Meat, dairy, and … If you’ve stepped foot in a supermarket in the last few years, you’ll notice Kiwis are something of a stand out on the spreads shelves.
Aotearoa’s homemade craft peanut butters have exploded in popularity over the years, with gourmet mixes and nuts of all types popping up here, there, and everywhere, and overseas recognition to boot.
Judging off of a criteria based on texture, spread-ability, appearance, and flavour, we compared the crunchy peanut butters of New Zealand’s best-known grassroots nut butter brands – Forty Thieves, Fix & Fogg, Pic’s, and Nut Brothers – to finally put an end to the “Who’s Best?” debate of our national butters.
Founded in 2014 by a trio of nut-obsessed dads, Auckland’s Nut Brothers offers a 500g jar of Super Crunch Peanut Butter, slightly salted.
Despite a great taste with a delicious blend of sweet and roasted, the thick consistency of the butter is responsible for its last place ranking.
The thickness also meant a bite of the butter on bread was more of a mushy mouthful than hoped, leaving Nut Brother’s Super Crunch Peanut Butter to take last place in our ranking.
Since launching at the Nelson Friday Farmer’s Market in 2007, Pic’s has become a household name in New Zealand while also forging out a place in overseas markets.
Texture-wise, Pic’s crunchy peanut butter was the oiliest and creamiest, meaning the spread-ability was top tier, the easiest of all the entries in this list to smooth over a piece of toast.
Hailing from the Hibiscus Coast, Forty Thieves is the brainchild of Shyr Gelber and Brent Godfrey, and a consistent competitor in the Outstanding Food Producer Awards NZ.
