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Show HN: Peanut Butter Spinner
- bsmithers 2y agoI find that storing the jars upside down works surprisingly well.
- cascades42 2y agoThis is what I do as well. Still requires some stirring but not as much.
- andbberger 2y agoor you could just keep it in the fridge
- cdaringe 2y agoArrrg meant to add Show HN:
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- the__alchemist 2y agoYes please! "Natural" peanut butter tastes better, but the stirring is IMO not worth it. If the jars were designed better, ie with more empty space at the top above the PB, it would be acceptable. Instead they are designed in such a way that it initially A: Makes you feel like you are bad at it and should try harder and practice, then B: Realize that that this is like those plastic clamshell packaging on some consumer goods: There is no right way to do it; it's a hostile design.
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- jhbadger 2y agoI think if they took your advice, people would complain that they were selling misleadingly empty jars (even if they correctly specified the amount you were getting on the label).
- montebicyclelo 2y agoThis seems likely. I wonder if explaining it through the packaging, e.g. coloured stripe marked "stir space" and an explanation on the back saying don't worry you are only paying per gram of peanut butter...
- ripped_britches 2y agoExcept that the larger packaging size is not totally free - makes shipping more expensive and less units per shelf space. Not sure by how much. I bet peanut butter margins aren’t great.
- close04 2y agoThe top part of a plastic jar could be expandable/collapsible maybe. Thinking of something similar to the bendy bit in a plastic straw.
- brirec 2y agoThat (the designing & manufacturing, anyway) sounds like it would be even more expensive than simply shipping larger jars with empty space at the top.
- harrisi 2y agoI've seen some powdered dish detergent boxes do this.
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- viciousvoxel 2y agoBrilliant. Literally could have used this tonight for a jar of tahini.
- mvkel 2y agoThis is neat! But you can also just store the jars upside down in the fridge. No need to stir.
- byteknight 2y agoholy crap i cant wait to try this
- coffeedan 2y agoCame here to say the same thing. No reason to put it in the fridge though.
- gnicholas 2y agoDo you have to fridge it first right side up, to firm it up before you turn it upside down?
- mvkel 2y agoNope! From the grocery store straight to the shelf in the fridge, upside down. It actually mixes fairly well even at room temperature, too
- cdaringe 2y agoWe do both. Id say works OK at best. Need better mixing perf!
- azinman2 2y agoThat doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried.
- BeetleB 2y agoIf you have a Vitamix, you can use roasted peanuts and just make your own preanut butter. It's trivial. No separation to worry about either.
- shepmaster 2y agoThat’s what I came here to ask. When I make peanut butter in the Vitamix, I roast the peanuts and then blend them. I’ve never experienced separation, although I do store it in the refrigerator. What’s so different about this way of making peanut butter that results in no separation?
- dmbche 2y agoFridge and time on shelf. I'm not even sure the oil is liquid when in the fridge! And the jars at the grocery store probabky have been stored longer than you take to go through your PB.
- philips 2y agoWe do this too. And we buy huge bulk peanut bags from Azure Standard and store them in food bricks. My kids eat A LOT of peanut butter.
- gnicholas 2y agoHow much do you lose cleaning out the vitamix? I’ve found that PB costs the same amount as peanuts, by weight. If I had to roast and grind them I feel like that would take a while and result in some loss. Is this better than using the in-grocery grinders?
- halostatue 2y agoVery little (I rarely make peanut butter, but I roast hazelnuts and make homemade "Nutella" with dark chocolate). Out of about 900 g hazelnuts (minus a bit of "shrinkage" because warm roasted hazelnuts are delicious) and 70 g dark chocolate (Costco Suisse Delice) we get about 850g or more of blended hazelnut chocolate goodness. Add some almond milk and other stuff to the Vitamix and you can make a really nice power shake from the residue, and lose only a few grams to the soap and water cleaning required.
- anfractuosity 2y agoOoh interesting!, looks a little like a gemstone tumbling machine.
