pouring the oil off the top of peanut butter

[eleni611]

I buy natural peanut butter (Adam's) and instead of mixing the oil in, I pour it out. Does anybody else do this? And do you know how much that reduces the calorie and fat content?

[medjen]

I don't and I'm not sure. If you measured what you removed, looked up the content for peanut oil and kept track over the whole jar you could probably figure it out on a per tbsp basis.

Sounds like lots of work.

[BiancaNoir]

Wouldn't it get all dry and crumbly that way?

I rarely mess with natural peanut butter because I just don't like the consistency of it.

[Maxime1]

I just recently poured out the oil from my peanut butter..let's just say, I won't do it again! I tasted hard and kinda chalky..lol.. It just didn't taste as fresh and it was pretty hard..I would just pour out maybe a little then stir the rest in..

[nunu713]

I just stir it up every time. I found it gets really dry if you pour the oil out.

Heck, sometimes, if I don't stir it up enough, it's really dry by the time I reach the bottom of the jar...

[bouncingpuka]

I'm sorry, but why would you be throwing out 50% of the healthy fat goodness in your peanut butter in the first place?!?!?!?! What's the point in eating the stuff if you want to get rid of half of what it's actually made of...... :-) hehe! Sorry, I'm just puzzled

[fitmember]

When i get a new jar of naturally more. i sir it up completely then put it in the fridge.

That way you dont have the oil on the top. But the down side is it wont spread on anything when cold.

I just eat it out of the jar

[Zenree]

There are natural PB that don't require stirring AND can be left at room temp --- Skippy Natural comes to mind

[eleni611]

I pour it out to try and get rid of some of the fat..i guess im just used to the dryness of it, but i kinda like it like that

[K11]

I do. I kind of like the dry, chewy consistency at the end when there's no oil left. By that time it's all fiber and flavor.

[DrMarie]

I store my natural pb in the cupboard, upside down. All of the oil ends up floating to the bottom and the pb at the top is still spreadable. This way it doesn't get crusty.

[freebirdmac]

You shouldn't pour the oil off. It's not bad for you, it's part of the nut. Unlike processed butters it will separate. What I do with my sunflower butter is store it in the fridge on its side. Makes it easier to mix back up.

[lesstravelled]

Can someone please explain what 'natural' peanut butter is? I've never seen a label with natural on the front so not sure what it means...

[SexyChic]

I buy natural peanut butter (Adam's) and instead of mixing the oil in, I pour it out. Does anybody else do this? And do you know how much that reduces the calorie and fat content?

If you pour the oil off doesn't your natural p.b. turn rock hard? The oil is the only thing that makes it spreadable/soft imo. And I stopped using peanut butter, because apparently it's not even a nut lol. It's a legume and it is on the lower end of the nutrition chain. Cashew or almond butter is where it's at.


For the poster above, Natural peanut butter, or natty p.b abbreviated, is p.b. that only has peanuts and no other additives.

[Patrese]

it definitely goes all hard and impossible to spread without the oil

[Lizziepete]

I buy natural peanut butter (Adam's) and instead of mixing the oil in, I pour it out. Does anybody else do this? And do you know how much that reduces the calorie and fat content?

This is from SO long ago, but I didnt want you to feel alone! I also do this. Sure, the nut butter gets a little crumbly toward the bottom, but I just keep stirring it together the farther I get down in the jar and it's fine - a little thick, but fine.
In terms of how much fat is reduced, I don't know exactly, but it sounds like Medjen has the right idea: pour the oil into a container, measure that on food scale, and then calculate how much fat grams are in that and take it away from the total fat on the jar? Sounds like that would be the way to do it. But either way, it IS less fat!

[sharonm516]

I buy natural peanut oil that has coconut oil in it....mix in the oil each time, but this brand I buy doesnt really separate at all.

[RTrout18]

Does anyone just make their own PB? I mean... I buy dry roasted, unsalted peanuts and throw them in my food processor until creamy. SO much better than store bought stuff.

