# How to thicken "natural" peanut butter?



## seans_potato_business

If I pulverise peanuts in my food processor they ultimately form a medium-low viscosity liquid. Leaving the liquid to stand for a few weeks at ~15 °C (~60 °F) doesn't result in an appreciable amount of oil rising to the top. I would love to centrifuge it but that equipment is expensive and I can't think of a way to securely attach a container to the inside of my washing machine or else I'd try that!

Does anyone know of a way to extract the oil or, alternatively, to thicken the liquid without having to remove the oil?


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## Steve Kroll

Xanthan gum should do the trick. It's used in commercial products as a stabilizer and to keep solids and liquids from separating. It's also completely safe, as far as additives go. 

You will probably have to play with the amounts, but be aware that a little goes a long way.


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## Aunt Bea

When I make my own peanut butter I usually need to add a little oil in order to thin it enough for the machine to work.  I've never had a problem with just roasted peanuts yielding a runny product.

What are you using the peanut butter for?

If you refrigerate it the peanut butter will thicken until it returns to room temperature.

For a sandwich you could try combining the runny peanut butter with another ingredient, cream cheese, mashed banana, grated carrots, etc...

For baking cookies or cakes, try cutting back on the other fat and liquid in the recipe.

For frosting mix it with powdered sugar, powdered milk or cream cheese to thicken it.


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## seans_potato_business

Aunt Bea said:


> When I make my own peanut butter I usually need to add a little oil in order to thin it enough for the machine to work.  I've never had a problem with just roasted peanuts yielding a runny product.
> 
> What are you using the peanut butter for?
> 
> If you refrigerate it the peanut butter will thicken until it returns to room temperature.



I find that if you just stop the blender four or five times to remove it from the sides then you don't need to add oil at all. If you stop before you've completely ground the nuts then you can have a thicker consistency but I want it smooth. It's intended to into chocolate peanut butter cups which I want to take to work and share so I don't want to rely on refrigeration.

I don't think my peanuts are roasted; just salted. I rinse off the salt and then dry briefly in the oven before processing.


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## Aunt Bea

seans_potato_business said:


> I find that if you just stop the blender four or five times to remove it from the sides then you don't need to add oil at all. If you stop before you've completely ground the nuts then you can have a thicker consistency but I want it smooth. It's intended to into chocolate peanut butter cups which I want to take to work and share so I don't want to rely on refrigeration.
> 
> I don't think my peanuts are roasted; just salted. I rinse off the salt and then dry briefly in the oven before processing.



I would not rinse the salt from the peanuts.  I would leave them as is or purchase unsalted roasted peanuts to start with.  Next I would heat the nuts briefly in the microwave before putting them into the blender, the heat will help release the natural oils.   

You could also try adding some graham cracker crumbs or confectioners sugar to the peanut butter filling that you are using for your peanut butter cups to make a stiffer filling.

The filling in this cookie recipe would make a good starting point.

Peanut Butter Balls II Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Good luck, enjoy eating all of the various experiments!!!


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## Andy M.

Just curious, what kind of peanuts did you use?


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## seans_potato_business

Andy M. said:


> Just curious, what kind of peanuts did you use?



Only the finest, cheapest kind! https://groceries.asda.com/product/...red-nuts/asda-smartprice-salted-peanuts/34067


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## medtran49

seans_potato_business said:


> If I pulverise peanuts in my food processor they ultimately form a medium-low viscosity liquid. Leaving the liquid to stand for a few weeks at ~15 °C (~60 °F) doesn't result in an appreciable amount of oil rising to the top. *I would love to centrifuge it but that equipment is expensive and I can't think of a way to securely attach a container to the inside of my washing machine or else I'd try that!*
> 
> Does anyone know of a way to extract the oil or, alternatively, to thicken the liquid without having to remove the oil?


 
Nothing like a closed container tied securely with a string or rope and whirled around in a vertical circle for a cheap centrifuge.    Just make sure it's tied really securely, or it might end up being a not so cheap centrifuge.


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## Aunt Bea

Look for dry roasted peanuts, I noticed that the ones you used have oil added to them.

You might also be able to extract some of the oil if you heat the peanut butter and pour it into a fine meshed sieve to drain.  If you don't have a fine screen sieve you could try lining a colander with a paper coffee filter.

It all sounds like a lot of work to me, I would probably just give in and use my favorite brand of peanut butter.  I don't see a big advantage to using peanut butter ground at home from store bought peanuts over just using store bought peanut butter.  

Who am I kidding, I would probably just buy a package of Reese's peanut butter cups.  Why tamper with perfection, LOL!!!






Good luck!!!


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## seans_potato_business

medtran49 said:


> Nothing like a closed container tied securely with a string or rope and whirled around in a vertical circle for a cheap centrifuge.    Just make sure it's tied really securely, or it might end up being a not so cheap centrifuge.



I did consider it briefly, but supposing I could generate a respectable 50 G-force, I'd need to maintain that for over 14 hours in order to replicate a month of standing on a shelf.

I may end up just buying commercial peanut butter but I think I will also try xanthan gum.

Reece's are way too expensive for me to take batches into work with me!


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## Andy M.

I believe commercial peanut butter makers use Spanish peanuts.  There may be difference in the amount of oil in them, making the butter thicker.


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## Steve Kroll

seans_potato_business said:


> I may end up just buying commercial peanut butter but I think I will also try xanthan gum.


I think it may work well for you. I make homemade hot sauces and ketchup, and just a small addition of xanthan helps thicken it a bit and keeps the solids in solution. If I don't use it, all the good stuff ends up sinking to the bottom of the bottles.


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