Other nut butters spreading into peanut's traditional market
Andrew Coppolino | CBC News | Posted: September 23, 2017 10:18 AM | Last Updated: September 23, 2017
Almond, hazelnut and seed spreads such as pumpkin, sesame and soy are in more stores
Shelf space at the grocery store changed a bit when it was announced last year that the popular Skippy peanut butter brand would no longer be sold in Canada.
Despite the cry from fans, the absence left more room for Kraft brands and the return of Jif.
But it also might indicate a shift by consumers toward other nut-based spreads. From almond to soy to walnut, the presence of other nut and seed butters is spreading. And yes, peanuts are legume and not a nut.
In an email to CBC from Hormel, the Minnesota-based producer of Skippy, the company said, "It was an incredibly difficult decision to withdraw Skippy peanut butter from the Canadian market and a decision we did not take lightly."
The manufacturer also discontinued Skippy in other countries. Hormel went on to cite "competition, pricing and promotional considerations" that created an environment that made it difficult for them to continue to support the brand in Canada.
Distribution in a country as large as Canada is always a challenge, and other analysts noted the cost of French language labeling. But the growing presence of competition in an evolving food market likely played a significant role: People are simply looking for different nut butters.
Fat is back
Fat is back after decades of censure and vilification following faulty theories in the 1950s that eating fat raised your cholesterol level and caused heart disease.
In her magnificent James Beard award-winning 2008 book, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, Canadian author Jennifer McLagan says, "We need to rethink our relationship with fat. After decades of low-fat propaganda, most of what we think we know about fat just isn't true."
She's right. And today, only about a decade since McLagan's edict, people are eating more fat, from olive oil to butter and other types of animal fat.
Health-conscious consumers are also eating more almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds, all of which are natural foods that contain fat and which are spreading into the peanut's traditional territory.
Modern eating logistics
A tablespoon of almond butter (or peanut butter, for that matter) contains about 10 grams of fat. That makes nut butter a healthy and delicious food for the popular paleo and ketogenic diets. At the same time it satisfies an evolving interest in consumer desire for nuts and seeds as wholesome and healthy ingredients that ring true to a shopper's ear as a "natural" food.
As well, people who approach eating from a so-called "flexitarian" perspective – a growing population of semi-vegetarians who occasionally exclude meat from their diets – rely on nuts and nut butters for a necessary fat and protein source in their eating regime.
In addition to a desire for healthy, natural foods, consumers also want convenience. Nut butters have become more popular with the changing logistics of day-to-day eating. People – and by that I mean especially Millennials – look for convenient and tasty foods to snack on between meals (another food trend) and which have a "grab-and-go" quality.
Finally, the variety of nut butters available has shamed the standard peanut butter, although to be fair there is a peanut butter with chili powder, cayenne and crushed red peppers; manufacturers have also created all kinds of distinctive peanut butters: crunchy, creamy, smooth, light, all-natural, with sea salt, unsweetened and mixed with honey.
But other nut butters seem to have a more contemporary appeal: look online or in the specialty aisle and you can find seven-nut, sunflower seed, walnut, coconut, almond-hazelnut, Brazil nut, cashew, pistachio and even chai-sesame butters. There is, of course, the long-standing market favourite: chocolaty-hazelnut Nutella.
All that said, the Skippy peanut butter team at Hormel also told us they hope to have "the opportunity to re-enter the Canadian market in the future," but the nut butter sector may have moved on without them.
Make hazelnut butter: 2-step process
Making your own nut butters is relatively easy, though the cost of the raw materials – almond or even macadamia butter – can be expensive. One benefit is that you can control the amount of salt, sugar and other flavours that you add. Of course, another is that you've made it yourself.
Here's a simple method to create your own nut butter:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take two cups of hazelnuts and spread them out on a sheet pan. Roast the nuts in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove and let them cool.
- Place the hazelnuts between two clean kitchen towels and rub vigorously to remove the skins. Pour the hazelnuts into a blender or food processor and whiz them into a creamy butter.
You may want to add a bit of salt and sugar to taste, as well as a glug of vegetable oil if you want a thinner consistency. Use a bland oil to such as safflower or canola to maintain hazelnut taste, or an alternative nut oil such as walnut or almond to create a nutty mix. Adding oil, however, will raise the overall fat content.
You can also add chocolate or cinnamon or other flavourings and then whiz it together again in the blender.
If you want a finer texture, force the butter through a fine-meshed sieve using a flexible rubber spatula.