Americans love their peanut butter, consuming more than 4 pounds of the staple per person each year. Though nearly everyone has a strong opinion about the perfect peanut butter — smooth vs. crunchy, salted vs. unsalted — almost everybody agrees that it’s no fun to try and stir natural peanut butter. Because there are no emulsifiers in natural peanut butter, the oil floats to the top, so you need to stir the peanut butter to mix it. Recently, there have been heated discussions on social media on what the best way is to mix it. Comments include, “The amount of time to do it is astounding!”, “A lot of work, time consuming and messy!”, “If you’re going this far, buy dry roasted peanuts and put them in the food processor!” Others relayed their experiences with solutions like using a hand-held mixer: “I didn’t have a good hold on the jar, which started spinning wildly, and now I have oil splattered all over the cabinets, the counter and me!” Some said they just used a butter knife or spoon, but all admitted it takes a lot of elbow grease. According to experts, the best way to mix natural peanut butter is to store the jar upside down in the pantry when you bring it home and wait a day or two. Then, simply stir it with a spoon (and then lick it clean!). You can then store the jar upright in the refrigerator. You shouldn’t need to remix, as it usually stays perfectly mixed because the peanut butter firms up slightly, which reduces the natural separation. If you still have trouble, there’s always a specially-made peanut butter mixer that’s available on Amazon (pictured below).
