Trial & Error: Are these the best fancy nut butters?

Follow NZH Lifestyle's Trial and Error series where we try out the latest in food, viral trends, and beauty hacks so you don't have to.

There used to be two types of people in this world: crunchy or smooth.

Oh how times have changed.

You may have noticed the peanut butter section in your local supermarket has, well, spread considerably in recent times. And that the humble peanut has found itself swirled with sweet stuff and sandwiched between the likes of more elitist nuts, the macadamias and hazelnuts of the world.

For a PB fan, it's exciting, but also a little bit daunting.

So to help you on your fancy new nut butter journey, our taste testers Mitch and Sinead have sampled three standouts, smeared on some Vogels toast.

Sinead and Mitch tried out some gourmet peanut butters.

The taste test

Nut Brothers - Peanut Butter Salted Caramel $7 (300g jar)

Nut Brothers - Peanut Butter Salted Caramel (300g). Photo / Instagram

Initial reactions involved some confusion: The product has a 5-star health rating, which Mitch and Sinead thought was surprising to see on a "caramel" flavoured product.

Struck by the extremely sweet flavour, Mitch concluded: "It isn't five bloody health stars."

Sinead agreed it sounded too good to be true. Does this mean you can eat this by the spoonful and not feel guilty about it?

Both acknowledged it was more of a dessert, and decided parents shouldn't be spreading it on their kids' toast for breakfast.

However, the sugar and fat component isn't much different to Sanitarium Original Crunchy Peanut Butter.

Nut Brother's Peanut Butter Salted Caramel has, per 100g, less fat than Sanitarium's product: 43.3g of fat compared to 49g. But it has slightly more sugar: 7.3g compared to 6.7g.

Forty Thieves - Salted Macadamia Butter with Maple & Vanilla $14.99 (235g jar)

Forty Thieves - Salted Macadamia Butter with Maple & Vanilla. Photo / Forty Thieves

A combination of macadamia and cashew nuts, this nut butter had the most liquid texture.

While Mitch nodded in approval, he said it wasn't something he'd ordinarily pick on a supermarket shelf.

Sinead thought it was tasty but felt the maple and vanilla notes were lacking.

Again, out taste testers agreed the butter was more suitable for dolloping on ice cream than making a morning meal out of. Indeed the 40 Thieves website recommends stirring this particular one through coconut ice cream, pouring over weekend pancakes or drizzling over fresh fruit salad. With their range of nut butters they suggest "a spoonful or two for a little extra energy before a workout, or to keep you going in the afternoons."

Compared to classic crunchy peanut butter, the sugar component, from Canadian maple syrup, was the same: 6.7g. But the fat content is higher at 61.7g.

Fix & Fogg - Coffee and Maple Peanut Butter $7.00 (275g jar)

Fix & Fogg - Coffee and Maple Peanut Butter. Photo / Fix & Fogg

From the moment the lid was popped, our taste testers noted the strong fragrance of coffee.

Unlike the first two, Mitch said he could imagine eating this one when he wakes up.

"It's toast and coffee. It's breakfast!"

Meanwhile, Sinead, who considers coffee more of a lifeline than a delicious treat, didn't enjoy this one all that much.

Pitted against old school peanut butter, this one comes in with a lower fat content, at 45.1g compared to 49g per 100g. And sugar is marginally lower too: 6.5g versus 6.7g.

The verdict

While Mitch and Sinead were impressed by the gourmet spreads, opinions differed about which was best.

Mitch felt while the 40 Thieves Salted Macadamia Butter was surprisingly delightful, he wouldn't eat it on toast for breakfast.

As a coffee lover, Fix & Fogg's Coffee & Maple took the top spot for him.

Sinead deemed the Nut Brothers Salted Caramel her favourite, but said she wouldn't buy it because she couldn't trust herself to stop at just a spoonful of the moreish spread.

Ultimately, our taste testers agreed at least two of these fancy challengers to good old crunchy peanut butter don't belong at the beginning of the day, but would be delicious on ice cream at the end.