Number 5 for the diaries. Pete is sending me a big box o’heat, so I’m looking forward to trying some new stuff. In the meantime, we’re going with one that really interests me. I have a love-hate relationship with peanut butter. I love it when it’s used well, but hate it when it’s overused in something and ends up just being a pasty mess. An example of that is a plain and simple PB&J- too much PB and not enough J is like eating a peanut butter glue sandwich. The quality of the peanut butter makes a big difference too, as one might imagine. I also tend to like the chunky over the creamy. Yes, I know, go ahead and make your comments.

So, enter the Hot and Spicy Peanut Butter by Krema Nut Company. Which, by the way, is pronounced “Kreh ma nut,” not “Kreem a nut.” I have already been given the stinkeye for giggling like a 12 year old at that and have been duly corrected. It’s a chunky style peanut butter with a kick provided by “their” (I’m just going to avoid saying the name altogether) secret blend of spices. Having read Pete’s recipe for using Hot and Spicy Peanut Butter in conjunction with Asian Marinade, that’s where I’m ultimately headed with this one. I am a big fan of Asian style peanut sauces.

Opening up the jar reveals a little separation of the oils and peanut butter. That’s actually a good thing. When you don’t see that, it’s generally because it has been over processed or uses a stabilizer. As much junk as I give my wife for the organic spiel, I really am not enthusiastic about eating something that has a chemical in it that keeps the oils mixed in. It’s just wrong. So, a little mixing with a knife and it’s back together again. It smells great. Nothing out of the ordinary, just smells like really good peanut butter. I don’t sense any pepper scent or any indication of heat. It is slightly darker than the lighter tan you might expect from an ordinary peanut butter, but I am going to take a guess and say that’s from the addition of spices.

I’m putting my geek hat on for a minute. This product contains an ingredient that many health nuts shy away from- dextrose. So, what is it? Oddly enough, people who tend to shy away from it have no idea. Dextrose is a form of glucose, a simple sugar. It entered the food markets in the early 1940’s as an alternative to sugar. It is derived from plant material, like corn. The reason it entered the food markets was because of the sugar shortage that was created by World War II.  Many people incorrectly equate it to high fructose corn syrup. It’s not. In fact, it can be found naturally in things like honey and fruits. Many medical authorities recommend limiting dextrose consumption, not because it’s inherently bad for you, but because it is a sugar. The idea being that all sugar intake should be limited, especially in weight control situations. So, with that, even I have the approval of my food sentry to go ahead and enjoy this stuff, just maybe not the whole jar in one sitting.

Geek hat off. I’m not one for eating straight peanut butter even as much as I like it. So, I’ve gathered some various little bites: Kalamata olives, crackers, apple slices, Havarti cheese, and celery sticks. The last is actually an old favorite from when I was a kid. My mom would cut up celery stalks into pieces, 4 inches or so, and fill the valley with peanut butter or cream cheese. Good stuff. I’m going to forgo the obvious PB & J sandwich. Call me old fashioned, but I like the “cool” taste of that as it is and a spicy version doesn’t appeal to me.

The cracker is my first victim and I can already tell you that I really like this stuff. It’s spicy, but not crazy hot. It’s certainly no hotter than a light on heat jalapeno or some more hefty red pepper. It has a really good peanut butter flavor and is just chunky enough. It spread like butter (I guess that’s why it’s called peanut butter). Moving on to the other snack bites, they all go really well together. The olives were a suggestion from my wife, who is an olive freak. She eats them like she stole them and needs to make them disappear. I was not too sure about them and peanut butter, but I will admit it is a great combination. Just spread some PB on a cracker and stick the little bastard on top. In my next shipment from Pete, I have some of the jalapeno version of the habanero stuffed olives (HSD Review here) coming. That’s a definite one to try. As expected, the celery is a home run.

On to more complex concoctions, my wife has heated up the wok and we’re “fixin to make us some ‘ster fry’.” Going simple here- cooked up some rice noodles and threw them in the wok with a little coconut oil. Dropped in some Asian Marinade and let it wok for a few minutes. Then, added in two spoonfuls of Hot and Spicy Peanut Butter. I’ve never done this before, so I learn a lesson pretty quickly. The peanut butter doesn’t really like the sides of the wok. If it sits for more than just a few seconds, it starts to burn. So, I get it mixed in as quickly as I can. I’m pretty surprised by how well it mixes in. It really does resemble melting butter. The Asian Marinade has reduced a fair amount and there is some browning on the wok from the initial addition of PB. I add just a tad bit of water and use it to grab all the goodness from the sides of the wok and also to add a little fluidity to the reduced Asian Marinade.

All done and time to chow. I’ve used Asian Marinade before and there is definitely a distinct difference in the smell. Where before I couldn’t smell any heat from the PB, I can now most certainly. The first taste confirms that. I’m not sure if the cooking process brought out the heat in the PB, but this is actually really spicy. In fact, much, much spicier than I had ever anticipated. I would have to go with only one spoonful next time. It’s amazing how much difference there is in the heat level. Did I say that already? Well, that’s because there really is! I’m going to have to try to mix these two together again and use it as a chicken satay sauce (probably a wrong use of “satay,” because I really mean chicken on a stick that’s cooked on the grill). I wonder if the grilling will have the same effect on the heat level.

Okay, so bottom line: uncooked heat level is around 3 and uncooked flavor is a solid 8 on the PB scale. After cooking with the Asian Marinade, I have to go with a 7 on heat. Asian Marinade isn’t hot, so it has to be the PB heat from cooking. If you’re into PB&J, go for a sandwich and let me know how it is, maybe I’ll try it.