- isoprophlex 2y agoNice, that's a table top ball mill! Now instead of peanut butter, put a chemical oxidizer, some metal salts and a fuel in there and you are in the business of preparing DIY pyrotechnics!
- klyrs 2y agoStay away from my sandwich!
- bananenpubs 2y ago[dead]
- r00fus 2y agoI always fantasized about putting my peanut butter jar in one of those vibrational paint shaker devices you see at Lowes or Home Depot when you select a paint color. But this seems a lot safer and less expensive.
- fallingsquirrel 2y agoI found a youtube video that shows exactly that. Looks like it would work! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b0DUL2ckwY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b0DUL2ckwY
- cdaringe 2y agoThis man is my hero
- dtgriscom 2y agoLooks like this would only work with really thin peanut butter, or a really enormous jar. Or, running it at about 0.1RPM for days.
- logdahl 2y agoSorry, I don't understand why you would be spinning the bottle. Someone care to explain? :)
- londons_explore 2y agoI believe European and US peanut butter is rather different. European peanut butter is solid, with the consistency of refrigerated butter, or of fudge. US peanut butter is a thick liquid. Over time, it separates and you get peanut oil on the surface. That oil is unpleasant, so this machine can help mix it back in. Hence, Europeans wouldn't see the need for this, because they have never witnessed the problem this machine is intended to solve.
- kn100 2y agoafaik they're basically the same thing. The need to stir comes from peanut butter that is literally nothing other than minced peanuts. Brands like Jif and the such add a bit of palm oil, salt, and whatever else which I guess helps to stabilize the mixture and make oil separation less likely. "pure" peanut butter like the kind the author likes here is available just the same in the UK with exactly the same problem!
- mtsr 2y agoYou can get both kinds here, but the emulsified kind is more common. This has been slowly changing with additive-free food popularity and therefor 100% peanut-butter.
- nels 2y agoThe main difference in peanut butter isn’t about being European or American actually—it’s about the recipe. Some brands add extra oil, like palm oil, to keep it from separating (Skippy (US) and Calvé (EU), for instance). Without it, peanut butter can separate, leaving oil on top.
- jt2190 2y agoI believe that they actually remove the peanut oil as it can fetch more money sold as cooking oil. They substitute an inexpensive oil that they also hydrogenate. The hydrogenation is what keeps the oil from separating.
- downboots 2y agosame idea as a rock tumbler
- booleanbetrayal 2y agoI have an old rock tumbler hanging out in my garage. Now I have a practical near-daily use for it. Hindsight is 20/20.
- imp0cat 2y agoThat's a great idea, I need this!
- gnicholas 2y agoI use a metal chopstick to stir my PB (after pouring off a bit of the oil). It's a bit smaller than a butter knife, which means it can glide through the PB without risking spilling. But honestly what makes the most difference for me is that when I'm serving PB I use the knife to reach all the way down to the bottom. Otherwise it ends up getting pretty hard down there, even if it was initially very well mixed. Also, I'll there's a lid-based mixer [1, scroll down a bit] that apparently works well, but kind of looks like a mess to clean up. I believe that it is very effective though — much better at getting down to the bottom than any non-invasive solution. 1: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-creamy-peanut-butter/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-creamy-peanu...
- halostatue 2y agoI’ve had one of those. They aren’t nearly as mess-free as they claim to be. The lids don’t quite fit right over the jars I get here in Canada, and I always get a bit of oil spillage. Since we started buying the Farm Boy 500g Organic Peanut butter[1], I haven't had an issue. It’s a good size, lasts a few weeks (my wife has some every day; I have some periodically), and is quickly stirred well on opening with a simple butter knife without spilled oil. [1]: https://www.farmboy.ca/products/farm-boy-organic-crunchy-peanut-butter-500-g/ https://www.farmboy.ca/products/farm-boy-organic-crunchy-pea...
- mhb 2y agoJif, ftw!
- shermantanktop 2y agoI spent hours and hours on a train through Malaysian palm oil plantations. I’m happy to do a bit of stirring.
