Thread: Homemade peanut butter machines

[email protected] wrote:
> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.

Which machines? A food processor...or perhaps a blender? I think you can
make peanut butter with either.

<[email protected]> wrote:

> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.

You heard wrong. And you're not any safer making your own PB.

-sw

hiswife@nospam.com wrote:
> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
>
> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> think it's worth buying or not.
>
> Thanks
>
> His Wife

Nope, not cheaper, after buying all those peanuts.
Your fear is unfounded, and major pb brands are fine, but you could buy
local natural peanut butter.
Now is the best time to buy commercial peanut butter!

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
> His Wife

I've used a food processor to make cashew butter. The texture isn't as
smooth but it's acceptable. And tasty.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller

In article <4992cd09$[email protected]>,
"dejablues" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Nope, not cheaper, after buying all those peanuts.
> Your fear is unfounded, and major pb brands are fine, but you could buy
> local natural peanut butter.
> Now is the best time to buy commercial peanut butter!

Hear, hear! I'm going to load up for the local food shelf.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller

On Feb 11, 9:52*am, Melba's Jammin' <barbschal...@earthlink.net>
wrote:
> In article <4992cd0...@news.x-privat.org>,
>
> *"dejablues" <dejabl...@comcast.net> wrote:
> > Nope, not cheaper, after buying all those peanuts.
> > Your fear is unfounded, and major pb brands are fine, but you could buy
> > local natural peanut butter.
> > Now is the best time to buy commercial peanut butter!
>
> Hear, hear! *I'm going to load up for the local food shelf.
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJhttp://web.me.com/barbschallerhttp://gallery.me.com/barbschaller

If you live in the approp climate( US southeast for example) - you
could grow your own peanuts and enjoy knowing the entire lifecycle of
your PB.

Goomba wrote:
>
> [email protected] wrote:
> > With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> > to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> > decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> > heard its cheaper too.
>
> Which machines? A food processor...or perhaps a blender? I think you can
> make peanut butter with either.

We make our peanut butter with the grinder attachment for the KA. Works
better than the food processor. The peanuts are dry-roasted in large
tins from the big box places; usually need to add a spoon of peanut oil
to get the right consistency. Takes abut 10 minutes or so to make a
batch.

On 11-Feb-2009, [email protected] wrote:

> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
>
> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> think it's worth buying or not.

Once upon a time, I owned a Salton Nut Butter Maker. The best reason to own
one is not food safety (more on that in a moment); rather, it allows you to
make peanut butter without added fat, sugar, emulsifiers and preservatives.


The downsides: The machine is hard to clean and you will likely have old
bits of nut-goo sticking around somewhere inside, just waiting to
contaminate your next batch - be prepared to spend far more time cleaning
the machine than in grinding peanuts. Because it is a PITA to clean, you'll
be tempted to grind larger batches each time. Sadly, if you don't use the
nut butter quickly, it separates and you'll have a puddle of peanut oil on
top of rock hard peanut cement. Because the batch doesn't have all the
great chemicals Jif and others have, the batches won't keep as long as you
are accustomed and I can pretty well guarantee you won't like rancid peanut
butter.

The final food safety issue; where do you get your peanuts? Use dry roasted
from a jar (which makes good peanut butter), but it has been processed in a
plant and has many additives in the powdery substance used in processing
them. Regardless of type or source, if there is any contaminant on the
peanuts, you'll grind it right into the PB you're making and, leave traces
of the contaminant in the machine to grow and contaminate future batches.

Ultimately, I chose not to replace the Salton machine when marital discord
send it to a new home with ex-wife. Instead, when I have a hankering for
peanut butter, I stop by my local health food store and have them grind what
I think I can use in a reasonable time; they can have the fun of cleaning a
grinder. Still, I doubt I'm any better off from a food-safety standpoint;
but, I do prefer PB without salt, sugar, added oil and other additives.
--
Change Cujo to Juno in email address.

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:57:57 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
>to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
>decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
>heard its cheaper too.
>
>Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
>Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
>think it's worth buying or not.

