i have a problem with peanut butter. a huge problem. and i feel like i need to talk about it. literally, i'm addicted. i try to go off the butter, but every time i'm in a supermarket i hear the preserves aisle calling my name. and then it's in my cart. i don't even know how it got there.
the first time i allowed myself to dip my toe in the european peanut butter pond (not literally), i was in amsterdam. leaving the comfort of my hostel's free breakfasts (which also often served as lunches), i was forced to buy groceries to live on while staying with my couch surfing host. as she was pretty fussy about random things, i used the excuse that i needed to get food that did not require refrigeration and didn't take up space. rice cakes and dutch peanut butter it is!
there are generally a few types of pb anywhere you go (light, smooth, extra crunchy) but there were several types of dutch peanut butter. like at least seven. not knowing the language, i had no idea what i was picking, so i tried to do the responsible thing and pick the one with the least amount of calories per 100g. when i couldn't figure out the nutrition label, i turned to the only other source of information at hand, and picked the one with the most attractive label. it was delicious. very creamy, and tasted almost like almond butter or a slightly sweeter version of actual peanut butter. it was gone in a matter of days, until i was left basically licking the jar at the bus station.
next it was on to france, where i actually skipped the pb all together. i know, so healthy right? wrong. i went straight for the nutella. it goes better with baguettes/croissants anyway. i did the same in spain actually, where nutella is much cheaper and easier to come by. those are my excuses and i'm standing by them.
in london, being without for about a month, i was planning to go off the peanut butter all together and be healthy. london knew i didn't really want to do that though, so when i showed up at the local sainsburys of course a pot of pb was on special for 65p. oh, london. you know me so well. how was i to resist?! plus, it was crunchy which is obviously the best kind of peanut butter in the world. i'm not embarrassed that i went through a jar a week. ok, maybe i'm a little embarrassed.
in ireland, the most frequently found brand of peanut butter is panda and features an incredibly ridiculous looking bear. an obvious choice for branding? the only unfortunate thing was the price. one of the reasons peanut butter is a great food for travelers is the low cost per meal it affords. in ireland, however, a jar will set you back 4+ €, maybe 3€ if it's on special. this meant that my only brush with peanut butter in ireland was a sketchy jar on the "free food" shelf in my hostel that i didn't dare taste. even if i am 2/3 done with my rabies vaccination series.
while i'm sure this isn't the last of my "experimentation" in different countries and their peanut butter, i'm also sure that the entertainment value of this post for you isn't worth a follow up post. besides, what would i name it? "peanut butter, the sequel?" "pb2?" give me some credit, i'd obviously name it something much more creative that i won't share here. you know. so you don't steal the name. for your peanut butter blog. (buying it? no?)
the first time i allowed myself to dip my toe in the european peanut butter pond (not literally), i was in amsterdam. leaving the comfort of my hostel's free breakfasts (which also often served as lunches), i was forced to buy groceries to live on while staying with my couch surfing host. as she was pretty fussy about random things, i used the excuse that i needed to get food that did not require refrigeration and didn't take up space. rice cakes and dutch peanut butter it is!
there are generally a few types of pb anywhere you go (light, smooth, extra crunchy) but there were several types of dutch peanut butter. like at least seven. not knowing the language, i had no idea what i was picking, so i tried to do the responsible thing and pick the one with the least amount of calories per 100g. when i couldn't figure out the nutrition label, i turned to the only other source of information at hand, and picked the one with the most attractive label. it was delicious. very creamy, and tasted almost like almond butter or a slightly sweeter version of actual peanut butter. it was gone in a matter of days, until i was left basically licking the jar at the bus station.
next it was on to france, where i actually skipped the pb all together. i know, so healthy right? wrong. i went straight for the nutella. it goes better with baguettes/croissants anyway. i did the same in spain actually, where nutella is much cheaper and easier to come by. those are my excuses and i'm standing by them.
in london, being without for about a month, i was planning to go off the peanut butter all together and be healthy. london knew i didn't really want to do that though, so when i showed up at the local sainsburys of course a pot of pb was on special for 65p. oh, london. you know me so well. how was i to resist?! plus, it was crunchy which is obviously the best kind of peanut butter in the world. i'm not embarrassed that i went through a jar a week. ok, maybe i'm a little embarrassed.
in ireland, the most frequently found brand of peanut butter is panda and features an incredibly ridiculous looking bear. an obvious choice for branding? the only unfortunate thing was the price. one of the reasons peanut butter is a great food for travelers is the low cost per meal it affords. in ireland, however, a jar will set you back 4+ €, maybe 3€ if it's on special. this meant that my only brush with peanut butter in ireland was a sketchy jar on the "free food" shelf in my hostel that i didn't dare taste. even if i am 2/3 done with my rabies vaccination series.
while i'm sure this isn't the last of my "experimentation" in different countries and their peanut butter, i'm also sure that the entertainment value of this post for you isn't worth a follow up post. besides, what would i name it? "peanut butter, the sequel?" "pb2?" give me some credit, i'd obviously name it something much more creative that i won't share here. you know. so you don't steal the name. for your peanut butter blog. (buying it? no?)
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