- mhb 2y agoLabel says rapeseed and soybean oil. No palm oil.
- Ardon 2y agoAlso you can mix a tiny bit of xanthan gum in on your initial stir and then it stays mixed. I've never noticed a textural difference.
- kazinator 2y agoProbably the best post under this submission. Great tip!
- dpedu 2y agoI 3d printed and built a rock tumbler that was effectively the same device as this, some time ago. I put O-rings on the wheels for grip instead of a rubber band on the jar :-P
- cdaringe 2y agoYa, improved grip is needed. I was gonna use rubber wheels but got lazy and wanted to use what i had on hand
- CodeWriter23 2y agoRC car wheels
- daemonologist 2y agoI also put one of these together, but I find it mixes much better if it turns very slowly over a long period. I have it set to do ~1/4 of a turn once per minute and usually run it at least overnight before putting a new jar in the fridge. Also helps to put the jar in the fridge on its side so it doesn't separate back out as much before solidifying.
- namdnay 2y agoYou put peanut butter in the fridge !?
- cortesoft 2y agoAfter opening, yes, especially if it is all natural.
- daemonologist 2y agoYes - the peanut oil freezes at 37F which keeps it from separating. (Some brands have additives such as palm oil which provide the same benefit at room temperature, but I usually don't purchase these.) Normally I wouldn't mind separation but peanut butter is kind of a pain to stir thoroughly.
- StevenZhang6769 2y agoWould it work for something other than peanut butter?
- cdaringe 2y agoWe also mix our spicy oil for a common breakfast meal we make on it sometimes
- joncp 2y agoYou can also just use a hand mixer with only one beater inserted.
- halostatue 2y agoMy only complaint about this would be that it’s noisy in your video. I already have my dog bark his damned head off when I turn on the Vitamix for anything. I think that someone's suggestion for rotating it slower and longer might alleviate the noise issue.
- cdaringe 2y agoThe noise is my stove top fan :) Its the absolute worst.
- halostatue 2y agoMight be worth putting a note to that effect in the blog post so others don't make the same mistake that I did.
- wingworks 2y agoThat needs to be fixed asap. idk how you can live with that high pitched noise. Would drive me crazy.
- Our_Benefactors 2y agoReally? It sounds like there’s a fan in the background (true) but also a loud mechanical noise coming from the rotating assembly. Never tried this peanut butter brand, so thanks for giving me a suggestion for my next Costco trip.
- fortran77 2y agoIt's the same mechanism as a rock tumbler, scaled down a bit.
- paulhart 2y agoI just use my electric drill with a paint mixer attachment, like https://www.homedepot.ca/product/a-richard-paint-mixer-16in-x2in-diam/1000411107 https://www.homedepot.ca/product/a-richard-paint-mixer-16in-... and I've only had one spray incident, when I forgot to hold on to the jar while running the drill. It was epic!
- lostlogin 2y agoI know a guy who has been slowly automating very old food process equipment. He makes peanut butter by the ton. Loading the hopper was quite tricky and getting up and checking a bit fraught. Knowing how much peanut butter is in the big vat thing once it is being stirred is quite hard too, and most sensors become less accurate once coated in peanut butter. His ultrasound sensor (measuring the distance to the surface of the peanut butter) is a thing of beauty. He used Arduino.
- r2_pilot 2y agoYou should tell him about pulsed coherent 60ghz radars from Sparkfun(based on the XM125 from acconeer), they may be able to work through peanut butter to find the level in the vat(they can see through walls).
- neuah 2y agoIf you have an electric hand mixer, that also works. Just put a single beater attachment in and it fits in pretty much any jar!
- foobarian 2y agoMight as well store the PB on this so it never becomes a problem
- anonu 2y agoJust buy the super homogenized peanut butter with the additional ingredients with hard to pronounce names.
- alamortsubite 2y agoPalm oil is easy to pronounce and a little bit is all it takes.
- jdlshore 2y agoUS product labelling laws prevent peanut butter from containing palm oil. Products with palm oil are called “peanut butter spread.”
