Nutty Butters February 13, 2018 by Spicefreak Hey folks, happy pancake day! Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to write a special blog post for my favourite food-based holiday this year. Not ill enough to impair my brain function, anymore. I can write again but there is one thing that the remnants of my cold still have over me – I can’t trust my sense of taste right now. Or my sense of heat, for that matter. So, instead of me writing something topical and special, here’s a post I pre-prepared about one of my weirder finds of 2017. A product that I promised I’d be showcasing this year. Today, I have Peanut Butter for you: It doesn’t actually leap out and say “Peanut Butter” with anything but text and it doesn’t actually say “chilli” at all but I definitely like the labelling on this product all the same. The white paper label on the front of their peanut butter doesn’t hold any fancy metaphors or exciting imagery. All we get to see are the actual ingredients – The Naga Chilli and a pile of Peanuts. It’s label is NOT eye catching but it’s a lot clearer on the contents and, while it does say “Mini Jar Company” on it, they do also sell bigger jars under their main company name "Holly And The Ivy". The Mini Jar Company, with its metallic, cartoon car logo on the lid here, seems to be a set of smaller, sample-sized jars that they advertise as perfect for cafes and hotels. These jars are meant for businesses that need to provide single servings for hygiene reasons but I picked mine up at Reading Chilli Fest simply to save money. I wish I hadn’t, though, because it’s a pretty gorgeous Peanut Butter. It’s clearly of the crunchy variety, with plenty of whole peanuts strewn throughout, yet it’s also smooth and creamy, thanks to a bit of extra peanut oil that may need to be stirred back in when you first open the jar. The power of the Naga Chilli definitely comes across here but it isn’t the full on five out of ten of a ghost pepper sauce. It has been held back to the bottom end by the creamy nature of the product. This makes it a uniquely long burn, rather than giving you the Chilli’s full firepower all at once, and that’s definitely going to make it nice and warming through the winter. The actual taste of the pepper, however, does little to make itself known. It is there but only as a tiny hint. Mostly, this is just an excellent Peanut Butter with added burn. unlike other product like the Peanut Butter Xtreme: The smoother, mellower pepper tastes than your average supers and so they work pretty well with the nutty base, especially when in something like a peanut butter and jam sandwich. The Holly and the Ivy’s product is far more of a daily use sort, tasting so good I could just eat it out the jar, while others would be far more fitting as an ingredient or for when you feel like pushing your limits a little over lunch., but that isn’t to say that you couldn’t, if you wanted, make a great satay. In fact, while it seems almost mean to say so, I think the Mini Jar Company Peanut Butter is a winner for me. It may be the one where the Chilli adds least, since its main flavour by far is the Peanuts, but it’s texture is a perfect balance of creamy and crunchy and it has a great taste to match. Before I go, mind you, there is one last thing for me to mention – The ingredients list: Holly and the Ivy’s Mini Jar Company Naga Peanut Butter: Peanuts (86%), Sugar (8.6%), Peanut Oil (3.2%), Naga Chilli (1.7%), Salt (0.9%)