Teddie All Natural Peanut Butter, Smooth, 26 Oz

I gave this product 5 stars because the taste and consistency are top notch. The top layer of oil can easily be stirred into the rest of the peanut butter and then placed in the refrigerator to discourage it from separating again. Many competitors include such a thick layer of oil, it’s impossible to fully stir in, but you won’t have that problem here. My one gripe involves the product’s label, which reads, “Supporting People with Special Abilities.” This denotes that Teddie partners with the charity Best Buddies to employ members of the the intellectually and developmentally disabled communities. First, as a disabled person myself, I don’t appreciate the use of any euphemisms for the word “disabled.” As the popular hashtag says, just say the word. Referring to a disabled person as having “special abilities” is deeply disrespectful in any context and ignores the way society fails to fully accommodate or include us. Second, while it’s a good thing to employ disabled workers and encourage others to follow your example, it’s very exploitative to use those employees as an advertising tool and imply that hiring someone to do a job they’re competent to do (or buying a product made by disabled employees) is an act of charity. To sum up, great product, but Teddie needs to seriously reevaluate the way it uses its disabled employees as advertising tools. Speaking as a longtime (and now former) customer, I’ve bought the product because it’s of substantially higher quality than most competitors’ products. I can’t imagine a substantial percentage of either longtime or occasional Teddie customers are motivated to buy their products for any other reason, so I don’t know what value they feel including that offensive stamp on the label actually brings. In my opinion, it brings none.

This peanut butter allowed me to love peanut butter again! In short, it is the best peanut butter I have ever had, and, for me, nut butters are a staple food. After I has a bad run-in with some questionable peanut butter three years ago, I developed a physical revulsion to peanut butter which was very difficult to overcome. I spent years eating very expensive raw almond butter, because it tasted the least like peanut butter. After a year, peanut butter didn't make me sick anymore, but I just didn't like it. Then, I tried Teddie brand, simply because I was living in an Arctic village at the time, and it shipped for free. It was the Best. Peanut. Butter. Ever. It still is. Even my father, who doesn't like peanut butter very much, likes Teddie. It is all natural, the only ingredient is peanuts, and it has a much better flavor than any other natural peanut butter on the market (I have tried many. Trust me.) I am now spoiled by Teddie, and order all of my peanut butter from Amazon, since it is not sold in Michigan. Some people complain that it is runny, but they probably don't know how to properly handle natural peanut butter. This is what you do: Put the jar upside-down overnight. This will take the peanut oil and mix it into the rest of the product as it rises to the top (bottom). Then, mix it thoroughly with a long-handled spoon, being sure to take the firm lumps in the bottom and mix them into the rest of the product. When it is mixed, put it in the fridge. It won't go bad if you leave it out, but the refrigeration stops it from separating, and also gives it a firmer texture. Use and enjoy!

Been buying this for a while, and highly recommend it. I do have some hints for those of you natural-peanut-butter-challenged folk: 1) STORE IT UPSIDE DOWN before opening, if you can. Most of the thick stuff (from separation) will then be at the top of the jar. 2) Open, remove the safety seal (more about that later) and stir until all the oil is distributed smoothly. Use a TABLE KNIFE, rather than a spoon. The stuff is thick, a skinny spoon handle will hurt your hand, and it is infinitely easier to scrape all the sticky peanut butter off the knife and back into the jar. And with all the really dense stuff at the the top, stirring is SO much easier. 3) Store, UPSIDE DOWN again, IN THE REFRIGERATOR. No, you don't have to refrigerate it. I get that. But if you don't you will have to stir it up again every time you want peanut butter, because the oil will separate out at room temperature. And the peanut butter will be viscous. Refrigerated, the peanut butter will be much more like the stuff with all the additives in it that you're trying to avoid. Even refrigerated, natural peanut butter will shift to the bottom of the jar; that's why you store it upside down. So you don't have to dig down in the jar. It will right at the top. Oh yes, the safety seal. My only complaint. It is almost impossible to remove it without tearing, and getting all of it (or most of it) off the rim is a hassle. You would think that if the people who make the stuff actually use the stuff they would fix this. Not a reason to not buy the peanut butter; just full disclosure.