It's called a food processor! It doesn't take any special equipment to
make your own peanut butter - just grind them up and voila.

[email protected] wrote:
> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
>
> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> think it's worth buying or not.
>
> Thanks
>
> His Wife

Although I have never tried it, I believe you could make
pb successfully with either an blender or a food processor.

Unless you use huge amounts of peanut butter every day, I can't imagine
a dedicated machine being cost effective, but then I am on the frugal side.

Remember that all contaminants don't arise from processing.
Aflatoxins are present in whole peanuts also.

Do you have an identity separate from "His"? Just curious.

gloria p

"Arri London" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>
>
> Goomba wrote:
>>
>> [email protected] wrote:
>> > With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
>> > to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
>> > decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
>> > heard its cheaper too.
>>
>> Which machines? A food processor...or perhaps a blender? I think you can
>> make peanut butter with either.
>
> We make our peanut butter with the grinder attachment for the KA. Works
> better than the food processor. The peanuts are dry-roasted in large
> tins from the big box places; usually need to add a spoon of peanut oil
> to get the right consistency. Takes abut 10 minutes or so to make a
> batch.

Interesting! Is it difficult to clean the attachment? How do you do that??

TammyM

"l, not -l" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:H0Dkl.13543$[email protected]..
>
> On 11-Feb-2009, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
>> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
>> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
>> heard its cheaper too.
>>
>> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
>> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
>> think it's worth buying or not.
>
> Once upon a time, I owned a Salton Nut Butter Maker. The best reason to
> own
> one is not food safety (more on that in a moment); rather, it allows you
> to
> make peanut butter without added fat, sugar, emulsifiers and
> preservatives.
>

This is true, but the problem is as I understand it from recent news
broadcasts is that it's the whole unprocessed peanuts that are contaminated.
I wouldn't rush out to buy peanuts.

[email protected] wrote:
> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
>
> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> think it's worth buying or not.
>
> Thanks
>
> His Wife


You can make PB using either a food processor or a blender. You might
have to add a little bit of oil to get them going; you can then remove
some of the oil when it separates (don't remove all of it) if you get it
too oily.

Bob

l, not -l wrote:
>
> The downsides: The machine is hard to clean and you will likely have old
> bits of nut-goo sticking around somewhere inside, just waiting to
> contaminate your next batch - be prepared to spend far more time cleaning
> the machine than in grinding peanuts. Because it is a PITA to clean, you'll
> be tempted to grind larger batches each time. Sadly, if you don't use the
> nut butter quickly, it separates and you'll have a puddle of peanut oil on
> top of rock hard peanut cement. Because the batch doesn't have all the
> great chemicals Jif and others have, the batches won't keep as long as you
> are accustomed and I can pretty well guarantee you won't like rancid peanut
> butter.

As long as you don't add soybean oil (or any other polyunsaturated
oils), peanut oil takes a long time to go rancid. Very long time. Years.

> The final food safety issue; where do you get your peanuts? Use dry roasted
> from a jar (which makes good peanut butter), but it has been processed in a
> plant and has many additives in the powdery substance used in processing
> them. Regardless of type or source, if there is any contaminant on the
> peanuts, you'll grind it right into the PB you're making and, leave traces
> of the contaminant in the machine to grow and contaminate future batches.

Isn't salmonella killed by cooking? Obviously you don't want rat
droppings in your peanut butter, but if they are contaminated, just
*roast* them. If you have jars of questionable peanut butter in your
pantry, *cook* something with them. Peanut soup, PB cookies, etc.

Bob

[email protected] wrote:
>
> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> heard its cheaper too.
>
> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> think it's worth buying or not.

Back in the 1970s, my mom was given a little peanut butter
machine made by Salton. The peanut butter was good, but
the machine was incredibly slow. It took maybe 5 minutes
to make a tablespoon. On the other hand, if it had had
a larger capacity, it would have more waste at the end
of the batch (partially ground peanuts). It was very easy
to clean. I haven't a clue whether this style is still
being made.

