from the land down under ....

July 2008 

A Nutty Love Affair

By Rachel Hunt

To put it in easily translatable terms, peanut butter is to Americans, what vegemite is to Australians. However, because of peanut butter’s sweet nutty flavor you can do a whole lot more then just spread it on a slice of bread. In fact us Americas managed to put it to many more uses then it has found in Australia.

Aside from the many fantastic culinary options for peanut butter; there are numerous alternative household uses. Peanut butter makes a great bait for mousetraps and can be used to un-stick stubborn price tags, or to get chewing gum out of hair. It has also been reported as a possible cure for hiccups. And in the oddest of possible uses, former Arizona senator Barry Goldwater claims that peanut butter can make and effective shaving cream alternative in a pinch.

Peanut butter is one of the corner stones of the American culinary experience and to fully embrace the American experience you must embrace its nutty goodness. Most American children grew up on PB&J (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Jam in Aussie speak), but beyond the basic, peanut butter has found it’s way into cookies, milkshakes, milk chocolate cups, soups and ice cream.

To start your nutty culinary tour of the city, try popping into a few of the city’s fine peanut friendly eateries:

• For a greater exploration of the all American peanut butter sandwich make a stop by Peanut Butter and Co. on Sullivan Street.
• To sample a peanut butter cupcake give the Upper East Sides Two Little Red Hens a try
• If you like your peanut butter in the drinkable form, check out the New York Milkshake Company on East 47^th. 
• For a “rock your world peanut butter cookie, there is no better place then Levain’s Bakery on 74^th and Columbus.

Next time you find yourself at the grocery store; be sure to pick up a jar of peanut butter and store it in your cabinet next to it’s yellow lidded Aussie cousin.

Above: Peanut Butter .. American for Vegemite?