Choosy versus picky

If the choosy choose Jif, do the picky pick Skippy?

Skippy Natural Peanut Butter

Where purchased: Meijer
Price: $1.99 on sale (Regular $2.29)
Overall rating: 4/5

Today’s entry stems from my sister’s comment regarding my review of Jif Natural peanut butter. Her family was also not impressed with the Jif Natural, but they do like the Skippy Natural. So, even though it is not “new” anymore, I purchased the Skippy Natural to see how it measures up.

Skippy Natural vs Jif Natural
Skippy did a much better job making their natural version more like their regular peanut butter than Jif did. I found it very creamy and smooth, and it didn’t taste dry to me at all. I really didn’t find that weird texture difference (or really a taste difference, though I’m not as familiar with Skippy’s regular taste) that I definitely noticed in the Jif Natural. Comparing the two brands’ nutrition/ingredient labels, I noticed that Skippy Natural kept the full 150 mg of salt (Jif reduced their to 75 mg in their natural version) and Skippy had only 4 ingredients – no molasses. Also of note: Skippy has 3.5 g of saturated fat while Jif has 3 g, and Skippy has 6 g carbs while Jif has 7.

Skippy Natural vs Original Skippy
Skippy Natural has 10 fewer calories, 0.5 g more saturated fat, and 1 g less carbs than its regular counterpart. The sodium content remained the same. While original Skippy has 0 g trans fat on its nutrition label, it does contain partially hydrogonated vegetable oils – which we know means there are trans fats, but less than 0.5 g per serving.

So where does this comparison leave us? If you are loyal to Jif, keep buying the regular version. Switching to the natural version just isn’t worth what you lose in texture and flavor. However, if you are a Skippy person or not brand-loyal, I’d recommend trying the Skippy Natural. Though you will still be consuming the saturated fat found in palm oil, you will eliminate those scary trans fats found in the regular version – and more importantly, you won’t be sacrificing flavor and texture. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much this spreads and tastes like the regular peanut butter. And if you are a natural peanut butter eater only because you are very concerned with receiving the health benefits, keep buying the “real” natural peanut butters that contain only peanuts and salt, with no added oils or sugars. If you are ok with the fact that it will never taste like that creamy smooth peanut butter you grew up with, then fine. At least you can feel better about your health while you stir it and fight to spread it on your bread!

I am giving Skippy Natural a rating of 4 out of 5 because they did a great job at keeping their natural version closer to their regular version. Normally a rating this high would mean I would purchase it again (and maybe I would if I was the only one eating peanut butter in our household), but I think I am actually going to just keep buying regular Jif. I will finish up the Skippy Natural, and Noah will finish up the Jif Natural (he didn’t think the Jif Natural was bad, but he really didn’t like the Skippy Natural because it “tasted like Skippy”), but in the end I think we’ll go back to our grocery rut and stick with the stuff we love.