I don't think I'd eat Creamy Skippy if you paid me to do so. I stick with the "peanuts and salt" kinds myself.

I'm with @DCarl1. Peanuts and salt all the way. The one brand they didn't mention is my all-time favorite - Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter from Costco. You need to mix the oil and pb together the first time you use it, but after that it's creamy and delicious. Doesn't get hard if you keep in the fridge. Two thumbs up!

Agreed! I love Cook's Illustrated, but they sometimes miss the mark when it comes to the healthier, less processed alternatives (that are often better than their conventional counterparts).

We are just now making the switch from Jif creamy (which I grew up on and absolutely love) to more natural peanut butter. I have three very picky little girls in my household, so we are moving slowly, I just finished up a jar of Jif Natural and was not impressed and am now starting on a jar of Smuckers Natural. I'm intrigued by the Costco shoutout though, maybe we'll give that a try next!

Just peanuts and salt, thank you :) All that other stuff with sugar in it... *shiver*

I respectfully disagree with all other comments here. I have tried to like natural peanut butter and simply cannot bring myself to enjoy it. We love all kinds of natural, whole foods in our home, but we stand by Jif peanut butter. Despise us if you dare!

we changed from the tiny trader joe's natural version (peanuts only) to the whole foods version (peanuts + salt) just because it's bigger. my husband and son go through it so quickly. my pet peeve is mixing up the oil - it's so annoying and messy even though i try to be careful, but when i read the labels of the regular brands i cannot bring myself to feed my family palm oil and HFCS! so i mix away.

my friend said her fave peanut butter is whole foods honey roasted peanuts that you grind yourself but i'm sure it's $$$. but a worthy treat for those of you who like PB.

I agree with Ann the Brave - I can't stand the just peanuts and salt versions. My favorite peanut butter is the kind I make myself in my food processor with roasted peanuts, salt and honey. I think I used Alton Brown's recipe and then tweaked it for my tastes. I buy already roasted peanuts - don't have time to roast them myself. Yummy!

Krema - it's excellent. We switched to natural peanut butters when DD was born 12 years ago - now I can't stand the taste of sweetened peanut butters.

I was raised on peanut butter from the bulk bin at our local co-op and I hated it. A PBJ with Jif or Skippy at a friend's house was heaven. As an adult, I still appreciate the texture and sweet flavor of those two, but I just can't justify the processing and HFCS. My go-to PB is now Cream-Nut Smooth. It's just peanuts and sea salt, but somehow it manages to be sweeter and smoother than other natural brands. (And it's made in Michigan!) I store the jar upside down and never have to stir.

As long as it's organic and nothing more than pure peanuts and salt. Peanuts are one of those heavily sprayed crops - at the very least, don't feed non-organic peanuts or peanut butter to your kids!
Trader Joe's carries some good organic peanut butter at a reasonable price.

For me peanut butter was always about texture. If there is a bit of graininess to my creamy pb then I hate it so I thought I was restricted to the world of Jiffy. However a few years ago I tried the Maranatha nut brand butter becuase the no-stir label caught my eye. I always hated having to stir like crazy my creamy natural peanut butter so I pick up a jar to try. Wow! I still had to stir the butter initially, but once stirred I never had to do it again. But the real kicker was the flavor and texture. Here I had a super creamy peanut butter with no grit and the flavor of the natural peanut butter was just so far superior to those of Jiffy and Peter Pan. I even got my dad hooked on it when he came to visit for thanksgiving. He had seen the jar in my pantry and commented on how he hated organic peanut butter. I made him try a spoonful and when the visit was over he left with two jars of the stuff and ended up requesting his grocery store carry it.

Oh man, I tried to like the natural, organic, good for you peanut butter. I have tried the fresh ground and the different brands. I still can't seem to get over the Jiff creamy love. Everything else I eat is good for you with no unprouncable ingredents but give me the good stuff any day!

organic peanuts and salt. I just stir it, no biggie.

I was raised on Skippy creamy and I still love the flavor and creaminess of it, but agree with others that I don't like all that's added to it.

