On all-natural peanut butter

Hi! Can all-natural peanut butter remain in the pantry forever? Even if all the oil appears to be gone? I have been working on the premise that it can, if I don't see any mold. But I've never seen any mold.

Theoretically, yes. There’s not enough available water in your peanut butter for harmful bacteria to grow. When PB gets contaminated, it’s generally because of user error (aka you shoving an unwashed finger into the jar for a furtive midnight swipe.) 

Now, you’ve described a scenario in which “all the oil [in your peanut butter] appears to be gone.” It’s possible that the oil simply oozed back into the peanut butter. But I’m guessing that someone, perhaps you yourself, skimmed away all the good oily peanut butter and now you have a jar of nut paste with the consistency of asphalt. Give your peanut butter a stir and see if it returns to normal consistency. 

 No? Well, it should still be safe to eat. If you get the urge to doctor your peanut butter back to a more agreeable consistency, stir in a dollop of vegetable oil and see if that smoothes it out. I’ve never done this before but it’s scientifically safe. Try it! Let me know how it goes. (Personally I don’t go for peanut butter that requires stirring— I’m a Skippy™ girl.)

Finally, a cautionary tale. My sister once admitted to me that she habitually ate the “oily layer” of peanut butter off the top of her jar and then would add water to the remaining peanut butter in order to restore moisture to it, all while keeping the jar unrefrigerated. This is the food safety equivalent of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Adding water to peanut butter effectively turns the entire jar into a petri dish of scary pathogens. I honestly can’t believe my sister is still alive. 

But you don’t have to worry about this. It sounds like you’re a great custodian of peanut butter.

This dog has a death wish

Ever wonder why you don’t have to refrigerate fudge?

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