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As has been previously noted by CHOW, "natural" peanut butter (just peanuts and maybe some salt, no other additives) is just filled with flaws. It's gritty. It's hard to spread. It separates into dry peanut mash topped with a slick of oil that's messy and a pain to stir in.
Cook's Illustrated has taken up the matter of separating spreads in a story in their March/April 2011 issue, "The Reinvention of Peanut Butter" (only part of the article is reprinted online).
Turns out that the problem is an old one: "The earliest mass-produced peanut butters didn't contain any added fat," writes Diana Burrell. "But just like the single-ingredient peanut butters manufactured today (and the ones you can grind yourself at the supermarket), their texture was so stiff from the inevitable separation of oil from the ground-up nuts that grocers received the spread in tubs with instructions to stir frequently with a wooden paddle."
A chemist named Joseph L. Rosefield cracked the separation problem in 1922 by replacing some of the naturally occurring peanut oil, which is liquid at room temperature, with hydrogenated fat, which is solid at room temp. Thus a more stable spread, which unfortunately has the side effect of not being nearly as healthy as just peanuts. Indeed, as Cook's Illustrated points out, many of the spreads now labeled "natural" on grocery shelves contain additives like molasses (not a big deal), sweeteners (not so great), and palm oil (loaded with saturated fat, not popular with environmentalists).
Putting aside matters of health, Cook's Illustrated eventually rated Skippy Peanut Butter as the top of the heap for creamy varieties. It contains hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is not the dietary demon known as partially hydrogenated oil (trans fats!), but it's still not great. The best crunchy butter was JIF Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter Spread. Notice the "spread." That means it's more than 55 percent fat, and less than 90 percent peanuts. And it has palm oil.
With all that in mind, my household is going to stick to the peanuts-and-salt varieties, stirring be damned. By a weird coincidence, I happen to have three bare-bones varieties of peanut butter in the house right now: Whole Foods' 365 Organic Everyday Value, Adams (made by Smucker's), and Trader Joe's Crunchy. A taste test by our family of three found us in agreement: 365 is gritty and stiff; Adams is runny; Trader Joe's is decently spreadable, tastes the most like fresh peanuts, and was our favorite.
Image source: Flickr member Robert Banh under Creative Commons
I put my peanut butter in a bag and knead it before spreading. The "jar" of peanut butter has been defeated in my home. Kneading it allows you to avoid the problem of too hard, and allows you to mix it all together easily without making it a hassle.
Do I need to patent this? because justins only does it in single serving quantities - we need a larger one. cmon.
warm it up and then stir it.
You need to try the Texas brand: Central Market brand, natural peanut butter..it is terrific, needs minimal stirring and comes in organic variety as well...stays smooth, does not need refrigeration.
I grind mine at a health food store called Big Carrot in Toronto. The only peanut butter we eat. When it comes to the bottom of the container it becomes stiff and difficult to spread. Haven't bought any other for years and years. Commercially prepared peanut butter simply has too many things that should not be eaten.
Upside-down is good. Sideways is even better.
Store the sealed, unopened jar on its side. When you open the jar, the trapped air-space extends down the side of the jar, allowing for much easier stirring.
I agree with Cook's on this one, even though the company is a joke.
Those brands with added oil are yucky. We love Laura Scudders with nothing added at all. You can stir it to blend, or if cold, stick it in the the micro for a few seconds fist
Store natural peanut butter upside down several days before opening. Stir well. Refrigerate after opening. Oil will not seperate much, if at all. If you use it very infrequently you may wish to refrigerate upside down, but I find this unnecessary.
I don't have a problem spreading peanut butter that I grind at the grocery store. i just love the fact that it has no preservatives and love it's natural sweetness. I also spread it on slices of apple or pear, instead of using crackers. It is healthy as well as delicious.
Hmm, that's odd. Skippy Natural Creamy peanut butter (in brown container) is WAY better than Skippy Creamy (in blue container) in my opinion. The regular version (hydrogenated veggie oil) is too oily in my opnion. The "Natural" version contains Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Palm Oil, and Salt. It is still creamy and spreadable but not as oily.
