Crunchy Peanut Butter

Having a whole loaf of wholemeal bread leftover from the post on sandwiches, and acting on a tip-off from the MoneysavingExpert Forums, I bought a jar of Basics crunchy peanut butter. I was thinking that I could do with making sandwiches for breakfast instead of spending at the canteen at work, and I definitely wanted more variety than just cream cheese, also thanks to the post that I've linked above.

The nice thing about peanut butter is that it lasts and lasts. I remember that I bought a jar in my first year at university and I don't remember ever finishing it, and yet it didn't spoil during my time there. Indeed, the cap of the jar I just bought indicates that its expiry date is in Jun 2010, and there are no indications that one has to consume it within a certain number of days once it's opened.


The nasty thing about peanut butter however is also the thing that makes it nice. If it's bad, you will still feel obliged to keep it, because it lasts long anyway, so you wouldn't have to eat it that often, and still not let your money go to waste.

I regret to report that the ingredients that make up this peanut butter makes for a very bland peanut butter. It still tastes of peanuts, but is not near the more expensive brands which taste rather more luxurious, possibly from being more generous with the peanuts. This Basics item however would probably make you obliged to keep it well past its expiry date.

Then again, for £0.69, you would expect the peanut butter to contain rapeseed oil instead of the more expensive peanut oil. Those of you who prefer smooth peanut butter are out of luck; there isn't such an item in the Basics range. I suppose it costs more to finely crush the peanuts. That said, do you seriously want to skimp on the extra money it costs to get the regular peanut butter? I did mention that it lasts didn't I? Surely the cost would be borne out over a longer period of time?

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Crunchy Peanut Butter	£0.69	34	+£0.80	Fewer calories (59.4 vs 61 per serving), 4% higher peanut content, peanut oil instead of rapeseed oil. Recommended.