in a cabinet; however, Google has told me that since it lacks preservatives, it will go bad. I'm just so sick of having to

Comments

[bonanzajelybean]

I never fridge mine, and it lasts for weeks/months in the pantry. Maybe this is a bad idea, but I've done it for years without a problem.

[bonanzajelybean]

It just occurred to me, you could fridge the jar but keep a small supply in the cupboard that's soft. The peanut butter will just go back to its soft state after you pull it from the fridge.

[shortsweetcynic]

this. we've done this with both the jarred stuff from the store and fresh-made from the co-op; i'm on my third week with the co-op peanut butter and it's just as tasty as when i got it.

i'd imagine if you left it for months it'd get funky, but you should be fine to just leave it out so it's nice and spready.

[kennapea]

same here. i don't know who keeps peanut butter for months on end, though. it doesn't last that long..

[grrillaesthete]

Take the peanut butter out a little while before you want to use it. Once it warms up, make sure you stir all the oil back in. That should do the trick.

[alison_in_oh]

You've gotta stir thoroughly. This is a regular argument in my house, as my husband feels the oil is just extraneous fat but I hate the non-spreadability of the hardened lumps of peanut goo! I grew up on Adams peanut butter, and there's just no substitute for really seriously stirring before refrigeration. Otherwise you get used to eating it in embedded chunks instead of a smooth layer, which isn't a bad option either. Just keep a chisel handy for getting the chunks out of the jar.

Another option is to buy the no-stir varieties. Maranatha and Adams both make ones with non-hydrogenated saturated vegetable fats to keep everything nicely mixed and spreadable at slightly chilled room temp. They're a little more pricey but if you're honestly throwing peanut butter away weekly it'll pay off fast. Natural peanut butter is crack prices, I can't imagine just throwing it out!

[otana]

Stir it really, really, really well when you first get it (otherwise you end up with cement in the bottom at the end). We always leave ours in the cupboard for months and we've never had any issues.

[polkadotrose]

I do this too with great success. Maybe it isn't sealing well enough and the oil is evaporating? I've only seen that happen when the oil is poured off or it is very old peanut butter (think, oops I forgot this near empty jar 8 months ago and just discovered it cleaning the fridge)!

Maybe it's a brand issue? I've used Maranatha regular AND no-stir creamy, crunchy, almond butter too w/ great results. Others too but I forget the brands.

[polkadotrose]

This meaning take it out ahead of time so it warms up. :) my LJ app is not awesome, sorry!