Alternate Nut Butters and Premium Jams

It’s hard to mess up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But that doesn’t mean you can’t amp it up by using the best quality peanut butter or substituting with an excellent almond or cashew spread. We’ve gathered the top choices from some of the country’s best specialty food retailers, as well as premium jams, to help elevate your next sandwich.

Local and So Good

Patrick Crowl, Woodstock Farmers Market, Woodstock, Vt., says people like the products to be delicious more than anything else, but everyone gravitates toward local in his neck of the woods.

Crowl’s picks are:

Koeze Cream-Nut Natural Peanut Butter, Smooth (koeze.com)

Side Hill Farm Maple Apple Drizzle (sidehillfarmjam.com)

Vermont Peanut Butter Co. Harvest Peanut Butter (vtpeanutbutter.com)

Woodstock Farms Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (woodstock-farms.com)

Far Out Flavors

Holly McLean, Savor, Seattle, Wash., notes that anything local, especially if it is organic, is a winner, but new, innovative flavor combinations are trendy too.

Her suggestions are:

Marilyn’s Nut Butter, Pistachio Butter with Fennel (marilynsnutbutters.com)

Marilyn’s Nut Butter, Cinnamon Walnut Pecan (marilynsnutbutters.com)

Oregon Growers & Shippers Blueberry Preserves (oregongrowers.com)

Heirloom and Organic

Karma Sherpa, Natural Green Market, New York City, says she sees cashew butter as a popular alternative for its raw, organic properties, as well as jam that comes from heirloom fruits.

Sherpa’s choices are:

Artisana Raw Cashew Butter (premierorganics.org)

Bionaturae Apricot Jam (bionaturae.com)

MaraNatha Almond Butter (maranatha.com)

Once Again Almond Butter (onceagainnutbutter.com)

—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.

1 comment

KRISTINAKELT Thanks for helping me spruce up my PBJ! Loved the Maple Apple Drizzle