Here’s something to get messy with, all you peanut lovers out there.   Peanut butter is nothing more than roasted peanut crushed into a paste.  Try this at home and in time, you could come up with your own variation of this classic comfort food.

peanut-butter-factoryWhat you need:

■  1 cup roasted shelled peanut

■  1 to 2 tablespoons (tbsp) vegetable or corn oil

■  ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

■  sugar (optional)

■  measuring cup and spoon

■  blender (for smooth peanut butter)

■  food processor or grinder (for chunky peanut butter)

■  Jar for the finished product

TAKE NOTE! If you can’t find roasted shelled peanuts, buy the roasted unshelled ones.  Just shell them by taking off the red skin.

What you will do:

  1. If you want chunky peanut butter, chip the peanut in a food processor or grinder.  If you want smooth or creamy peanut butter, chop the peanuts in a blender.
  2. Add 1 tbsp to 2 tbsp of vegetable or corn oil, a bit a a time, and regrind or blend the mixture until it looks like spreadable peanut butter.  This may take 3 minutes to 4 minutes.  You can use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture from the sides of the container back into contact with the blade.
  3. Add only a little bit of sugar or salt at a time until it tastes just right for you.
  4. Homemade peanut butter contains no preservatives or chemical additives.  Store your homemade peanut butter in a jar in the refrigerator.  If the oil rises to the top, simply stir it back into the peanut butter before spreading.

This will yield about half a cup of creamy peanut butter and three fourths cup of crunchy peanut butter.

Sources

► Blender Peanut Butter. http://www.peanutbutterlovers.com/recipes/blender_pb.html

► Let’s Make Peanut Butter. http://www.sowega.net/~plainsed/kidsite/kidpages/peanutbutter.htm

► Mills, Laura. http://www.kinderart.com/kitchen/peanutbutter.shtml

► http://www.kinderart.com/kitchen/peanutbutter.shtml

Photo courtesy:  walyou