We tested 8 South African peanut butters and we couldn’t believe how different they all tasted

RECIPE: Peanut butter and Amarula mousse tart

Peanut butter is the kind of food topic that South Africans feel very strongly about. We didn’t think it was possible, but the passion for one kind of peanut butter over another is maybe even stronger than the divide over Marmite versus Bovril. We invited comedians Yaaseen Barnes and Dalin Oliver to join us at Food24 HQ to help us find the ultimate peanut butter champion – and the results will make you laugh out loud!

Here are the peanut butters, ranked from the worst performing to the absolute best!

Thokoman smooth peanut butter: “Not my vibe”

We found this wild card peanut butter at Makro, and although we’d never tasted it before, there seemed to be a lot of it on the shelves. Alas, our tasters were left not quite as jolly as the characters on the label seemed to suggest. Despite it’s much lower price, it still scored only slightly behind Black Cat.

Tasters said: “Such a strange flavour – very unlike peanuts!.” and “Does this even have sugar in it?”

SCORE: 43/100
PRICE: R59,57 p/kg

Black Cat Smooth No added sugar and salt: “I would not even stalk this one on social media”
This one was such a big favourite with our Instagram followers, that we had to put into the mix with the others. We are shook that the one that a lot of people cited as a favourite, performed so badly!

Tasters said: “Okay this is for sure sugar free. Mouth feel isn’t bad. Dry AF though.”, “A rather bland one. Not so sure about the grainy appearance tbh.”and “Its horrible”.

SCORE: 44/100
PRICE: R74,97 p/kg

Black Cat Original: “It looked like it lived a tough life”
We have no words for the poor performance of SA’s best-loved childhood superhero. Perhaps the Swartkat should stick to crime fighting and not to the roof of our mouths?

One indignant taster exclaimed: “HOW IS SOMETHING SO WET SO DRY?” which says it all.

SCORE: 59/100
PRICE: R74,97 p/kg

Spar no-name brand: “I could eat this every day”
The packaging on the Spar brand was on point, but everything else was just a little off. Nonetheless, the creamy texture and sweetness pulled this one through to the 5th place.

Tasters said: “Taste better than it looks. I’m a fan.” but also, “This hardly tastes like peanut butter – the colour is not appealing. This is disgusting and fake oily tasting.”

SCORE: 61/100
PRICE: R69,97 p/kg

ALSO READ: 7 Ways to use peanut butter we bet you never knew existed

Checkers no-name brand: “Non-offensive”
The bizarre packaging of the the Checkers peanut butter almost screams “don’t buy me!”. What were they thinking with the purple? The smooth creaminess of this one won over a few unsuspecting fans.

Comments: “This is smooth and creamy but it doesn’t stick to the roof of my mouth and the aftertaste isn’t bad. Kinda impressed.” and “Smooth. But like a lekker smooth. Like a Santana smooth”

SCORE: 65/100
PRICE: R49,97 p/kg

Pick n Pay no-name brand: “it plays well in the mouth.”
What a surprise for 3rd place! This one had a noticeably oily texture, which actually made it more pleasant to eat. Most thought that this was a premium brand peanut butter.

Tasters said: “This was lovely and smooth” and “almost slightly toasted peanut flavour I like it”

SCORE: 69.5/100
PRICE: R64,97 p/kg

Woolworths no-name brand: “Nice traditional flavour”
In a competition upset, a Woolies product actually tastes like it supposed to taste. Coming in at a respectable second place, most tasters really enjoyed this one.

One taster had a lot to say about this one: “This one tastes like the peanut butter my neighbours had, I wasn’t a fan of it. I’m biased now. It’s almost too smooth for me.”

SCORE: 69.7/100
PRICE: R67,48 p/kg

Yum Yum Original smooth: “We could become best friends”
Ok, so there are no surprises here at first place. Two tasters who regularly buy Yum Yum also were able to correctly identify it, which is amazing really.

One taster said: “So this is the best. Hitting all the salty-sweet spots on my tongue.” and another said “I really like this one. Creamy nice flavour. Traditional”

SCORE: 76/100
PRICE: R62,48 p/kg

The rules:
All tasters tasted and scored all 8 samples.
The samples were not labelled and tasted in random order.
Each sample was rated on Appearance, Smell, Flavour, Texture and Aftertaste.
This article is not sponsored in any way, and Food24 was not paid to come to any particular result. Our taste tests are always unbiased and intended for your entertainment, however you may have come to this article through various paid-for advertising.

Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly described the meaning of the name “Thokoman”, our apologies.

RECIPE: Chocolate covered peanut butter cookies

Have any feelings about peanut butter you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments section below!