While I was in my local supermarket recently, I found myself in the "spreads" section. Just about all I saw were types of jams, marmalades, jellies, and such that are very common, or else aren't, but were ones I'd had before (see the May 22, 2015 and November 23, 2016 posts). But this time I took more notice of the other nut and seed butters besides the normal peanut butters. I didn't retry the hazel nut ones, since I consider these, especially Nutella, to be fairly common. I went with almond butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter.
Almonds, as I learned, are native to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Now they're also grown in places with a warm enough climate, such as Spain, Australia, and California in the U.S. Also, if there are any botanist reading this and becoming enraged (and in a weird way I kind of hope that's true), yes, technically the almonds we eat are not nuts, but are drupes. Wild almonds are toxic to humans, so people should only stick to the domesticated kinds. Nutritionally, almond butter has more manganese, potassium, fiber, and calcium than does peanut butter, and it's also a good source of magnesium, copper, iron, riboflavin, and Vitamin E. On the negative side, some folks have criticized the growing of almonds in times of drought, since the plant requires unusually high amounts of water.
I recently discussed another part of the cashew plant in my post about Brazilian beverages (see my October 21, 2017 post). Cashew butter is high in protein, Vitamin B, and unsaturated fats. During the Cold War Era in the U.S. (after World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union) cashew butter was a staple of many U.S. Civil Defense survival kits Consumers sometimes dip apple slices in it as a dip, or add it to smoothies and oatmeal.
In the U.S., sunflower butter was first tried commercially in the early 1980's. However this attempt didn't catch on, probably due to the spread's overly bitter taste, and unappetizing greenish color. In 2000 a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with Red River Commodities to come up with an improved version. They altered the degree of roasting, experimented with different amounts of added sugar and salt, and used canola and cottonseed oils as a stabilizer. (And, they must have done something to diminish the green color, too.) The result was SunButter, which rolled out in 2002. This product did well enough that by 2011 it was available nationwide in big chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Walmart, Super Valu, Kroger, and Target. Sunflower butter is a good source of protein, Vitamin B, iron, fiber, and zinc. It's also eaten as a dip, or mixed into sandwiches. And once again, to quell the plant scientists' fury, the sunflower "seed" is actually a cypsela.
All three of the above are often used as other spread choices for people who have serious peanut allergies. But on to the ratings.
1) Barney smooth almond butter. Barney & Co. is California based, and the jar was 10 ounces (284 grams). Ingredients are blanched roasted almonds, organic and fair trade cane sugar, palm fruit oil, and sea salt. It's also Non-GMO, gluten-free, made in a peanut-free facility, kosher, certified vegan, and BPA-free. By color and texture this butter closely resembled peanut butter, as it was a light brown hue and a thick texture. I also thought it tasted a bit like peanut butter. I'm guessing the salt and sugar helped the flavor, too. I thought this was the best of the bunch. I had it plain, on Wheat Thins crackers, and then as a "AB & J", or a almond butter and (Welch's grape jelly) jelly sandwich. So pretty good overall.
2) Crazy Richard's cashew butter. Crazy Richard's is based out of Ohio, and the jar was 312 grams (11 ounces). Ingredients are only dry roasted cashews and sunflower oil. Product is gluten-free, non-GMO, BPA-free, vegan, and has no cholesterol, palm oil, trans fat, or salt and sugar. This one was light brown, and extremely oily in consistency. At room temperature it was almost a liquid, and even after being in the fridge for days it was still a thin goo. As with the almond kind I had this plain, on Wheat thins, and then with grape jelly as a sandwich. It was just okay--a tad bland. I suspect I would have liked it better if it had had salt and sugar in it. It did taste best in the CB & J format.
3) Wholesome Pantry organic sunflower butter. This was specially made for Shop-Rite supermarkets, and distributed by Wakefern Food Corp., out of New Jersey (no word on where the sunflowers were grown.) The ingredient list for this one is even more succinct--only sunflower seeds. The label further boasted that the product was certified organic, and didn't use processing methods like ionizing radiation and genetic engineering. Came in a 16 ounce (454 gram) jar. This butter was also very oily--soupy at room temperature, slightly more gooey after being chilled in the fridge. The color was a darker brown--reminiscent of darker mustards. Its flavor was a bit bitter and astringent. It was better on a Wheat Thin than plain. But definitely the weakest of the three. After reading about it, I wonder if I would have liked SunButter brand better, as once again, the bitter taste is presumably cut by the sugar and salt.
I should probably state that when it comes to the dry roasted nuts or seeds, I love cashews, think sunflowers are just okay, and only like almonds chopped up and mixed in other things, like in cookies, for example. Furthermore, peanut butter is my second favorite food, period, after cheese, so it was very unlikely that any of these would exceed, or even equal, my love of this food. But, none of these were completely horrible, either. Given my lukewarm-at-best reaction to them, coupled with their high prices (each was about $6-7), I don't think I'll get these again. Although I should say that my parents tried these, too, and liked them better them me.
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