The peanut butter and jelly sandwich has always been a go-to for children and adults alike. The easily-prepared delicacy packs plenty of nutritional energy, tastes good, and it’s relatively cheap.

But the foundation of this popular sandwich has evolved so much since the days of only Jif, Skippy and Peter Pan. Now we must choose among organic, unsalted, all-natural, whipped, sugar-free, name-brand and store-brand.

Well, we’re here to help you sort through all this. We tested 45 varieties of peanut butter to find which ones were worthy of our PB&J. And we think we succeeded.

Why would we put our bodies through such stress? So you don’t have to.

The judging

The idea to rank peanut butters came from syracuse.com reader Julie Steinbrecher, who made the suggestion after we ranked 17 varieties of ketchup in July. So we—Charlie Miller and Jacob Pucci—asked her to join us.

This was a blind taste test of peanut butters from five stores in Syracuse: Wegmans, Price Chopper, Tops, Trader Joe’s and Walmart. We sampled national brands and the store brands.

We did not know which brand we were eating. We took notes and ranked them, from best to our least favorite. We judged them on texture, taste and appearance. We cleansed our palate after each sample with either water or 1% milk. We had nothing else to eat or drink during the four hours of tasting.

The top six made the final round. We then tried each of these on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Here are our rankings, starting with the winners and working our way to the basement.

Our top six

1: Jif extra crunchy

Jif, extra crunchyCharlie Miller

Price: $2.49 for 16 ounces (15.5 cents per ounce) | Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 16g | Sodium: 110mg | Sugars: 3g

Ingredients: Roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, salt

Charlie: “It turns out choosy mothers—and dads—were right when they choose Jif. This is your basic crunchy peanut butter. It’s not oily, it’s easy to spread and it tastes good. The balance between the chunks and butter is perfect and should serve as the standard. After three taste tests, this still is the best.”

Julie: “I’m sold. I’ve been going my whole adult life buying Wegmans store brand, and I don’t think I could ever eat that again after having this.”

2: Jif creamy

Jif, creamyCharlie Miller

Price: $2.49 for 16 ounces (15.5 cents per ounce) | Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 16g | Sodium: 140mg | Sugars: 3g

Ingredients: Roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides and salt.

Jacob: “It’s a bit sweeter than the other creamy varieties. The roasted flavor of the peanuts really stands out."

Charlie: “It reminds me of my childhood. Maybe that’s why I identify with it.”

3: Peter Pan Simply Ground

Peter Pan Simply GroundCharlie Miller

Price: $2.99 for 15 ounces (19.9 cents per ounce) | Calories: 210 | Total Fat: 17g | Sodium: 125mg | Sugars: 3g

Ingredients: Roasted peanuts, sugar, vegetable oils, salt

Charlie: “This version is creamy with a little bit of crunch. You’re not going to find chunks of peanuts here; you’ll find grains of peanuts instead. It’s thick, but it’s smooth.”

Julie: “This is perfect if you want just a little crunch. It’s not overpowering.”

4: Jif Whips

Jif WhipsCharlie Miller

Price: $3.29 for 15 ounces (21.9 cents per ounces) | Calories: 140 | Total Fat: 12g | Sodium: 95mg | Sugars: 2g

Ingredients: Roasted peanuts, sugar, vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, salt

Charlie: “ As you probably could guess, Jif Whips is very light, but it’s not airy. It’s like whipped butter, which is among my favorite spreads. The best part is that your bread won’t fall apart when you spread it. The long wide container makes it easy dunk fruit into the peanut butter.”

Julie: “This has a silky taste to it. It’s not sticky in my mouth at all.”

5: Wegmans organic creamy

Wegmans organic, creamyCharlie Miller

Price: $4.99 for 16 ounces (31.2 cents per ounce) | Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 14g | Sodium: 50mg | Sugars: 2g

Ingredients: Dry roasted organic blanched peanuts, salt

Jacob: “This variety has a more pronounced peanut taste than the other organics. Natural peanut butters aren’t going to be as smooth as the regular peanut butters with added hydrogenated oils, but of the natural butters we tried, this was the creamiest and the best."

