Have you recently opened a jar of peanut butter and found it’s very oily inside? You might not be sure whether it’s still okay for you to consume in this state, or whether you should throw it away. Rancid nuts are not pleasant, so is it best to get rid of it?
Oily peanut butter is perfectly safe to eat as long as it tastes okay. It’s normal for the oils in peanut butter to separate out and float to the top of the jar. In fact, when this happens, it’s often a sign that you’ve got high-quality peanut butter, without other oils or emulsifiers mixed in.
In this article, we’ll find out more about whether oily peanut butter is safe to consume, or whether you need to throw it away. We’ll also look at what to do with the oil that has separated.
Is Oily Peanut Butter Safe To Eat?
Oily peanut butter should be perfectly safe to eat unless you notice other problems with it. The oil separating out from the peanuts doesn’t signify that anything is wrong, and you don’t need to be concerned if you’ve seen this happen. You can simply mix the peanut butter to stir the oil back in, and then enjoy it as normal.
However, peanut butter can go off, so there are some things to look out for. You don’t want to eat bad peanut butter, so if you’ve had the peanut butter in your house for quite a while, you should check for:
- A darker color than usual, or darker spots in the peanut butter
- A dry texture
- Hardness and a dry appearance
- A bitter, sharp smell
- An unpleasant, sour, or soapy flavor
- Any specks of mold appearing, especially on the lid of the jar
If your peanut butter tastes bad, you shouldn’t eat it, but be aware that oiliness is certainly not a sign that it has gone off. Don’t throw away your peanut butter just because it has a layer of oil on the top. You can simply mix it back in. Peanut butter should keep for several months, even once open.
Why Does The Oil Come Out?
The reason that the oil separates is that peanut oil is a liquid at room temperature. That means it doesn’t stay combined with the blended peanuts, and gradually works its way to the top of the jar.
Over a few days or weeks, this will create a thin pool of oil at the top of the jar. This will happen most if you buy natural peanut butter with fewer stabilizers and emulsifiers in it.
It’s worth noting that this indicates your peanut butter has a high quantity of peanut oil in it, which means it’s likely a high-quality option. Lower-quality peanut butters often have other oils mixed in, and these might stay solid at room temperature, keeping them mixed in with the rest of the jar’s contents.
If you buy a “natural” peanut butter, it must contain at least 90 percent peanuts, and this makes it very likely that the oil will float to the top at room temperature. It’s perfectly normal, and nothing to worry about.
Should You Mix The Oils Back In?
If you’ve opened a jar of peanut butter and found a pool of oil at the top, you can simply use a spoon or a knife to mix the oil back in. This should only take about a minute, as the oil should quickly recombine. You can then use the peanut butter as normal.
The oil will separate again when the peanut butter is left once more, but you can just mix it back in the next time you use it. This is a little frustrating but isn’t generally a problem.
Don’t pour the oil off your peanut butter when you find a pool of it sitting there. It might be tempting, because the oil doesn’t look particularly appetizing. However, the oil is a key part of your peanut butter, and will make it considerably easier to spread. Without the oil, the butter will tear your bread/toast because it will be too thick.
Furthermore, the oil has some key nutrients in it that mean it isn’t a particularly unhealthy thing to eat. For vegans in particular, it’s a good boost of healthy monounsaturated fats, and there’s no reason to waste it just because it has separated! Mix it back in and enjoy your peanut butter as you would normally.
Conclusion
Oily peanut butter is perfectly safe to eat unless it has a bad taste or smell. You can mix the oil back into the peanut butter right before spreading it, and it should recombine easily. If you have bought a brand with a high quantity of peanuts, it may need mixing every time you use it.
