Five Nut Butters To Go Nutty For
Are you a nut-butter fiend like us? A nutter-lover? Well, we have just the post for you. We’ve tasked our Food specialist Adam to get all up in the nut-butter world and pick his best of the bunch. Here’s what he had to say…
When I was tasked with writing about nut butters, I thought, cool, peanut butter galore. But… no, I was wrong, very wrong. Little did I know that nut butters could come in such a wide variety. And here, just for you (and myself for future purchases) I have narrowed down a pile of infinite (apparently) different varieties into my top five… in no particular order.
Pip and Nut
Pip & Nut's Limited Edition Blueberry Muffin Almond Butter (£3.95)
This is, quite possibly, one of the greatest food products I have ever tasted. Pip & Nut have managed to take the taste of raw cake batter - which we all secretly love, and mix it with almond butter, while adding a subtle touch of blueberry. I was honestly expecting not to like this, but I was in love from the first spoonful. It really is something special. And everything in it is natural, so it's a win-win! Not ashamed to admit that I kept sneaking back to the jar a few times while writing this.
Butter Bike Co.
Butter Bike Co's Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter (£5.00)
This is one of two from BBC that I liked. I ended up using this to bake cookies from and it worked a treat. The taste of cinnamon takes a while to come through, but once it does, you're left with this lovely aromatic flavour that would make even the most ardent cinnamon hater a fan. The story of the company is also something a bit different. Based in Devon, mainly in the South West; they make small batches - it's worth checking out their website to make an order online, especially of this and the next flavour, both all-round winners.
Butter Bike Co.
Butter Bike Co's Smoked Chilli Peanut Butter (£5.00)
I've long been a fan of slapping tons of peanut butter onto a bagel, or a crumpet, but I had zero clue what to do with this one when it arrived. Then I tasted it - and into a curry sauce it went. This peanut butter has the most unique savoury taste thanks to the smoked chilli. It works so well with so many different things, especially chicken. This will definitely become a cooking staple in the Cailler household, on and off toast.
Meridian
Meridian Cocoa and Hazelnut Butter (£3.99)
Ok, I'll be honest. This was not my favourite but the wife loved it, so it deserves a mention. It's a natural version of everyone's guilty pleasure, Nutella, but with far more flavour and texture. I feel like this would be another one used primarily for baking, as it is pretty rich to eat just by itself. It's got this subtle touch of agave syrup, which is a bit of genius, as I do feel it would be quite hard to eat without it, unless you have the ultimate sweet tooth.
Nutcessity
Nutcessity Gingerbread Almond Nut Butter (£5.99)
This confused me, but in a good way. When I took my first bite, I wasn't that in love with it. But then I found myself going back to the jar again.. and again, having another taste...walking away to think about it... and then returning once again. It really did grow on me. Although not the main ingredient, it actually has pink salt included, which you do pick up on as a flavour enhancer. There's a cute little addition to these jars, where the label just simply says Dried Apricots, Filled, as a serving suggestion. I’m heading to try that one now.