Palm / coconut oil is naturally saturated (like butter,...+READ
Hmm, that's odd. Skippy Natural Creamy peanut butter (in brown container) is WAY better than Skippy Creamy (in blue container) in my opinion. The regular version (hydrogenated veggie oil) is too oily in my opnion. The "Natural" version contains Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Palm Oil, and Salt. It is still creamy and spreadable but not as oily.
Palm / coconut oil is naturally saturated (like butter, lard), and is very good for you. Of course, sustainably harvested, expeller pressed virgin oil is the best, but I doubt that is what Skippy and other processed foods contain. It's still much healthier than hydrogenated veggie oils, simply because all those oils (soy, corn, canola) are made from GMO crops and processed with lots of chemicals and heat processes which are each toxic in their own right, nevermind when all those variables are combined. The "Sugar" in the Skippy is what scares me, because it does not specify Cane vs. Beet sugar, and in the US over 90% of beet sugar is made from GMO beets (not so in Europe).
Right now Skippy Natural is the worst thing I consume (processed / GMO foods scare the heck out of me), but I'm going to check out Trader Joe's version because all their products are GMO-free.-COLLAPSE
TJ's crunchy!
Also, this product makes stirring natural peanut butters much easier and thorough:
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001674.php
I really love Naturally More peanut butter - it contains peanuts, salt, flax seed, flax seed oil, and egg whites. Once you get it mixed well, it becomes a creamy spread that is super healthy and tastes excellent.
I store the jar upside down in the pantry, and after opening, in the refrigerator.
The oil rises to the bottom and stays there unless I need to mix a little in to make it more workable.
We like the flavor of the TJ's crunchy but find it a little too runny. Our top choice is Teddie Super Crunch. It has the same dark roasted peanut flavor but more body and is really loaded with chunks of peanuts.
It appears that what's needed is a way of homogenizing the PB without using hydrogenated fats. Seaweed, maybe? I'd go for it.
Echoing LMP2010, I go one further: when I first get it home, I put it in the food processor to combine and then the fridge.
I've been advised to store it upside down between uses. But I got sick of the PB Maintenance and went back to commercial brands.
We love both TJs and 365, though I think 365 is easier to spread and, unlike almost anything else at Whole Foods, is actual cheaper because they sell it in the big jar. Once you switch to natural PB, anything else tastes like it should be dessert.
Stir it really well the first time you open it then refrigerate it and it doesn't separate. I also like the Trader Joe's PB.
The trick to natural peanut butter is stirring it thoroughly when you first open it, before refrigerating. Then store it in the fridge. It will never re-separate. It's also worth getting a higher-end creamy PB made with Valencia peanuts. It will taste sweeter and stay creamy.
I don't mind the gritty texture if anything that makes it more appealing. That means it real to me. The creamy peanut butters with the hydrogenated fats taste like they are fake, too smooth too unreal.
If it's "freshly ground" it doesn't separate for quite some time.
A FAR superior product IMO.
When I know I'm going to need a new jar soon, I crack one open, stick a knife in and make a path to the bottom. Then I turn it over and let it sit for a day or two. When it's time to stir, I'm stirring the oil up from the bottom, a far simpler operation than stirring it in from the top.
I like the flavor and the texture of natural peanut butter. I buy the Costco brand. My solution to the stirring is to pour the separated oil off the top and save it in a separate container. I stir what is left into just the top of the peanut butter in the jar, then add more oil when I use up the easily spreadable part on top. It solves the problem of trying to stir an already-full jar and I find...+READ
I like the flavor and the texture of natural peanut butter. I buy the Costco brand. My solution to the stirring is to pour the separated oil off the top and save it in a separate container. I stir what is left into just the top of the peanut butter in the jar, then add more oil when I use up the easily spreadable part on top. It solves the problem of trying to stir an already-full jar and I find that I never use all of the oil by the time I finish off the jar, so I figure I have made the peanut butter just a little lower-fat and I have peanut oil to use in recipes that call for it (I'd never bought it before).-COLLAPSE
Crazy Richard's Chunky. One ingredient: peanuts. Separation be damned.
I grind it fresh (no salt peanuts) at Whole Foods and mine never separates and it very smooth and spreadable.
They could not have tried Maranatha peanut butter which is creamy and smooth, easy to spread, even the chunky version. It's far better than Skippy or Jif. Other all natural ones, I keep upside down and that works fine, too.
