Hismile Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Toothpaste

Rating: ??? Maybe a 2/10???

• 🥜 Category: Not Nut Butter, Toothpaste

This toothpaste was right near the checkout at Chemist Warehouse and, against my better judgement, I decided I had to know...

If you want to brush your teeth with a sugar-free version of Hershey's chocolate topping with a faint, artificial peanut butter note, then sure. I kind of regret buying into the hype (I tried the banana lolly flavour once and apparently did not learn) but I guess did it so you don't have to. 🙈

I am alternating this with normal mint toothpaste because I can't decide whether I am comfortable going to bed with the taste of bad dessert in my mouth. Technically, I think it works as toothpaste??? But maybe I am just being punk'd??? 🙉

Eric's Peanut Butter 100% Peanuts - Creamy

Rating: 4.5/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth, Plain
• Country of origin: Switzerland

Eric’s Peanut Butter was one of the peanut butters I found while doing my pre-trip research - I saw it on Instagram when decided I needed to try an indie peanut butter Switzerland, and then dragged my partner through multiple grocery stores in multiple Swiss cities looking for it. Romantic travel activities. 🥰

When I finally found it, I stood there umm-ing and ahh-ing because I already had Loeen’s and Bonne Maman to put in the cart, and I usually review the no-sugar version where possible, but the original had honey and sea salt, and they also had a Swiss chocolate version. (I am not usually a chocolate person, but I am a Swiss chocolate person.) This was a difficult and important moment.

I went with the naked version: just peanuts. I really wanted to like this, as I love the story and mission (and the social media posts - just look how cute the handwritten posts are! - I took a screenshot from the official Instagram account) but unfortunately, this is where I think naked peanut butter goes wrong. Instead of tasting naturally sweet and toasty, it tastes a little burnt and a bit sad and lacking in flavour.

Maybe the honey and sea salt version makes more sense, so I should try to recreate the experience at home? I haven’t really wanted to reach for this jar given I am spoilt for options. 😔

Loeen Peanut Butter

Rating: 9/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth, Plain
• Country of origin: Switzerland

We begin the European peanut butter reviews with the jar that that got dented in transit and leaked slightly in my luggage. Tragic, but also fitting, because this was the jar that cost CHF15 (a reminder: roughly AUD 30) so clearly it had to make its presence known.

Loeen’s nut butters are made by a family-run Swiss business sourcing their nuts from a farm in Iran. This peanut butter is completely unseasoned: just pure roasted peanuts. No salt, no sugar. Usually I approach "naked" peanut butter with caution because I do like a little salt to wake things up, but this might be the best unseasoned peanut butter I've tried to date (!!!). The natural sweetness is beautiful, the roast is gentle. I guess you could say the whole experience tastes expensive in a minimalist way, like sparse prose meant to be savoured.

So far, it has been extremely welcome spooned over my wintery baked oats with a small sprinkle of (Trader Joe's) pumpkin pie spice. Is part of this the placebo effect of eating rare, gourmet, expensive, international peanut butter? Maybe, but I can't say it's not working...

Incoming: Souvenirs From a Sweet/Savoury Trip to Europe

I have returned from Europe! I am fully back in my original timezone and recovered from jetlag and carrying what I believe to be a very reasonable haul! Some people bring home magnets, postcards, cheesy shot glasses (my partner), or tasteful local ceramics... I brought home jars of PB. One of them was AUD30 because the conversion from Swiss Francs... let's don’t talk about it. My bank account may never recover.

Across various international grocery store visits - one of my favourite travel activities and, frankly, a key pillar of cultural research - I managed to acquire a little lineup of peanut butters from Finland, Estonia, Switerland, Belgium, and Germany. (The trip has also made me more insufferable in other ways, because I have picked up French lessons again and the second thing my class learned about me (after my name) was that J'aime beacoup le beurre de cacahuète.)

Reviews are coming as soon as I come back from the combined effects of marathon recovery, building up a laundry backlog, and the emotional weight that is owning these rare acquisitions and writing about them. Please respect this important work.

Loaf, Laugh, Love

I have recently become the sort of person who is trying to perfect her beautiful boules of sourdough, after being gifted a starter (its name is Doughy - an apt name because the biggest fan of my bread is one poodle named Joey owned by my human partner) and immediately developing an embarrassingly earnest bread-based personality shift. 

This is relevant to peanut butter because it turns out fresh homemade sourdough is an elite peanut butter pairing: chewy, tangy, satisfyingly crisp when toasted, and sturdy enough for a generous smear. Romanticise your life and all that.

