DIY peanut butter?

[Zikoris]

I'm interested in making my own nut butters at home. Does anyone have recommendations for a blender/processor that works well for this that's not huge? In my research so far, smaller models seem to have conflicting reviews, and the massive chonker processors that are universally loved are way too big for my small kitchen.

It seems that making nut butters can be quite hard on the machinery, so it needs to have a very powerful motor apparently. A common baseline recommendation I've seen is at least 350 watts.

[uniwelder]

I felt bad no one has written back to you yet, so I thought this might help.  I haven't actually made peanut butter before (besides buying fresh ground) but am curious to try it out. 

I bought a food processor off Craigslist a couple years ago for $10.  I just looked at it now, and it has a 450 watt motor.  The machine itself is pretty small--- black + decker FP1700B, which doesn't seem to be sold anymore, but the equivalent models seem to cost about $30 new. 

We also have a meat grinder and saw some videos of peanuts getting ground through one.  Next time we get some peanuts we're going to try both methods out.

[mountain mustache]

I have a Cuisinart food processor. I have the 7 cup, which I think is perfect for nut butters (also great for homemade hummus), but not SO big and heavy. I bought this processor in college in 2010, and used to make nut butters 1-2 times a week, for like....6 years and it's still going fine now 10 years into ownership. They literally last forever (I have the one with the white plastic base) and I've even seen the older models on Ebay for decently cheap and would totally buy a used one if I didn't already have one. My mom has had one for 20+ years, still works perfectly.

[Freedomin5]

Not sure what you consider “huge@, but we make nut butters in our Blendtec. 10 years and still going strong. We also had a tiny kitchen before we moved. Tiny as in it was slightly larger than the width of a hallway and had no counter space because it was literally a sink with counter large enough for a chopping board, stove, and fridge next to each other.

[uniwelder]

Update--- we just did our first batch (1/2 in meat grinder, 1/2 in food processor) and liked the meat grinder better.  Everything flowed through with no issues--- just had to use the disc with smallest holes and pass everything about 4 times.  With the food processor, it ground everything to an oily powder with 30-60 seconds, but then had issues with it sticking against the sides and not getting chopped in the blades.  After turning it off, scraping the sides, and turning back on again, it immediately got thrown against the sides again.  Maybe I should have tried a few more times, but decided just to finish off with the grinder.  Its about the consistency of the peanut butter we buy fresh ground, so this was a fun experiment.

Edit—- after reading more about it, I think I didn’t have enough peanuts in the food processor. It sounds like the container should be at half capacity, so probably needed to put 2x as much in. Will try again.

[uniwelder]

Another update--- I just made my first good batch in the food processor.  1 pound of peanuts for the 8 cup capacity unit.  Once it got creamy after a few minutes, I added the remaining peanut butter from the previous attempt and let it continue for about 10 minutes total.  Here's something I don't understand--- after about 8 minutes (when it was very warm and runny constistency) and I added in a little salt and a few spoonfuls of honey, it then became very stiff like store brand peanut butter during the next 2 minutes of mixing.  Not sure what's going on with that.

[lthenderson]

Another update--- I just made my first good batch in the food processor.  1 pound of peanuts for the 8 cup capacity unit.  Once it got creamy after a few minutes, I added the remaining peanut butter from the previous attempt and let it continue for about 10 minutes total.  Here's something I don't understand--- after about 8 minutes (when it was very warm and runny constistency) and I added in a little salt and a few spoonfuls of honey, it then became very stiff like store brand peanut butter during the next 2 minutes of mixing.  Not sure what's going on with that.

Sounds like you over mixed the peanut butter after you added the honey. Should only mix it up at max just 15 seconds just to get it mixed throughout. Any more than that and it will start getting thick again.

[uniwelder]

@Zikoris I'm about to make another batch and was wondering if you ever made any peanut butter of your own yet?  I was originally inspired by your posting and have been making a pound of it every few weeks.

@lthenderson Yes, I now mix the honey in by hand afterward.  Much better result.

[Zikoris]

@Zikoris I'm about to make another batch and was wondering if you ever made any peanut butter of your own yet?  I was originally inspired by your posting and have been making a pound of it every few weeks.

@lthenderson Yes, I now mix the honey in by hand afterward.  Much better result.

I haven't found a good food processor for it yet, but I definitely intend to eventually!

[GreenSheep]

I used this one for years until my mom gave me a bigger one. It's a workhorse, and I recently learned that Timaree Hagenburger, who teaches a college nutrition course and does cooking demonstrations (https://thenutritionprofessor.com), always recommends this exact model to her college students because it's cheap and tough. (Yikes, it used to be $25. Not sure why it's so much more now. But even at the current price, I'd say it's worth it.) I made my own nut butter in it all the time (peanut, almond, walnut, and hazelnut). You just have to let it keep running even when you think it doesn't have any more to give. When you think it's done, keep going.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00755KNCS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jeromedawg]

We have made nut butters a good number of times in our Blendtec - it turns out well. Almond butter and peanut butter. I like using Planters Honey Roasted/salted peanuts since those have some sugar/honey on them. It works out nicely since you don't need to add any salt or sugar after the fact... that is, unless you like eating plain unsweetened PB, etc. The almond butter, IIRC, I added some honey to after the fact. It all turns out well. I would imagine you could do the same thing in a Vitamix or decent food processor. Not sure how well this would work in a cheaper blender though.

[Case]

I'm interested in making my own nut butters at home. Does anyone have recommendations for a blender/processor that works well for this that's not huge? In my research so far, smaller models seem to have conflicting reviews, and the massive chonker processors that are universally loved are way too big for my small kitchen.

It seems that making nut butters can be quite hard on the machinery, so it needs to have a very powerful motor apparently. A common baseline recommendation I've seen is at least 350 watts.

Been there done that.

Making your own nut butters is an unproductive pursuit unless there is a unique butter you want that you either cant get or is way expensive.  Otherwise, the labor involved is significant and you might shorten the life of the device you are using unless it is designed for grinding butters.

I had this same idea years ago, because i eat tons of peanutbutter ( about 2 lbs/week average), and I wanted it to be peanuts-only (no sugar, no salt).  It turns out Trader Joe’s already has this niche nailed and sells it for $1.99/lb.  you might be able to whole sale raw peanuts for  <$1/pb, but it was a fuckton of time/labor to make  a months supply of peanut butter using my wife’s food processor.  Notto mention the roasting which adds another step (and TJs alread has nailed that shot as well; they roast theirs slightly darker than other brands I’ve tried which for me produced a superior flavor).

So anyways, just wanted to hare my experience there.  Competing with an industrial process is not a win in this case, unless you have specific targets that aren’t met in the market… but if you consume large quantities, be prepared for a lot of work.  (To me, spending a couple hours to roast/grind/cleanup for approx 10 lbs of PB was not worth it).

[sonofsven]

I used to have a Champion model juicer that also did nut butters.
I ended up selling it after a few years.

[RWD]

We have a KitchenAid food processor that we received as a gift when we got married a little over a decade ago. I believe it is this 9-cup capacity one which says it is rated for 1/2 horsepower (what a dumb unit for electric power) which works out to ~370 watts. The info sheet on the base of the unit says 5.6 amps maximum at 120V (so definitely no more than 670 watts).

We've been using it regularly to make peanut/almond butter for the last 5 or 6 years with no issues. It works for batches up to about 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) of nuts.

[Dicey]

If you ever find yourself in Bellingham (post pandemic, if there is such a thing), you can buy it at Winco. You grind it "yourself" (by pushing a button) and it comes out warm and delicious. So good...now I'm craving it!