Peanut Butter Memories Revisited

Growing up, my uncle Ken was our Peanut Butter Educator. Way back when in the 1970s, Skippy was all the rage. On a trip to visit my aunt and uncle on their forested homestead, Ken introduced us to a particular brand of ‘all natural, old fashioned’ peanut butter. We watched with awe as he stirred in the natural oils, and we marvelled that it actually tasted of peanuts…not sugar.

The challenge: my brother liked smooth, and I liked crunchy. For years, two jars of peanut butter sat in our fridge, each to suit our different tastes.

When I met my husband, who loves peanuts, it shocked me to learn he never tried peanut butter before. It was not available where he is from. It was my turn to introduce someone to the joys of PB. Like most new things for him, it took awhile to get used to the taste and texture. He was not an instant fan – he thought smooth was OK, but he did not like crunchy. Back to two jars in our fridge!

The jars sat a long time, until I realized we were not eating it. We had both gone off it. For him, it was still new and he could take it or leave it. I realized that at times it triggered headaches and stomach cramps for me, so I refrained.

Last month while I was at a retreat, an inspired wave of nostalgia for peanut butter wafted over me. At breakfast, a small dish of brown-ish spread was served. There was no sign to say what it was, but the sleuth in me sussed it out. My only viable hint (other than sniffing it in front of 60 people!) was the colour: unlike many nut butters that tend to be blue-ish in colour, this one erred toward reddish-brown, the PB hue. Oddly, the smell did not kick in…hmmmmm, odd?

So, peanut butter was the only morning protein source that fit my diet – meaning not meat and not allergic! I longed to enjoy a piece of lovely wholewheat bread coated with peanut butter. Surely at this amazing retreat centre, it would be natural and organic, a ‘proper’ peanut butter.

A little devil sat on one shoulder nudging: “Sure, go on. Try it…yum!” A little angel sat on the other shoulder whispering: “Are you sure? Remember the headaches. Beware.” Curiosity got me…until disappointment hit! Who knew that a retreat centre would serve Skippy?? The peanut butter that can barely call itself that!

This week while visiting my uncle and aunt in the forest, he kept apologizing: “We only have toast and peanut butter for breakfast.” Little did he know I treasured each mouthful of ‘real’ peanut butter, along with a huge dose of nostalgia for an old fav made new again.

Funny how tastes go in cycle! What is the current fav now will be tomorrow’s old news soon enough. What is your most recent fad gone bad? What is your current fav, awaiting replacement? What cycles in your life?

(The blog does not endorse any one peanut butter over any other ‘real’ peanut butters!)