Adams Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

Rating: 7/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth, Plain
• Country of origin: USA

Hello, peanut butter people! I've returned from my accidental hiatus, the primary explanation for which is unfortunately very boring and adult: some career/job-related turbulence, because tragically my expensive peanut butter habit costs money. Inconvenient and annoying. I have also been in the full swing of training for my next marathon, which means much of my spare brainpower has been dedicated to laundry, carbs, and wondering whether my knees are meant to click this much.

The marathon is now a little over two weeks away, in Europe (!!!), so you bet I will be partaking in one of my favourite hobbies: peeping at international grocery stores and carefully perusing the nut butter aisle. As the great artist Pitbull would say, I am "Mr. Worldwide".

(Sometimes some fun thoughts come up on my runs though. Recently, mid-jog, I thought of the joke "Do pointers dream of electric heap?")

Anyway!

This jar is giving similar energy to the Trader Joe's one: it's a classic American natural peanut butter: simple, salty, and extremely committed to oil separation as a personality trait. This is a very oily jar, dramatically so.

Flavour-wise, it’s okay - the salt ratio is better than the Trader Joe’s one and lets the nutty flavour show up properly. The roast is pleasant, not super deep or complex, but solid. It tastes like peanuts and it spreads fine once you've done your daily arm workout by stirring it. It does the job. I prefer to drizzle/spoon it over oats than spread it on toast.

Reliable? Yes. Would I eat it happily on carbs before a run, after a run, or while avoiding my responsibilities? Also yes. Would I eat it during a run? Probably not.

Pic's Peanut & Chocolate Butter

Rating: 8/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Crunchy, Flavoured
• Country of origin: New Zealand

Happy 2026!

New year, new review, and some very fun life admin. I was kindly gifted a sourdough starter at the end of last year (its name is Doughy), so I have been regularly baking beautiful boules and doing what feels morally correct: generously slathering my favourite spreads on still-warm homemade bread. Bliss. I also start marathon training on Monday (for my first international marathon!!!), which means PB4PB will soon be fully back in action. I am a runner fuelled by peanut butter and groovy jams (it says so on my Strava).

I was also blessed last year when I went into the office and two colleagues absolutely nailed it with gifts: Pics Peanut & Chocolate Butter (little treat from Aotearoa), and an echidna plushie (little treat from Japan) to add to my cute anteater collection.

This jar originally launched back in 2021 and quickly sold out, then made a welcome, but only occasional, return thanks to fan demand. It is a solid 8/10!!! It's not as dark as I like my chocolate/peanut butter usually, but it's a pleasant milk/dark choccy combo that is not too sweet. And I do love Whittaker's chocolate, the Kiwis do have that going for them. Plus the crunch of peanuts is very satisfying - would take this over Nutella any day.

If you can get your grubby mitts on a jar, I think it's worth your time.

🥜🍫

Misfits Peanut Butter Fudge Plant-Based Protein Bar

I won't bother with a rating since protein bars aren't really my forte - I stick with the same Carman's / Sam's Pantry ones at the supermarket, usually, or just make my own snacks - but on the off-chance I have to buy / want to try a different one I will (obviously) opt for the most peanut butter leaning flavour. Usually plant-based, because whey protein doesn't agree with me.

This was kind of a bad bar, texture has that unpleasant chewy thing going on (you know the kind, when it's not-nut/oat based) and the peanut butter taste was kind of non-existent. Fuelled my run though, so I guess it wasn't completely pointless.

Happiness Is Simple (and Smells Like Peanut Butter)

My partner (who absolutely understood the assignment) surprised me with a peanut butter (and salted caramel)-scented candle, and now my apartment smells like dessert, serotonin, and possibly a fire hazard 🕯️🥜✨

Shortstop Dark Roasted Peanut Butter (Classic)

 Rating: 9/10. (Donut skip!!!)

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth/Crunchy, Plain
• Country of origin: Australia (a Melbourne local)

Oh boy, eating anything from Shortstop is basically time travel. One taste and I'm back at uni, fuelled by soy chai lattes with honey (early days) → an alarming number of soy lattes (masters degree). Bad circuit diagrams everywhere. Me: "just one donut break!" Also me, some hours later - sanity questionable, whichever poor study buddy I dragged along nodding through my monologue about PCBs and menty Bs (the Venn diagram was basically a circle). Throwback to when I actually knew how to use KVL and KCL. Currently typing this in a bootleg MATLAB tee, because apparently that era never really ended.

