Stirring Peanut Butter

Growing up, mom used to buy the large glass jars of Laura Scudder's peanut butter. This was the kind that kept separating so peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were always a pain. I still remember sitting on the ground with a dinner knife, stirring and stirring. It required more stirring because my mom loved buying bulk and always bought the super-sized jars.

Mom eventually started buying Skippy at Price Club/Costco and life was good. No more sitting on the ground stirring. I don't know why mom switched. Mom discovered Price Club (pre-Costco) when I was in my early teens. I don't think think Price Club carried Laura Scudders. I always thought Laura Scudders went out of business and that's why it disappeared from our pantry.

So my view on peanut butter has always been Skippy = Good and Natural = Pain in the A$$. So I've always stuck with JIF or Skippy in the Super Chunk varieties. In recent years I've been buying the Skippy Natural -- Chunky for me and Creamy for the bf. The last time I did South Beach, I found Peter Pan made a no sugar added variety.

This time around, I went looking for peanut butter. I read all the labels and they all had sugar. Even the 12 jars of Skippy Natural I have in the pantry had sugar. So I resigned myself to buying Adam's natural peanut butter. When I bought it I knew what I was getting myself into. I could see the layer of oil at the top of the jar.

It wasn't until I opened the jar and had to stir it when the memories of the little girl sitting on the ground, stirring Laura Scudders natural peanut butter came back. I made a mess. Oil dripped down the sides of the jar onto my hands. After I was done stirring, I closed up the jar and scrubbed it down with soap and hot water.

I later read that there's an easier way to remixing the oil back into the jar -- simply store the jar upside down in the pantry and if you remember, alternate turning it right side up and upside down every few days. Why didn't I know about this trick earlier? For me, it's not the taste of natural peanut butter that bothers me, it's just the stirring thing. I know it's more a psychological thing for me. It's like how I can only eat PB&J (or PB&H(oney)) on white bread. BF eats is on wheat and I always cringe. In an effort to be somewhat healthier, I started buying the Sara Lee whole grain white as a compromise.

The other day I was at a different store and checked out the peanut butter selection. Right next to the Adam's was the Laura Scudder's. I bought it because I'm nostalgic. I read the label and saw that both were made by Smucker's but they looked different. I know Smucker's also sells their own brand of natural peanut butter. I wondered why they sold natural peanut butter under three different names so I looked up the history.

It appears that the company started making natural peanut butter under the Smucker's name in 1978. Laura Scudder's was purchased in 1994 and Adam's in 1997. Adam's peanut butter company was started by Rex F. Adams in 1918 in Tacoma Washington. Laura Scudder started her food company in 1926 in Monterey Park, California. She pioneered the whole packaging potato chips in sealed bags thing. She didn't get into the natural peanut butter business until the late 1950s. The company has been sold several times and was purchased in 1994 by Smucker's. Is Smucker's trying to buy the natural peanut market? There are many local and store brands but it appears that Smucker's has a fair share of the national market.

I now have both brands in my pantry. We'll see what I like better.