- schwartzworld 2y agoAside from being a major driver of deforestation, palm oil is gross. Every product I've ever had with it tastes like flavored palm oil.
- arcanemachiner 2y agoMmm... Hydrogenated cottonseed oil.
- bilsbie 2y agoI wish they’d sell it in a wider jar. It’s always so hard to get the past third out. Maybe a butter tub type design?
- deskr 2y agoGet a good quality silicone spatula and your life will never be the same again.
- thih9 2y ago> The oil and the nutty material separate, and thus require mixing to return it to buttery consistency I don’t mix what’s in the jar - I tilt the jar (to avoid picking the oil), dip deep and spread on the bread. The peanut butter then has varying densities, but I spread it well, mostly mixing it on the bread. Not buttery smooth, but close enough for me. And tastes great. I rarely use toast bread though, I guess toast bread could fall apart.
- euroderf 2y agoI find that when I open a fresh jar I have to pour off (and set aside to save) some of the oil before the first mixing. Because no matter how conscientiously and thoroughly you try to mix the entire contents of the jar, you always end up with peanut brick when you've eaten your way to the bottom of the jar, which is when you need to pour back in some of that saved oil for another mixing.
- atlgator 2y agoYou’re one step away from buying your own peanut grinder and measuring the exact amount of peanuts you need like they’re coffee beans.
- wy35 2y agoAmazing, I’m obsessed with niche machines like these. The more oddly specific, the better.
- swayvil 2y agocould this be made from lego? Or maybe glued lego. I do need this but I don't want to put too much effort into it.
- 1970-01-01 2y agoWhat's needed is a 3D printed lid that attaches the jar onto the arm of a clock. Now you have perpetual mixing while always being peanut butter o'clock.
- kazinator 2y agoWasted on peanut butter. Empty the jar, and put some pebbles in there along with a polishing compound.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y agoI checked Adam's peanut butter today from costco and it has garbage ingredients. The Kirkland one has only dry roasted peanuts, which is how it should be. A few days ago I had one from a canadian brand "nuts to you nut butter inc", which is organic: it was mind blowing, the strong peanut feeling was delicious, it felt like eating peanuts, but it was also so creamy. No idea what they did, but I'm craving for more. I suspect they just used higher quality peanuts.
- cdaringe 2y agohuh, ill recheck. I guess its been years since I looked
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y agoSorry, "garbage" is strong, it has salt and another ingredient, but from my perspective, added salt is one of those ingredients to trick your taste buds when used in mass-produced food
- mckn1ght 2y agoI have a jar of Adams 100% Natural crunchy from Costco that I’m looking at right now that says “Ingredients: Peanuts” and “Contains 1% or less of salt”. Do they have multiple kinds of products? This is all I’ve ever bought from them.
- onlyrealcuzzo 2y agoCompare that to: Ingredients: BEAUTIFUL PEANUTS
- chongli 2y agoI actually prefer the taste of the “garbage” peanut butter. Natural peanut butter tastes too overwhelmingly like peanuts to me. It’s also too thick (especially cold) and messy to deal with.
- 2y ago
- gigagorilla 2y agoAn alternate, arguably more delicious solution: buy high quality roasted peanuts, put them in a food processor, jar it, and fridge it. No separation and as fresh as it gets.
- junail 2y ago[flagged]
- neuah 2y agoMy hack is an electric hand mixer with only one beater attachment in. fits easily into any pb jar, homogenizes in under a minute.
- djmips 2y agoAlso doubles as a rock tumbler
- euroderf 2y agoI'd hate the think that it might turn crunchy peanut butter into smooth.
- CodeWriter23 2y agoI use a beater from an old hand mixer inserted into my M18 drill. Just have to be careful near the top the jar to avoid peanut butter spray on the counter. And my shirt. Edit: works best if the jar is stored upside down for 1-2 days.
- bimodalblitz 2y agoAdam's pb is the good stuff, and it still comes in a glass jar.