DIY: How to Make Peanut Butter at Home

The miracle answer is: ONE (or you could say Neo, since he's The ONE) OK. Bad Joke.

But seriously, One? like One?  like only One? YES! That's all there is to peanut butter if you make it at home.

I was always enamoured with PBJ sandwiches I read about when I was a kid. And I didn't grow up in those times when Sunfeast had come out with Peanut Butter in India. We were more the street 'kappalandi' people. That's dry roasted peanuts with skin for non-Keralites.

When I went to the US, one of the first things I got besides a box of donuts and a tub of rocky road from Walmarts was Peanut Butter. After all, I had to try this thing I'd read so much about. The donuts disappeared in no time, so did the rocky road. The PB lasted in the fridge till I returned or maybe till my roomies threw it out. Safe to say, I wasn't that enamoured by PB.

Over the years, I can feel my palate changing. More accepting. Enjoying more flavours that it used to earlier. PB happens to be one of them. While I still don't buy peanut butter, I do occasionally make this stuff at home and indulge a bit. And it really isn't any hardship considering how simple it is to make.



This jar shown is a 250 ml jar. Or that's what the dealer told me. I used about 225g of peanuts with skin to get this much peanut butter.

Method

1. Dry roast peanuts in a large heavy bottomed frying pan on a medium/low flame.
2. Toss and turn occasionally to avoid burning/blackening of nuts.
3. Roast for around 15-20 mins till the skin's ready to peel off.
4. Take off flame and allow to cool.
5. Blitz in your blender/mixie
1. Stages of mixing
1. Coarse Flour
2. Lumpy mix sticking to the sides
2. Persevere I say
1. Blitz some more.
2. Slowly you'll see the mix moving from the sides to the centre
3. There is a season turn, turn, turn
4. Till you finally get smooooth peanut butter

See that's it. Was that complicated?

Some tips to help you along the way.

1. If your blender is small, do it in batches and finally give it a twirl together. I did that.
2. Give you blender breaks in between. You don't want it to heat up and break down on you. Do you? Especially if you have a darling blender like mine?
3. You could add some neutral tasting oil to speed up the process. But try keeping that to a minimum. Maybe a tablespoon for 250g. Really, this stuff doesn't need it.
4. The best part of it all, you don't have to skin the peanuts. I made this skin and all. Last time I tried skinning the peanuts. This time, I did not and it's really not worth the trouble. I liked it soo much better this way. Of course if you get skinned peanuts in the market, go ahead. But if you don't, really, you don't have to bother.
5. I didn't add Salt. Or Honey. Or Sugar. I wanted to keep my options open. In the end, I liked it as it is. You could sprinkle some salt if you like. Nice crunchy flecks of sea salt would hit the spot. Or a dollop of honey, or sprinkle some raisins, or some cinnamon powder. Ah! the options.

Dear Ma,
    
Do not worry. I don't eat all that I make. I'm gifting this jar to Upli.

Love,
Your fatty child :P