Nuts for Nut Butters

South Americans and Africans were grinding up nuts into a paste for centuries, however, peanut butter as we know it today was created in the 1890s, John Harvey Kellogg. People experimented with many different nut spreads but the peanut butter varieties became the most popular to make. Why? Because peanuts were the cheapest nuts available. But, did you know that peanuts aren’t really a nut? They’re actually a legume. Legume butter doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it though, does it?

The popularity of peanut butter soared during the Great Depression because it was an affordable food staple. It’s even been rumored that Home-Ec teachers recommended Peanut Butter Stuffed Onions to their students. Yes, you read that right. The recipe called for baking an onion and filling the center with peanut butter. No thanks – we’ll be passing on that one!

Today, people are showing interest in different types of nut butter and many options are available in grocery stores around the country. Each spread offers different benefits – cashew butter, for example, is lower in fat than other nut butter varieties, while walnut butter is high in Omega-3s. There really isn’t a “best” nut butter. It really comes down to personal preference. Choose one or choose them all! We obviously prefer ours with a little chocolatey kick.