Although not as popular in England as in the USA, millions of jars of peanut butter are sold in groceries. But most brands still contain palm oil as an emulsifier. Greenpeace says there is no such thing as ‘sustainable palm oil’, a self-policed term that does not ensure the safe habitats of orangutans and other endangered creatures.
Palm oil is only used as an emulsifier. So for the small price to pay of stirring the jar before use, you can switch to quality brands of peanut butter, which don’t use palm oil.
Meridian is one good brand, none of their peanut butters (smooth, crunchy and flavours like maple syrup or strawberry) contain palm oil.
And all are made with whole peanuts that are roasted in their skins, for better taste. The only addition in most cases in salt. Sold in glass jars (you can recycle the 1kg catering tubs at council depots).
Avoid nuts (and nut/seed butters) for young children and allergies (nut/seed butters are also choking hazards for children and pets). If giving as a treat, feed dogs quality peanut butter biscuits instead. Read more on food safety for people and pets.
Don’t feed leftover nut butter sandwiches to garden birds or wildfowl, due to salt and fat (this smears on feathers, affecting weatherproofing & insulation).
This company’s hazelnut spread (tastes like Nutella) donates a portion of funds to International Animal Rescue, to fund rescue of orangutan and reforestation projects (80% of their habitats have been lost to the palm oil industry, leaving just 100,000 orangutans left in the wild).
Although you can make peanut butter (roast peanuts in the oven for 10 minutes, then blend with salt in a food processor), most people buy ready-made. But why fly a saturated fat from thousands of miles away, when peanuts have oil already?
Other Brands of Palm-oil-Free Nut Butters
- Proper Nutty (Yorkshire) is sold in jars or metal tins, made with ethically-sourced peanuts and sea salt.
- Yumello offer salted date or smoky harissa nut butters, sweetened with dates. This company also makes jars of tahini – sesame seed paste).
- NUTcessity (Bath) offers flavours nut butters (maple pecan, gingerbread almond, date coffee walnut, caramel cashew & choc hazelnut). Profits help Frank Water, which uses profits from office water coolers, to bring clean safe water to children in India.
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
For a change from spreading on toast, try these simple Peanut Butter Cookies (Rainbow Nourishments). All you need is palm-oil-free peanut butter, maple syrup to sweeten and sustainably-sourced almond flour (from Europe, not Californian monocultures). Or make your own.