Sometimes I still buy store bought stuff-- and usually I try to get Smucker's Natural, because they don't add sugar or salt or anything stupid like that -- when traveling or if I need PB RIGHT NOW (which happens, sometimes, lol) but I do always pour the oil off, mostly just because it's a pain in the ass to mix, and it seems like it always leaves it sort of runny. *shrugs*

Anyway, for anyone still paying attention to this thread, I highly highly recommend just making your own. Plus, it's usually cheaper!

[gailh]

Can someone please explain what 'natural' peanut butter is? I've never seen a label with natural on the front so not sure what it means...

"Natural" peanut butter is loosely defined as a product that does not contain partially hydrogenated oil, the trans fat-laden ingredient that makes classic peanut butter so silky smooth.

i buy my PB from a natural foods shop that grinds their own on a daily basis, all they use are freshly roasted peanuts with a pinch of sea salt...cant get much more natural than that. i would never even consider throwing away the oil that separates! its what gives the pb the spreadable consistency and is full of flavor and good, healthy fats. i think the shop owner would quit selling to me if he ever thought i was skimming off the oil and throwing it away. / Dracoy

[RTrout18]

When I grind my own PB up at home using DRY roasted, unsalted peanuts, I don't get any oil separation. I could be horribly wrong here, but isn't the oil separation that occurs in most peanut butters because the peanuts used were NOT dry roasted. Every store bought natural peanut butter I have come across definitely uses (not dry) roasted peanuts... you can tell by the color and the flavor. I think that most of the oil separation that occurs is due to the oils that were used during the roasting process...like I said, when I make my own using dry roasted, the oil separation does not occur...

that being said, I highly doubt that pouring the excess oil off the top is costing you the healthy fats the peanuts themselves have to offer.

And for whoever brought up Skippy Natural as an option... LOL...EWW! That crap is full of sugar. And I am by NO MEANS anti-sugar...but I definitely do not prefer my peanut butter to be full of it. Totally ruins it.

[Hooverville]

+1 store pb upside down crew
+1 pour out 1/2 the oil, mix the rest crew

[kaytee527]

When I grind my own PB up at home using DRY roasted, unsalted peanuts, I don't get any oil separation. I could be horribly wrong here, but isn't the oil separation that occurs in most peanut butters because the peanuts used were NOT dry roasted. Every store bought natural peanut butter I have come across definitely uses (not dry) roasted peanuts... you can tell by the color and the flavor. I think that most of the oil separation that occurs is due to the oils that were used during the roasting process...like I said, when I make my own using dry roasted, the oil separation does not occur...

that being said, I highly doubt that pouring the excess oil off the top is costing you the healthy fats the peanuts themselves have to offer.

And for whoever brought up Skippy Natural as an option... LOL...EWW! That crap is full of sugar. And I am by NO MEANS anti-sugar...but I definitely do not prefer my peanut butter to be full of it. Totally ruins it.

I make my own also! It is just WAY better, and once you make it once, you'll never want to go back to storebought, unless you get fresh ground from the grinder (at Whole Foods, etc.) those are also good. IF you make your own, get organic valencia dry roasted peanuts, they are SO much better tasting than Spanish or runner nut varieties which are more common and full of mold. (I can provide references if you are interested.)

Skippy "natural" or any no-stir peanut butters have, at least, oil and sugar and salt added, and the oil is usually partially hydrogenated (i.e. trans fat). So, those are NOT natural.

So, for OP's question. I did the math:

Calories per 16 grams (about 1 T) with oil = 200 calories *14 servings = 2800 cal/jar / 454 grams/jar = 6.17 cal/gram = 98.7 cal/T

To get the cal/serving when you skim off the oil, you'd need to do the same calculations, but subtract the weight of the oil. I did this with skimming off 2 T. Total weight of the jar is 454g - 28g = 426
Calories per 16 grams without oil = 200 calories *14 servings = 2800 cal/jar - 240 calories = 2560 cal/jar / 426g/jar = 6 cal/gram = 96.15 cal/T

Saving TWO CALORIES hardly seems worth the pain of draining and eating chalky peanut butter.

[maxmax1962]

I pour it out to try and get rid of some of the fat..i guess im just used to the dryness of it, but i kinda like it like that

hi there- I've been pouring off the oil for a couple years now- I get nearly a cup from the Costco Adams PB keg. I use the oil for cooking- nutrition bars, brownies, etc.. Season the cast iron..