PB question

[supercheesegirl]

Hey Sophie (and anyone else who might know, but I'm asking Sophie specifically because she's actually German). I'm putting together a holiday care package for one of my best friends from college, who is in Germany now. My question is, what's the peanut butter like over there? I remember hearing a while ago that our peanut butter in the States is far superior and is The Thing to send to friends abroad. Is that still the case? Thanks!

Comments

[darxus.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about german peanut butter, but I'm very curious if you're talking about the stuff that's full of sugar (jiff / skippy, etc) or the natural stuff that's pure peanuts or maybe only salt added.

I wonder if germans only use the pure stuff and americans appreciate having the garbage most of us eat shipped over to them.

If you haven't tried pure (salted) peanutbutter you should. It takes more work to stir it (since it naturally seperates), but in my opinion it's well worth the work.

[darxus.livejournal.com]

And the natural stuff seems to be available in all major grocery stores along with the unnatural stuff.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I'm talking about the totally processed Skippy/Jif crap. I think I'd probably be afraid to ship the all-natural stuff.

There aren't all that many products that I would generally choose the processed, sugared-up version of instead of the natural one. Peanut butter and maple syrup are two of those things. I just can't imagine packing the all-natural stuff into a sandwich with jelly to take to work for lunch.

[darxus.livejournal.com]

Americans are scary.

But it wouldn't suprise me if they only have the natural stuff in Germany and your friend would appreciate some jif.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

I sort of remember that being true, and that since my brother and i grew up on the natural stuff, we didn't object to what one got in England.

i mean, we objected to the fact that all sandwhiches in England had butter on them, but not the kind of peanut butter.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Sandwiches in England do tend to be objectionable in general, from what I can tell. Thanks for the info!

[myras-girls.livejournal.com]

You might think of popping over to jenniferblaufra's journal and asking her. She is an American living in Germany so she'll know how to compare the two having had both.

[myras-girls.livejournal.com]

Ok, I asked her on your behalf. I'll let you know what she says. <3

[jenniferblaufra.livejournal.com]

At least in Stuttgart, you can get "American peanut butter" that tastes just like American peanut butter. Creamy or crunchy, even! Unless she's in a small village, she can probably get it. However, if she hasn't been there long, she might not know where to find it yet. What you canNOT get here, though, are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. There were times I was DYING for them.

[myras-girls.livejournal.com]

Thank you for responding. You are da bomb! <3

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

My friend is actually German by birth and was only in the US for high school and college (she has a twisted past). She spends most of her time in Wurzburg, which seems like a big enough city to have American-style PB available for the searching, but her family's in Blaichach, a small town in Bavaria. Excellent thought on the Reese's! That's definitely what I'll pick up, with maybe a jar of crunchy Jif for good measure. Thanks so much for the advice!

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Or maybe the honey-roasted kind. Yum!

[jenniferblaufra.livejournal.com]

And I love this icon. I agree completely! :D

[jenniferblaufra.livejournal.com]

Anytime! :)

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Chrysta! You rock!

[ladydewinter.livejournal.com]

Well, you already got enough info, I suppose :) But yeah, if you look a little, you can find the good stuff too. Bigger supermarkets have the proper stuff. ♥