I have Champion juicer, which can be used to make nut
butters. I have to say that the nut butters it makes
are a bit grainy. Champion juicers have been around
for decades and are still being made. They're pretty
expensive, but they're available all the time on eBay.

l, not -l wrote:
> On 11-Feb-2009, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
>> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
>> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
>> heard its cheaper too.
>>
>> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
>> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
>> think it's worth buying or not.
>
> Once upon a time, I owned a Salton Nut Butter Maker. The best reason
> to own one is not food safety (more on that in a moment); rather, it
> allows you to make peanut butter without added fat, sugar,
> emulsifiers and preservatives.

I suggest buying a jar of Teddie. It comes salted or unsalted, and has no
ingredients other than peanuts [and salt if you like it, which I do]. In my
experience, the separation factor is minimal. Possibly because it sells and
doesn't sit on the shelf, it is easily stirred up with a knife. Not like
those peanut butters that turn into a hardened block of powder topped by a
big mess of oil.

I've tried other "natural" peanut butters, but Teddie seems to taste the
best.

TammyM wrote:
>
> "Arri London" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> >
> >
> > Goomba wrote:
> >>
> >> [email protected] wrote:
> >> > With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> >> > to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> >> > decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> >> > heard its cheaper too.
> >>
> >> Which machines? A food processor...or perhaps a blender? I think you can
> >> make peanut butter with either.
> >
> > We make our peanut butter with the grinder attachment for the KA. Works
> > better than the food processor. The peanuts are dry-roasted in large
> > tins from the big box places; usually need to add a spoon of peanut oil
> > to get the right consistency. Takes abut 10 minutes or so to make a
> > batch.
>
> Interesting! Is it difficult to clean the attachment? How do you do that??
>
> TammyM

After the main batch has been processed, we run some bread through it.
That picks up much of the remaining paste and gets eaten as a 'reward'.
Then it all unscrews and gets washed with hot water and detergent. A
dish brush gets in everywhere. No worse than cleaning it after grinding
meat.

We use the large-hole plate cos we like crunchy PB. Not certain how
smooth it could get with the smaller-hole plate. Might need to run it
through twice or finish in the food processor.

brooklyn1 wrote:
>
> "l, not -l" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:H0Dkl.13543$[email protected]..
> >
> > On 11-Feb-2009, [email protected] wrote:
> >
> >> With all the contaminated peanut butter going around, I am not going
> >> to buy commercial peanut butter anymore. But I really like it, so I
> >> decided I am going to buy one of those machines to make your own. I
> >> heard its cheaper too.
> >>
> >> Has anyone bought one of them, and are any of them worth the money?
> >> Please note the brand and model, the approx price, and whether you
> >> think it's worth buying or not.
> >
> > Once upon a time, I owned a Salton Nut Butter Maker. The best reason to
> > own
> > one is not food safety (more on that in a moment); rather, it allows you
> > to
> > make peanut butter without added fat, sugar, emulsifiers and
> > preservatives.
> >
>
> This is true, but the problem is as I understand it from recent news
> broadcasts is that it's the whole unprocessed peanuts that are contaminated.
> I wouldn't rush out to buy peanuts.

The peanuts/products would have to have been contaminated *after*
roasting. Salmonella is easily killed by heat, as in roasting
temperatures. Aflatoxins, IIRC, are not destroyed by ordinary cooking
temps but can't comment on whether roasting would do them in.

Arri London wrote:

> The peanuts/products would have to have been contaminated *after*
> roasting. Salmonella is easily killed by heat, as in roasting
> temperatures. Aflatoxins, IIRC, are not destroyed by ordinary cooking
> temps but can't comment on whether roasting would do them in.

I just read this while eating some roasted peanuts given to me by my
friend. He has a thing about germs - always washing his hands and
sanitizing stuff. This made me realize why he would show up at my office
with a large baggie of roasted peanuts.

Good thing I'm resistant to most germs - although I'm glad that roasting
will kill salmonella. :-) This brings up yet another excellent
opportunity to hassle my friend about his germ-fearing ways. I enjoy
doing this. A lot. :-)