Agreed. Made my own butters for years now. I grow my own peanuts too. It's a satisfactory feeling knowing you did it yourself, and you know exactly what you're eating. Now if I only had my own nut trees..
:)
Smucker's Natural Creamy is delicious, spreadable and real-tasting. CI is off their rocker. So you have to stir it… big deal!
This is a cooking magazine making an issue out of having to stir something? Hmph.
This might sound kind of yucky, but a friend of mine did this to her peanut butter. She poured out most of the separated oil, then replaced it with a little water to loosen it. After stirring it up, she put it in the refrigerator. I tasted it and it was ok. It looked kind of weird, but it certainly solved the problem of separation and decreased the calories by a lot!!
I'm a big fan of TJ's unsalted creamy, myself; I find I can solve a lot of the separation issues by storing the unopened jar upside down for a while (generally, I have one in my pantry while I'm using my current jar) then stirring it vigorously on opening, and refrigerating once opened.
Mr Taster -- if they think all natural peanut butters are dry and gritty, perhaps they need to expand their choices or perhaps just do a better job of mixing the separated oil back in (as I said, an immersion blender works great). I agree most natural peanut butters don't have the same texture as Skippy, but they're usually more on the loose, oily side than the dry side, in my experience.
You...+READ
Mr Taster -- if they think all natural peanut butters are dry and gritty, perhaps they need to expand their choices or perhaps just do a better job of mixing the separated oil back in (as I said, an immersion blender works great). I agree most natural peanut butters don't have the same texture as Skippy, but they're usually more on the loose, oily side than the dry side, in my experience.
You may have to adjust a recipe that was developed using Skippy to account for the differences between Skippy and natural peanut butter, but I thought the people at CI loved to tinker with recipes, and they could have done that rather than just throwing up their hands and telling people to use an inferior ingredient.
Finally, I'm guessing that the people who originated satay sauce didn't use Skippy, or anything that closely resembles American peanut butter, for that matter.-COLLAPSE
Agree with the commenter who loves Justin's Nut Butters. Their chocolate hazelnut butter to die for, as is the maple almond butter.
The texture of Justin's products is coarser than Jif and the like. If you prefer a smoother nut butter, try Barney Butter -- it's a deliciously roasty-flavored almond butter that I cannot get enough of.
scrape the whole tub into a food processor and give it a whirl... scrape back into the tub. add some marinade ingredients or salad dressing ingredients next to whatever is left in the food processor to avoid wasting any of that yummy stuff!
anyone dropping by the Philippines should try finding some Lily's Peanut butter.
I saw this and completely disagree with CI. I really like Smuckers natural. At least I can tell it's made from peanuts and not some plasticized goo.
I can't believe Cooks Illustrated doesn't know that you only need to stir natural peanut butter ONCE, then put it in the fridge where it will not separate again. No way I'm eating all that extra fat!
Funny enough, my arm was pretty sore from stirring up a big tub of Kirkland natural peanut butter today.. Only a nuisance when it's new and all the oil is up top, so it's hard to stir without spilling. It does taste different than the less natural stuff, but I find it tastes better in recipes - and I love me some vegetarian type peanut based salad dressings.
fwiw, to me, the taste of the DARK ROASTED santa cruz brand of organic peanut butter is the best.
yes, it needs to be stirred because it is the genuine article.
be sure to get the DARK ROASTED variety.
I have a BlendTec and blend my own peanut butter - well, a combo of salted peanuts and cashews - until it's as creamy as Jif. I just keep blending - usually 3 or 4 times longer than the recipe book recommends. I will 100% agree it's not as tasty as Jif, but I think it's a heap better than that "natural" jarred crud you can buy (or grind yourself) at the store!
I'm a big fan of TJ's peanut butter. It's tasty and - at least in my experience - does not separate.
