We did so via blind taste test. Every brand was assigned a colour code and spread on plain white bread. Judges were urged to consider taste, first and foremost, alongside factors such as crunch, texture, mouthfeel and physical, spiritual and emotional vibe.<\/p>\n
There are some notable omissions. Eta crunchy peanut butter isn\u2019t on the list. The former stalwart of our collective pantry is no longer available from the beloved food duopoly that keeps an iron grip on our daily sustenance. Sanitarium, another former favourite, has also been euthanised by its Seventh Day Adventist makers<\/a> at the command of either Jesus or commerce.<\/p>\n Joining them in omission are the boutique brands you can only get from the internet or specialty stores in Grey Lynn. Though they may well be delicious, buying them would likely bankrupt The Spinoff. Instead this ranking includes only the jars you can pick up at mainstream supermarkets, starting with one that brought our judges together in a loud, unanimous eruption of displeasure.<\/p>\n 11) Ceres Organics Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\n 3\/10<\/p>\n $7.19 for 300g from Woolworths ($2.40 per 100g)<\/p>\n Ceres Organics\u2019 attempt at a crunchy peanut butter seemed to offend every stomach it entered. Some judges just shook their bellies in disappointment. \u201cLeaves me wanting,\u201d wrote Calum Henderson. Others wanted nothing short of jail. \u201cA crime against peanut butter!!\u201d said Emma.\u00a0<\/p>\n The causes for disdain were many and varied. But everyone was united on one thing: Ceres crunchy doesn\u2019t have enough crunch. \u201cWhere even are the peanuts!?\u201d asked Tina Tiller.\u00a0<\/p>\n A crunchless crunchy is unforgivable. But a flavourless one isn\u2019t great either. \u201cThis tastes like a health product,\u201d said Veronica. Perhaps it was the goodness that torpedoed the spread. Though it has relatively standard sugar and sodium quotients (4.7g and 213mg per 100g respectively), Ceres markets itself as an ethical, sustainable<\/a> brand, putting an emphasis on the fact it\u2019s just peanuts and sea salt mixed together.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alas, it seems peanuts and sea salt aren\u2019t the only vital ingredients in peanut butter. You need at least a sliver of evil as well.<\/p>\n 5\/10<\/p>\n $8.49 for 500g from Woolworths\u00a0 ($1.30 per 100g)<\/p>\n The name Nut Brothers set off loud objections in The Spinoff office, with an assortment of writers, editors and even podcasters remonstrating against the idea of a family unit devoted to the nut. None of that mattered for our blind tasting, where each spread was judged on flavour and texture alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately that assessment also found flaws with Nut Brothers. Veronica and Jin Fellet issued near-identical verdicts. \u201cOh no. Too dry. Needs more oil,\u201d said the former. \u201cA little dry, not enough oil,\u201d said the latter. \u201cVery dry\u2026 maybe Hayden didn\u2019t mix,\u201d echoed Calum. For the record, I did mix and will be taking him to court for defamation. Sometimes mixing isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n 5.25\/10<\/p>\n $1.99 for 375g from Pak\u2019nSave ($0.53 per 100g)<\/p>\n Standard Pams is the cheapest spread on this list. Unfortunately it\u2019s also one of the most mediocre. \u201cWouldn\u2019t kick this out of bed but wouldn\u2019t call it again either,\u201d said Emma, in what will go down as both an off-putting piece of personification and an accurate summation of the general sentiment.<\/p>\n Many of our judges accurately identified Pams as a bargain option. For some, that was a good thing. \u201cPaste-like consistency, salty as, I love it,\u201d said Calum. For others, not so much. \u201cQuite grey,\u201d said Jin. \u201cI don\u2019t think this is a quality 100% peanut one.\u201d<\/p>\n 5.5\/10\u00a0<\/p>\n $5.39 for 380g from Pak\u2019nSave ($1.42 per 100g)<\/p>\n The finest Pams is barely better than the cheapest and coarsest, with the brand\u2019s attempt at artisan spread failing to fire with a slim majority of judges. \u201cThis is probably good for me,\u201d said Veronica, in her 5\/10 review. Wrong. Pams Finest has one of the highest sugar quotients on offer, at 8.6g per 100g serving. Being unhealthy is one thing, but you should at least have the decency to taste like it.<\/p>\n 5.6\/10<\/p>\n $7.49 for 375g from Woolworths ($1.57 per 100g)<\/p>\n A disappointing result for one of our more artisan local brands. Like Ceres, Forty Thieves markets itself as a sustainable product with a focus on real ingredients<\/a>. Unfortunately, several of our judges also felt it shared Ceres\u2019 aversion to taste. \u201cLacks flavour and depth,\u201d said Jin. \u201cLacks a certain je ne sais quoi,\u201d said Calum. \u201cHigh on chunk factor, low on flavour,\u201d said Emma.<\/p>\n The brand did have its fans though. Veronica agreed it was \u201ca bit insipid\u201d at first, but thought it revealed new depths of \u201ccomplex\u201d taste over time. This could be a spread for those who enjoy a bit of subtlety and nuance rather than just a big didactic flavour hit upfront. Will that endear it to The Spinoff\u2019s readership? That\u2019s for you to decide. I\u2019m just here to give both sides of the story.<\/p>\n 6\/10<\/p>\n $2.39 for 375g from Woolworths ($0.64 per 100g)<\/p>\n You know who loved Essentials? Robbie Nicol. Our in-house explainer was transported back in time by the taste of a dirt-cheap basic brand smeared across white bread. \u201cThis is nostalgic,\u201d he enthused in a 9\/10 review. \u201cI could tell from looking at it that it was cheap, and cheap peanut butter is well-seasoned peanut butter. This is what you make a children\u2019s PB & J out of.