Have you ever opened up your all-natural Krema PB and seen a layer of oil on the top?  Never fear – it’s normal!  

All peanuts naturally secrete peanut oil and since our PB is just ground peanuts – its bound to have some peanut oil in there   The oil rises to the top over time.  Stirring the oil back in with your natural PB makes the whole jar more creamy and spreadable.  Plus this separated oil has other benefits, the health publication at bnet.com says,

“Much of the oil in peanuts is monounsaturated, and diets high in this type of fat have been shown to lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while preserving levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Peanut oil also contains beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that studies show can inhibit cancer growth.

If you still feel that the savings in calories outweighs the potential health benefits, consider this: On average, you’ll find about two tablespoons of oil at the top of a jar of natural peanut butter, roughly 239 calories. That may sound like a lot, but it works out to just 9 calories per two-tablespoon serving.”

But if you’re still not quite sure what to do with that peanut oil, here are a few tips…
- peanut oil is a natural softener, so just stir the oil right into your Krema PB with a strong knife
- if its too difficult to stir, zap the whole jar – without the lid – in the microwave for a few seconds (just make sure to completely remove the aluminum seal from the top of the jar first)
- you can pour off the oil, but you’d just be wasting good oil!  We recommend keeping at least some of it for stirring ease and flavor, yum
- store your unopened PB jars upside down in your cupboard, this way the oil will rise to the bottom and you can stir it in without spilling
- to prevent future oil separation – keep your PB in the fridge!
- after all, extra peanut oil at the top just might mean that you aren’t eating your Krema PB fast enough