Ruth- certainly agree with you about industrial fats, and they do speak favorably about palm oil as a substitute for these processed evils. But remember, CI doesn't just base their judgments on how the peanut butter tastes straight up, although that is part of the equation. They bake peanut butter cookies with it. ("Dry, gritty peanut butters made for predictably dry, gritty cookies.") And can...+READ
Ruth- certainly agree with you about industrial fats, and they do speak favorably about palm oil as a substitute for these processed evils. But remember, CI doesn't just base their judgments on how the peanut butter tastes straight up, although that is part of the equation. They bake peanut butter cookies with it. ("Dry, gritty peanut butters made for predictably dry, gritty cookies.") And can you imagine using a natural peanut butter for satay sauce? The stuff would taste like sand in your mouth. There is a method to the madness and to dismiss their tasting panels as "pedestrian" because they liked Skippy is to miss the wider picture. And I say this as a natural peanut butter lover.
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
"The most insular, unsophisticated tasters in the world." Thanks, JudyAU -- those were exactly the words I was looking for.
Hydrogenated oils may not be as unhealthy as partially hydrogenated oils, but they're still industrial products that are not as healthy as naturally occurring oils.
I can buy small quantities of peanut butter, freshly made, at shops that sell nuts and other bulk items. No way I want something with added sugar, questionable oils or other non-peanut ingredients.
nhb2009,
When the author of this article talks about the differences between hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated soybean oils, bear in mind that she did little actual research, so you shouldn't take your hydrogenated oil issues up with her.
Unlike Chow, Cooks Illustrated actually does their due diligence in thoroughly researching the topics they write about, so you can generally trust that...+READ
nhb2009,
When the author of this article talks about the differences between hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated soybean oils, bear in mind that she did little actual research, so you shouldn't take your hydrogenated oil issues up with her.
Unlike Chow, Cooks Illustrated actually does their due diligence in thoroughly researching the topics they write about, so you can generally trust that their articles have been fact checked. Although there's not a lot of info, the original Cooks Illustrated article actually says this:
"Let’s be clear: Hydrogenated fat is not the same as partially hydrogenated fat, a trans fat that we all want to avoid."
The Chow author could have expanded upon that premise and focused her article on that (instead of making it a rehash of someone else's story)... but then that would have required actual research! :)
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
Sorry for the repeat info below - didn't see the OP post on the same suggestion!
Try making your own - very simple w/a food processor. Mine broke, so right now I'm stuck w/buying what's available out there. Tastes as good as the quality of the peanuts you use - and if it turns out too stiff, adding a bit of vegetable oil (of course, peanut oil would be appropriate) solves the problem.
Smooth, delicious and much fresher than any store bought 'natural.'
Too bad :(
I'm curious, however, why the author thinks that molasses is much better than other "sweeteners"? Molasses... is sugar... most other sweeteners are... sugar... (assuming their not splenda or the like).
I think that you are mistaken about the hydrogenated vegetable oil not being the same as partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil. In essence, the practice is to take vegetable oil that is a liquid at room temperature, and then to "hydrogenate" it so that it is a solid at room temperature. The solid instead of a liquid gives it lots of properties that are useful in baking, etc. But the hydrogenation...+READ
I think that you are mistaken about the hydrogenated vegetable oil not being the same as partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil. In essence, the practice is to take vegetable oil that is a liquid at room temperature, and then to "hydrogenate" it so that it is a solid at room temperature. The solid instead of a liquid gives it lots of properties that are useful in baking, etc. But the hydrogenation also is a scattershot method that throw H-atoms all over the place. Some of these form double bonds with the trans formation.-COLLAPSE
I love Jif. Always have, always will. Don't care what's in it. I don't eat peanut butter often enough to care. Grew up on Skippy, but once I tried Jif at my cousins' house it was all over for me.
I love Maranatha's no stir peanut butter also, it's really great. No hydrogenated fats or palm oil either.
Lol I'm surprised they didn't pick Peter Pan! I love Maranatha's No Stir Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter. I would love to try Trader Joe's, but there isn't one in my area (Northeastern Kansas) :(
I use PB2 natural powdered peanut butter. You mix on demand with water and add oil or not if you want. I like using a bit of actual butter to mix with it. The powder keeps forever and you can add sweetener or not if you want. I add Splenda but that's my preference.
It's not that hard to make yourself, if you have a food processor. Just buy some peanuts and grind them with the steel blade until they're at the desired consistency. You can do the same with almonds and cashews. That said, I like Trader Joe's Crunchy; Jif, Skippy, et al, makes me want to barf. What do I know? I just like the taste of fresh nuts.
