Today I made crêpes for breakfast like I usually do…

And I tried some smooth peanut butter inside one of them. It doesn’t taste horrible, but after a bit of eating it, I felt like I was in the 3rd circle of hell.

I asked my mother and my grandma for an opinion, and they too agreed.

Why do Americans torture themselves like this?

  • Why do Americans torture themselves like this?

    The finest crêpe I ever ate was peanut butter, banana, and honey from a street vendor in Baden-Wurttemberg at 2am. There may have been ethanol on board, but I stand by the claim.

  •  Loki   ( @Loki@feddit.de ) 
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    91 year ago

    Are you european? I’m from central Europe and have the same experience. From what I’ve read, I think (US-) Americans have more sugar in their peanut butter.

    • It depends what kind of peanut butter. Anything labeled ‘natural’ should not have any sugar added and should literally just be peanuts and salt. It should have a layer of oil on top that you have to stir in. If the peanut butter is not labeled ‘natural’ or does not have a layer of oil on top it’s pretty much guaranteed to have a lot of sugar added. The kind with sugar is much more common.

      •  Loki   ( @Loki@feddit.de ) 
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        41 year ago

        Yep, when I compare the nutrition labels for the peanut butter I get from the local grocery store to Jif or Skippy (american brands), it has less fat and sugar per 100g. Dunno where you are, but I think that’s probably it!

          •  Loki   ( @Loki@feddit.de ) 
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            161 year ago

            Bitter? Hmm I’m pretty sensitive to bitter tastes, but I wouldn’t call peanut butter bitter 🤔 it’s only bitter to me if the peanuts were roasted too much or the oil has gone rancid. Are you sure the peanut butter was still alright?? It should really just taste like smooth, oily peanut.

            I think any nut butter is nice with or without sugar, but yeah, with sugar I’d call it something like peanut spread, not butter.

          •  prole   ( @prole@beehaw.org ) 
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            1 year ago

            Peanuts aren’t bitter, they’re salty. Salty and sweet go together amazingly. Peanut butter should not be bitter, so I’m not sure what you’re eating.

            A big part of PB is the texture, otherwise it’s just peanut brittle. Which is another thing Americans sometimes eat.

            • I’ve never eaten a peanut or peanut butter that I thought tasted bitter, and it definitely wouldn’t go rancid after 1 day, although if it’s the kind of PB with oil on top you should refrigerate it after you open it. But is it possible it was old, expired and already rancid when you bought it? If most people don’t eat peanut butter where you are, it could have sat on the shelf for a long time and went bad.

              If you didn’t like it then there’s no reason to torture yourself by trying to like it, but if you do want to try again, get another brand and see if you still think it’s bitter. Make sure to check the date on it too to make sure it’s fresh. That just doesn’t sound right so it sounds like something was wrong with that jar. I’m saying this as someone who has eaten a lot of different kinds of peanut butter and liked them all lol ;)

  • Yeah, that sounds like it would be a textural nightmare with how thick and heavy peanut butter is.

    It’s very rare to eat peanut butter on its own. It’s most famous for the way it pairs with other flavors. Peanut butter and jelly (strawberry jam is a classic), peanut butter and honey, peanut butter and chocolate, or if you want something super extreme peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.

    I would bet you’d like it more if it hadn’t been peanut butter only.

  • I’m not American, but I find there is a huge difference in taste between the regular peanut butter and the natural one (the one where the oil separate from the rest)

    After trying the natural peanut butter the regular version just taste off, it’s like some cardboard feel in the mixer with the peanuts.

  • Well either that was bad peanut butter, but it’s more likely crepes aren’t good with peanut butter. The heat of the crepes might turn the peanut butter into oily glue, or in some cases gross clotted gorp. I used to try to put peanut butter on pancakes and it always turned out terrible (and I love peanut butter)

    Peanut butter is much better with something that’s a contrast like toast, crackers, crunchy veg - or blended into something like cookies, desserts, hot cereal, etc.

  • I don’t think I’d put peanut butter by itself in a crepe; the reason peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so popular is that the jelly/jam helps cut the stickiness of the peanut butter.

    But then again, I ate sandwiches that only had peanut butter in them for most of elementary school. Wash it down with some milk, and it’s filling and tasty.

  •  revelrous   ( @revelrous@sopuli.xyz ) 
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    1 year ago

    If you want the sweeter/candy spread you gotta go with the junk food brands like jif or peter pan. For crepes I’d only use it as glue to stick other things on, like strawberry preserves or some chocolate. Someone had a banana and honey suggestion that sounded good. That said, I cannot justify peanut butter pie. I’m sorry if we’re exporting that.

    Edit. Fluffernutter! How could I forget fluffernutter. Hey global community, has that broken containment? If you want some true nonredeemable American crack, make a peanut butter and fluff sandwich. If you use the natural pb it might not put you in a diabetic coma.

  •  kajko   ( @kajko@beehaw.org ) 
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    31 year ago

    I’m not American so I grew up hearing about peanut butter from their media. I made up this amazing idea of it, which was completely shattered when I finally tasted it.

    It’s probably one of those acquired tastes like Australians with Vegemite (which I also tried according to recommendations but I probably just needed to go back in time and be born in Australia).

    I still dream of tasting my imaginary peanut butter.

    •  Pigeon   ( @Lowbird@beehaw.org ) 
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      1 year ago

      The straightforward natural peanut butters, like Adams, that pretty much only have peanuts in the ingredients list, taste much better than the cheaper ones, for what it’s worth. Also unsalted is way better, imo. Some brands add way to much salt and/or sugar and ruin the taste.

      The no-stir ones might also taste different - I’m not sure since I’ve always just avoided those.

      But ofc maybe it’s just not your thing. Point is that different peanut butters do taste different.