My go-to is Whole Foods Creamy - nice and simple ingredients. If I can't get to WF then I pick up Smucker's Natural. I don't mind the gritty texture, except when spreading on the bread. I am curious about the Costco brand though.

As for the stirring thing, I just do what wozlig does and turn the jar upside down. :)

Our favorite is Teddie peanut butter -- found throughout New England but now I see you can order on-line:
http://www.teddie.com/

For those of you who are wary of additives in your peanut butter but can't get past the flavor and texture issues and prefer Jif....

You really ought to give Kirkland/Costco brand organic creamy PB. I've actually never found better. Once stirred the first time, it tends to not separate, it's delicious, it's creamy and the ingredient list is short: organic peanuts and salt.

My favorite is Trader Joe's creamy peanut butter. It's great. I would like to know more about the tasters in this. If you've been eating sweetened peanut butter for the last 30 years you're most likely going to lean that way. I switched over in my late teens and it took a couple of jars to get used to it not being so sweet, and now I prefer it that way.

I actually have a jar of Peter Pan in my fridge from a recipe that recommended not using natural peanut butter because of oil separation issues in the final product. It doesn't even come close to the TJ's stuff.

Oh, and if you find that mixing up natural PB is a messy affair give the jar a really good shake for maybe 10-15 seconds before you open it up for the first time. It won't do the mixing for you, but it'll combine the oil pretty well into the top inch or so of peanut paste. You won't be sloshing oil up and over the side when you stir.

From my own experience, I suspect this is simply a result of what people are used to. I used to be a Skippy fan, but I started buying Teddy all-natural when I needed it to help give my elderly dog meds on a regular basis. I figured the fewer additives his body had to deal with the better. I ate it, too, because it made no sense to keep two kinds in the house. (i love peanut butter and will eat it with a spoon)

At first I found the texture really off-putting, but I was willing to put up with it for the dog. But a couple months later I had some skippy at my Mom's and was blown away by how odd and almost plastic the stuff tasted.

So I think if you're used to the processed stuff, no you probably won't like natural. Most people don't like real maple syrup either, because they're so used to the artificial stuff.

I'm fine with the taste of Smucker's Natural. My mother switched us over when I was about 6.

Before I open it, I store it upside down so the oil gets a head start; it's much easier to stir afterwards. Then I keep it in the refrigerator, so it doesn't separate.

A few years ago, when aflatoxins were in the news, Smucker's was the only natural brand to be free of them, so I've stuck with that brand since.

Oh, and I do keep Jif or whatever for the mouse traps, because it's cheaper.

Cook's Illustrated isn't always aligned with my tastes either... (actually, frequently)

Me too, I prefer a peanut butter with a robust roasted peanut flavour, and salt.

My husband used to work with food inspectors way back in the late '90s, and ever since then, we have religiously avoided hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated foods, so that is the biggest issue for me with respect to peanut butter.

I grew up with creamy Jif, but when I met my (now) wife, she would only the the just peanuts kind. (Note that I didn't say "just peanuts and salt". Nope, just peanuts). I thought it was gross at first, but I didn't want to make waves. Years later I've more or less gotten over it; I just eat less peanut butter than I used to.

But dang, all this thinking about it is making me crave a spoonfull of Jif.

I eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich almost everyday for lunch. My mom bought Jif when I was a kid. I tried all natural peanut butter but just didn't like it. It always tasted bitter or something... and I missed the sugar. So I went back to Jif.

But now, like Mid-C Frank, I am a Teddies convert. I love it and I just can't have Jif or Skippy anymore. But it has to be salted! Unsalted peanut butter...blegh.

Another comment supporting upside-down storage of the natural PB jar. I picked that tip up in a past Kitchn comment and it was an epiphany!

I go for the natural stuff, the fewer ingredients the better. I used to buy peanut butter from Fairway where they had a machine that crushed the peanuts into butter right in front of you. Then they started adding oil.

Another vote for just peanuts + salt!

Actually, the Cooks Illustrated winner sounds nasty. Overly creamy, sweetened, un-nutty peanut butter reminds me of plastic, not food. I actually LIKE gritty peanut butter, but then... I grew up on crunchy style.