Oh please, how typical. If I can't buy it at a supermarket in Vermont in the dead of winter that hasn't been restocked for six months it isn't worthy of our consideration. The most insular, unsophisticated tasters in the world. They WOULD like Skippy and Jiff.
It is not difficult to find good natural peanut butter. The creamy organic version from Trader Joes is very good. Stir once,...+READ
Oh please, how typical. If I can't buy it at a supermarket in Vermont in the dead of winter that hasn't been restocked for six months it isn't worthy of our consideration. The most insular, unsophisticated tasters in the world. They WOULD like Skippy and Jiff.
It is not difficult to find good natural peanut butter. The creamy organic version from Trader Joes is very good. Stir once, refrigerate, and never stir again. The version from Santa Cruz Organics is even better but twice the price and harder to find.-COLLAPSE
Oh and I agree that with this rating Cooks Illustrated once more demonstrated that their tasters are not very discerning and/or have very pedestrian tastes.
Maranatha is pretty good. It doesn't separate, but it does get stiff.
CapeCodBob -- I guess it depends on how quickly you use your peanut butter -- I turn mine over periodically because I don't use it that often and if I keep it upside down the oil simply separates on the "bottom" of the jar.
if ur too lazy to stir peanut butter then get the other stuff. Natural is the best, I like unflavored and add kosher salt on top. But do people actually store their natural peanut butter in the fridge? Mine sits on the shelf and I've never had it go bad.
Just store the jars upside down in your fridge, and stirring will be much easier...
redchair, I agree with you. I'm also a subscriber but what were they thinking? I've been making my own nut-butters for over a year, and IMO they are far superior to anything you can find in a supermarket. Peanut, pecan, almond, almond-coconut, hazlenut... you name it and I grind it up. No added garbage, either. Nuts naturally have plenty of oil on their own. They don't need anything added.
I'm a subscriber, but Cook's Illustrated lost a lot of credibility with me over this one. I can't believe that they chose sugary, hydrogenated-oil-clogged Skippy as the best peanut butter -- it tastes like the filling in a Nutter Butter. Trader Joe's salted creamy is excellent. Sure, you have the stir it up when you first open the jar, but stays that way afterward. You can also use it for Asian...+READ
I'm a subscriber, but Cook's Illustrated lost a lot of credibility with me over this one. I can't believe that they chose sugary, hydrogenated-oil-clogged Skippy as the best peanut butter -- it tastes like the filling in a Nutter Butter. Trader Joe's salted creamy is excellent. Sure, you have the stir it up when you first open the jar, but stays that way afterward. You can also use it for Asian peanut noodles.-COLLAPSE
It's spelled, "refrigerate" and you're quite right. Just keep it in cool pantry or frige and the oil will not separate.
Only the best peanut butter for me so I buy Arrowhead Mills PB which is insanely expensive but oh well. Costco's natural PB is good, but not as good as Arrowhead Mills.
I grew up on Jiff, but now love TJ's salted/creamy PB. It's very smooth and just tastes like peanuts. I find "conventional" PB to be far too sweet now, and the texture reminds me of Crisco. I bought one of the Witmer's peanut butter stirring gadgets, and it was well worth the $12 I spent on Amazon. Once stirred, I store in the fridge.
The key is to stir the oil back into the peanut butter, and then REFRIDGERATE. Peanut oil is solid in the fridge and won't separate back out.
I take Ruth's solution one step further. I store the jar of "natural" peanut butter upside down all the time.
I used to make my own from roasted, salted peanuts out of a bag. Just dump in the processor and let it go for a while, maybe stop to scrape the stuff down from the sides occasionally. Strangely it never separated or had a gritty texture.
For store-boughten I like(d) Laura Scudders natural crunchy. Don't eat a lot of peanut butter now.
If you don't like the separation, here are 2 tips: first, invert the jar for a couple of hours before you open it, or if you store an unused jar in your cupboard, store it upside-down. The peanut oil will partly move to the bottom of the jar so when you're ready to stir it, it won't fly all over. Second, you can buy a wooden peanut butter stirrer (also sold as a wooden frosting spreader). This is...+READ
If you don't like the separation, here are 2 tips: first, invert the jar for a couple of hours before you open it, or if you store an unused jar in your cupboard, store it upside-down. The peanut oil will partly move to the bottom of the jar so when you're ready to stir it, it won't fly all over. Second, you can buy a wooden peanut butter stirrer (also sold as a wooden frosting spreader). This is the perfect implement to stir peanut butter with - it's wider than the average butter knife and mixes the oil and peanut mass up a lot more quickly and easily.-COLLAPSE
I grew up on creamy Skippy and crunchy Jiff. "Grew up on" means "ate every single day for approximately 12 years."