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Essentials isn\u2019t a high-quality, boutique peanut butter. Again, some found that endearing. \u201cIt\u2019s dirty and I mean that in a good way,\u201d said Veronica. But, as with Pams, the approach wasn\u2019t for everyone. \u201cToo pale, lacking in flavour,\u201d said Alice. \u201cTastes budget, probably is,\u201d said Emma. Correct.<\/p>\n 6.6\/10<\/p>\n $6.50 for 380g from Woolworths ($1.71 per 100g )<\/p>\n The midsection of this ranking is also the mid section. No one hated Mother Earth. No one loved it. Four of our judges ranked it 6\/10. Its top score was an eight. Its lowest was a five. This is a perfectly reliable offering. It won\u2019t set your morning alight but it\u2019s not going to ruin it either.<\/p>\n 6.75\/10<\/p>\n $5.30 for 462g from Woolworths ($1.15 per 100g)<\/p>\n By far the most divisive of all the peanut butters we tasted; verdicts on Skippy ranged from ecstasy to visceral disgust. Multiple judges, including me, had it as their favourite spread. No one was as enthusiastic as Emma. \u201cVisible husks, very artisanal. WOW FLAVOUR. So peeertty! So tasty! The kind of PB that makes you feel like a morally superior asshole,\u201d she wrote in a 10\/10 review of a bargain spread with the highest sugar and second-highest sodium content of any brand we reviewed (9.4g and 391mg per 100g respectively).<\/p>\n She would have got away with it too if it wasn\u2019t for Tina. Our designer leaped from the top rope with a stunning rebuke of Skippy and everything it stands for. \u201cNo thank you,\u201d she wrote in the test\u2019s only 1\/10 review. \u201cIt\u2019s off or at least tastes off. Not the peanut butter taste I\u2019m used to.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s still our value-for-money champ. But without her delivering a people\u2019s elbow directly to Skippy\u2019s chin, I\u2019d be sitting here trying to convince you New Zealand\u2019s best peanut butter is made by an American multinational. Even just calculating the median rather than mean score would have skyrocketed Skippy to the top of peanut mountain, where it would sit in a three-way tie with Fix & Fogg and\u2026<\/p>\n 6.9\/10<\/p>\n $5.19 for 375g from Woolworths ($1.38 per 100g)<\/p>\n At risk of delivering a scintillating history lesson, Bega is what happens when you cross a beloved spread with a series of business lawsuits. The peanut butter formerly known as Kraft underwent a transformation in 2018<\/a> when some corporate splits and sales left its original recipe in the hands of Bega, an Australian brand run for many years by a paedophile<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bega proceeded to sell the peanut butter in jars that looked exactly like Kraft\u2019s used to, which annoyed Kraft enough that it sued for \u201cblatant violation of Kraft\u2019s intellectual property rights\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n It lost<\/a> and Kraft remains Bega. Even infused with the taste of legal acrimony, it\u2019s still delicious, in no small part due to its top-tier sodium content (539mg). None of our reviewers hated this spread. Its lowest score was a 5. Its highest, a nine, once again thanks to Emma. It may have undergone a name change. Its peanut and salt-addled bear mascot<\/a> may be gone. But Bega (nee Kraft) retains the magic it did 100 years ago<\/a> when it began life on our shelves.<\/p>\n 7.1\/10<\/p>\n $7.49 for 375g from Woolworths ($2.00 per 100g)<\/p>\n Fix & Fogg has its diehard fans. Chief among them is The Post\u2019s new political editor Henry Cooke, who spent his entire London OE yearning desperately for a fix of the Fogg, only to have it finally make its UK debut shortly after he returned home<\/a>. <\/p>\n Our judges weren\u2019t quite as smitten. Calum judged it \u201csolid without sending me into ecstasies\u201d. But all of them were impressed. \u201cGorgeous flavour, golden colour, visible nuts,\u201d wrote Emma. \u201cYumbos,\u201d said Tina. Everyone gave Fix & Fogg a positive score; something that can\u2019t be said of all these brands, including its stablemate at number one.<\/p>\n 7.1\/10<\/p>\n $7.49 for 380g from Woolworths ($1.97 per 100g)<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to separate out the true artisans from the pretenders. There\u2019s a reason Pic\u2019s now occupies roughly a quarter of the peanut butter shelf space at any given supermarket. The Nelson-based company<\/a> produces an almost unimpeachable spread, with its finely balanced salt and crunch quotas racking up an assortment of eights and nines from our judges. \u201cA connoisseur\u2019s choice,\u201d said Calum. Only Tina gave it a four, complaining about its tendency to coat your mouth like paint.<\/p>\nA unanimous verdict: yuck.
\n10) Nut Brothers Super Crunch Peanut Butter<\/p>\nDon\u2019t call it that.
\n9) Pams Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nMost depressing packaging. Most depressing placing.
\n8) Pams Finest Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nIs this really your finest, Pam?
\n7) Forty Thieves Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nA pity Forty Thieves couldn\u2019t \u2018steal\u2019 a higher ranking.
\n6) Essentials Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nEssentials is named for it being essential to Robbie Nicol\u2019s emotional wellbeing.
\n5) Mother Earth Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nMore like Mother Mid.
\n4) Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter<\/p>\nEmma deals with the fact that she praised Skippy\u2019s artisanal \u2018visible husks\u2019 as her supportive editor looks on.<\/p>\n
So close, Skippy. You will always have a place in our hearts, partially due to your high sugar and sodium content.
\n3) Bega Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nMmmm, sodium.
\n1=) Fix & Fogg Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\nA collection of Henry Cooke\u2019s tweets about Fix & Fogg.<\/p>\n
Congratulations to Fix & Fogg on being good.
\n1=) Pic\u2019s Crunchy Peanut Butter<\/p>\n