52 Week Food Storage - Week #29 (Part 2)

Week # 29: 8 lbs Peanut Butter

8 lbs Peanut Butter:
Peanut butter is a food paste made from ground roasted peanuts. It is popular throughout the world and used mainly as a sandwich spread.

Health Benefits:
Peanut butter may protect against a high risk of cardiovascular disease due to high levels of monounsaturated fats and resveratrol; butter prepared with the skin of the peanuts has a greater level of resveratrol and other health-aiding agents.[1] Peanut butter (and peanuts) provide protein, vitamins B3 and E, magnesium, folate, dietary fiber, arginine,[2] and high levels of the antioxidant p-coumaric acid.
A peanut butter based food helps children with malnutrition in famine stricken countries, it’s called Plumpy’nut. It can be stored unrefrigerated for 2 years, and requires no cooking or preparation. Plumpy’nut, which comes in a silvery foil package the size of two grasping baby-size hands, is 500 calories of fortified peanut butter, a beige paste about as thick as mashed potatoes and stuffed with milk, vitamins and minerals.

Health Concerns:
For people with a peanut allergy, peanut butter can cause reactions including anaphylactic shock which has led to its banning in some schools. At least one study has found that peanut oil caused relatively heavy clogging of arteries. Peanut butter can also harbor salmonella and cause salmonellosis, as in the salmonella outbreak in the United States in 2007.

Storage:
Homemade peanut butter should be refrigerated in tightly-sealed containers and ideally used within a couple of weeks. Turn the container upside-down occasionally to help redistribute the oils.
Natural peanut butters should be refrigerated after opening and can be kept up to six months.
Commercial varieties require no refrigeration, can be kept up to six months after opening. Unopened jars can be stored up to one year in a cool, dark location.
Peanut butter is not a good candidate for freezing.

Can I store Peanut Butter in Bulk? (By BulkPeanutButter.com) It’s a good idea to break up the bulk container into smaller ones that you can keep them safely in your cupboard. This will ensure that it’s locked away from pests while at the same time, making it easy for you to take out a new jar each time the old one gets over.
Warning: Peanuts are susceptible to mycotoxins out of which aflatoxins are the most well known. The key to good peanut butter storage is to ensure that it’s not kept in a place that is liable to get wet or humid. Peanut butter should always be stored in air tight containers that are made of plastic or or metal to so that rats can’t get a whiff of the juicy stuff!

Other Great Uses:
A common, simple outdoor bird feeder can be made by coating a pine cone once with peanut butter, then again with birdseed.
Peanut butter is an effective bait for mouse traps.