Can't stand the stuff now. Skippy tastes like nothing.
Maranatha, creamy, roasted, with salt is the best-tasting peanut butter I've found. It's rich and smooth, and it doesn't separate as badly as most other varieties.
I grew up on Peter Pan, but it didn't take me long to prefer the "natural" stuff. It tastes like peanuts, for one thing, and w/ no added sugar, I can enjoy adding my own sweet stuff, like homemade fig jam or pear honey. Just turn the jar upside down, and it will blend itself up just fine.
Molasses isn't a sweetener?
This discussion would not be complete without mentioning how GREAT Justin's Nut Butters are. http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/. I don't know if it's sold outside of Colorado, but the peanut butter doesn't seem to separate, even though peanuts are the only ingredients. And for some reason it tastes way better than any other single ingredient peanut butter I've had. Sounds like that Seinfeld episode...+READ
This discussion would not be complete without mentioning how GREAT Justin's Nut Butters are. http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/. I don't know if it's sold outside of Colorado, but the peanut butter doesn't seem to separate, even though peanuts are the only ingredients. And for some reason it tastes way better than any other single ingredient peanut butter I've had. Sounds like that Seinfeld episode about the fat free yogurt, huh? :)-COLLAPSE
I think this debate (processed vs. natural) has a great deal to do with what you're used to. Not that people don't switch sides, of course. But though I have a huge sweet tooth, I really don't like processed PBs (which generally have added sugar); to me they don't actually taste much like peanuts. I grew up with Smucker's, and I'll take some creamy, salt-free organic pb over Jif's any day of the...+READ
I think this debate (processed vs. natural) has a great deal to do with what you're used to. Not that people don't switch sides, of course. But though I have a huge sweet tooth, I really don't like processed PBs (which generally have added sugar); to me they don't actually taste much like peanuts. I grew up with Smucker's, and I'll take some creamy, salt-free organic pb over Jif's any day of the week.-COLLAPSE
Trader Joe's has the best peanut butter in the world; I cannot eat any other peanut butter, they've ruined me :)
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/peanut-butter.jpg
I read this article and was disappointed that the peanut butters with all the additives were the preferred choices. Has anyone tried the Parker's peanut butter you buy in the fridge case by the butter? It is the best natural peanut butter on the market, hands down. Because it's always refrigerated the fungus that typically grows in peanuts is severely stunted. Also, it tastes better! Check it out...+READ
I read this article and was disappointed that the peanut butters with all the additives were the preferred choices. Has anyone tried the Parker's peanut butter you buy in the fridge case by the butter? It is the best natural peanut butter on the market, hands down. Because it's always refrigerated the fungus that typically grows in peanuts is severely stunted. Also, it tastes better! Check it out here: http://www.parkersfarm.com/products.html#anpb-COLLAPSE
I'm a good foodie, I swear. But at the end of the day, I have to admit, I like Skippy and its ilk better than the natural, all-peanut spreads. The texture is much better and the flavor is more balanced - less like raw, gritty peanuts and more like a smooth, idealized version of what a peanut ought to taste like. We can all agree that the natural version is better for us, but sometimes the less...+READ
I'm a good foodie, I swear. But at the end of the day, I have to admit, I like Skippy and its ilk better than the natural, all-peanut spreads. The texture is much better and the flavor is more balanced - less like raw, gritty peanuts and more like a smooth, idealized version of what a peanut ought to taste like. We can all agree that the natural version is better for us, but sometimes the less healthy version is, unfortunately, the tastier one.-COLLAPSE
A couple of solutions to the separation problem: if it hasn't separated yet, turn the jar over frequently, as every time you do this the oil will start to float to the new top. If it has separated, use a stick blender, starting slowly and then working down the jar. Only works for smooth peanut butter, though!