So when I saw they had made a dark roasted peanut butter, and this was, in fact, available to purchase by one fangirl (me), I basically yelled "Yes, chef!" to no one in particular. And let me tell you, it's every bit as gorgeous as I hoped.

The roast - pretty deep. Low-frequency resonance deep. Like how I like my whisky, it is smoky, toasty, and slightly bittersweet: the kind of flavour that makes you pause, nod thougtfully, and say "Ah, so this is flavour". The texture is chef's kiss: spoon-offable, with tiny peanut bits that are both delicate and punchy.

Flavour-wise, it's giving grown-up nostalgia. Super reminiscent of the flavour of Shortstop's peanut butter-based donuts, but denser, darker, and a little more introspective. There's a subtly coffee-adjacent bitterness that plays very nicely with the natural sweetness of the peanuts. It's peanut butter with range, like it's been through something and come out better for it (relatable!!!). This peanut butter is nostalgic, grounded, and (maybe) (definitely) a smidge over-caffeinated.

P.S. While you're at Shortstop, please do yourself the favour of getting their honey and sea salt cruller - I still stand by it as one of the best desserts you can find in Melbourne's CBD. Golden, airy, salty-sweet perfection. You are so welcome! 🍩

The Olde Spikey Bridge Peanut Butter (Smooth & Crunchy)

Rating: 10/10. Two words: yum yum!!!

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth & Crunchy, Plain
• Country of origin: Australia (specifically Tasmania)
• Serving suggestion: Please kindly gift your jars to your local nut butter nutter (me) 😇

It's a double whammy today, besties - I'm reviewing both smooth and crunchy. With that rating, how could I not?

Sometimes the best reviews come with a story, and this one is a testament to friendship and my blatantly obvious peanut butter obsession. I absolutely demolished my first jar (brought back by a very nice coworker per request) so quickly that I didn't even have time to write a proper review. Then, a blessing: a friend who'd just returned from Tasmania surprised me with not one but two (!) replacement jars for my birthday. If that isn't a sign to finally write this review and try to do this peanut butter justice, I don't know what is.

This Tasmanian treasure is everything you want in a peanut butter. The smooth and crunchy varieties are equally good, with the crunchy version studded with delightful little peanut pebbles. The roast level hits the sweet spot of deep, rich nuttiness without any bitter notes. Butterscotch and toffee notes. Saltiness is spot-on. The natural, fragrant, sweetness of the peanuts in this is just scrum-diddly-umptious: think freshly baked goods. I recommend you keep both textures handy for whatever mood strikes. In fact, I will write you a prescription.

What makes this even more special is that it's a local hero, and one that can go toe-to-toe with any of the international brands in my collection. I'm heading to Tasmania this spring, and while I'll tell everyone it's for the nature walks, contemporary art, and wine and cheese scene... we all know I'm really just going to Salamanca Market to stock up on Olde Spikey Bridge (RIP luggage space).

🥰🥰🥰

Oh So Natural Wholefoods Smooth Peanut Butter

Rating: 3/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth, Plain
• Country of origin: Australia (I think - this is an Aldi brand)

Nope! While the texture is passable for a natural peanut butter, that's about the only positive thing I can say. It tastes like a mouthful of peanut oil with barely any actual peanut flavour coming through. Natural sweetness from the peanuts? Absent. The lack of salt (intentional) doesn't help. So... why bother?

If you're looking for a natural peanut butter, there are better options out there - save your $3.39.

Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter

Rating: 6/10

• 🥜 Category: Peanut, Smooth, Plain
• Country of origin: USA
• Serving suggestion: Add a pinch of salt and use it anywhere you'd use a dark roasted PB

I wanted to like this one more. Dark roasted peanut butter is usually my jam (pun absolutely intended), but this one's giving "talented but directionless". The deep, roasty, toasty notes are there, but they're performing solo when it's not really meant to be a one-note show. To put it plainly - it needs more salt. It's like they got halfway through the recipe and forgot the supporting cast.

The texture is giving "wannabe diva" - needs frequent mixing to keep it together. The peanuts themselves are giving "fresh-faced understudy" - they don't taste like they've been forgotten in the back of the pantry. But without enough salt to amplify the flavours, it's just... there. A perfectly fine performer that never quite gets its moment to shine.

A sprinkle of salt would probably bump this up a little, but I'm reviewing what's in the jar, not what could have been.