I can appreciate both "peanuts + salt PB as well as the processed stuff, but <90% peanuts, >55% fat? no.

I also really like the Costco/Kirkland brand of natural peanut butter. We made the switch when my kids started eating peanut butter and I haven't missed the processed stuff one bit.

I really like three kinds: Cream Nut Smooth, Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted, and Trader Joes Organic Creamy. The Trader Joes is made with Valencia peanuts so it is natural but a little sweeter. All three are perfectly smooth. Stir is once, stick in the fridge, and easy to spread. Delicous.

Peanuts are heavily sprayed; no way I am feeding non-organic peanuts to kids.

Processed peanut butter tastes nasty to me now. I was raised on Skippy.

If you think natural peanut butter needs to be a hassle or tastes gritty, shop around.

@Mid-C Frank I can see the Teddie sign from my window at work! Also, love their peanut butter!

Love That Photo! I grew up in Detroit and left the area in the 80's. I had completely forgotten about growing up on Velvet. Don't eat PB anymore though, it's only raw almond butter these days.

I like the peanuts and salt kind. "Normal" PB tastes like frosting to me. At the same time, plain, salt-free PB is just sad.

I grew up on Skippy and hate most natural peanut butter. Until I discovered the peanut butter machines at Whole Foods. They have one with honey roasted peanuts, which makes amazing peanut butter!

Here's a suggestion for making the mixing process less messy (I only eat the natural peanuts-and-salt kind of peanut butter): instead of stirring it in the jar, dump it out into a bowl and microwave it for a minute or two. Warming it makes it easier to stir and you don't get oil all over the outside of the jar. Then store it in the fridge and it shouldn't need to be stirred again. (Then again, I go through it faster than most people, so maybe that's just me.)

I grew up on natural peanut butter so I couldn't disagree with CI more in this instance. I don't prize a smooth texture, rather a rich peanut taste. I dislike all sweetened peanut butters, like Skippy and Jif.

For those who want the sweetness of commercial PB, why not just add a drizzle of honey to natural PB when using it?

I buy roasted organic peanuts from my co op and make my own in my vita-mix. I am sure a food processor would work well too. I always add a pinch or two of Guerande fleur de salt. Sometimes I'll add some grade B maple syrup especially if being paired with a banana.

I can't stand the sweetness and complete lack of peanut butter taste in the commercial brands.

So, not a lot of crunchy peanut butter fans in the crowd? ;-) Jif Crunchy was always my preference as a kid, though I do buy creamy now since my husband prefers it, and I don't eat enough of it to make a difference.

I have to agree on Skippy Natural being not nutty enough. I ended up with a jar of it recently, and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I didn't know it was possibly for peanut butter to taste so little like peanuts.

*possible (not possibly)

I do the adding-honey trick. I don't think honey is any healthier necessarily than white sugar or whatever, but I like my peanut butter a *little* sweet and this way I can add just a bit, not enough to make it desserty-sweet like Jif. I add it to my Trader Joe's creamy with salt, when I mix up a new jar.

My husband couldnt stand the organic all natural PB I was getting, until I started buying Trader Joe' creamy...its the cheapest best tasting out there! We stock up. I'm a fan of chunky PB as well: LOVE TJ's valencia with flax (slightly more expensive).

However, nothing beats Skippy for PB cookies!

Like many other things in my adult life, once you I switched to the healthier version (Teddy UNsalted, ingredients: peanuts), now I can't stomach the un-natural taste of Jif/Skippy, etc. Likewise, I used to love McDonald's fries, now they don't actually taste like food to me.

Also, I second the store it upside down suggestion. My upstairs neighbor discovered that one accidentally, spread the good news, and I've been doing it ever since.

@Mid-C Frank's, @rebeccam, @camilla244, @heypielady Please forgive this tardy comment ... but... THANKS FOR THE TEDDIE SHOUT OUTS! Oh so very cool!! It makes us silly little nuts smile!! - Your friends at Teddie Peanut Butter