6: Smucker’s Natural creamy

Smucker's Natural, creamyCharlie Miller

Price: $6.58 for 16 ounces (41.1 cents per ounce) | Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 16g | Sodium: 110mg | Sugars: 2g

Ingredients: Peanuts, salt

Jacob: “This peanut butter is darker than the others so the peanuts were probably roasted longer. It’s almost chewy. But you immediately get a true full taste of peanuts.”

Tier Two

7: Peter Pan whipped creamy

Price: $2.89 for 13 ounces (22.2 cents per ounce)

Julie: “This is super smooth, fluffy and light. I’d pay the extra money for this.”

8: Skippy Natural creamy

Price: $2.79 for 15 ounces (18.6 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “The flavor is brighter. I’m looking for the quality of the peanut flavor. It has a good roast. The flavor is more pronounced.”

9: Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter chunky

Price: $6.58 for 16 ounces (41.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “It’s grittier, which is expected. It’s thicker than the other naturals. I actually think the chunks of peanuts detract from the overall experience.”

10: Wegmans organic crunchy

Price: $4.99 for 16 ounces (31.2 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Good peanut taste. For an organic peanut butter at room temperature organic, this is the best.”

11: Jif Natural crunchy

Price: $2.99 for 16 ounces (18.7 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “This is heavy. It’s almost like a brick. But it has a nice taste, and there’s no need to stir.”

12: Simply Jif creamy

Price: $2.49 for 15.5 ounces (16.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “This is a little toasty. You can tell it has less salt (33% less sugar too). It’s good.”

Charlie: “Toasty? You mean burned? Maybe, but it needs more salt, and it could use more sugar. But that would defeat the purpose. Some people want to be a little healthier, I reckon.”

13: Peanut Butter & Co. crunch time

Price: $4.49 for 16 ounces (28.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Better than a store brand. It’s well balanced with no bitterness. It’s smooth despite the ‘crunchy’ label.”

14: Jif Natural creamy

Price: $2.99 for 16 ounces (18.7 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “You can really tell this has less salt in it. It doesn’t need it.”

15: Jif reduced fat creamy

Price: $2.49 for 16 ounces (15.6 cents per ounce)

Julie: “It’s smooth and sweet. It tastes like a Bit-O-Honey or Mary Jane candy.”

Charlie: “Yum! Oh, and there’s less fat in Bit-O-Honey, Julie. Just thought you’d like to know that.”

Middle of the Bunch

16: Skippy creamy

Price: $2.79 for 16.3 ounces (17.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “It’s just fine. Not great. Not a ton of personality.”

Charlie: “If you’re going to bring personality into it, this is that peanut butter you see at a party and realize it’s just popular because it hangs out with the best-tasting jelly.”

17: Peter Pan creamy

Price: $2.59 for 16.3 ounces (15.9 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “I’m shocked to find out Peter Pan finished this far down. I figured it would taste better.”

Julie: “There’s no wow-factor here. It’s bland.”

18: Peter Pan Natural crunchy

Price: $2.99 for 16.3 ounces (18.3 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “It’s oily, especially on top. It says no stirring necessary. I respectfully disagree.”

19: Skippy super chunk

Price: $2.99 for 16.3 ounces (18.3 cents per ounce)

Julie: “I like how smooth this is for a chunky peanut butter. The flavor is strong but good.”

20: Wegmans crunchy

Price: $1.19 for 18 ounces (6.6 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “It’s too tacky. It’s a little too casual.”

Julie: “I know this brand. This is what I buy at home, but I don’t like it today after having all the others.”

Charlie: “I’m not sure what too casual means, Jake, but if you mean it’s a fine everyday peanut butter at a reasonable cost, I agree with you. If you mean something else, I probably disagree."

21: Peter Pan crunchy

Price: $2.59 for 16.3 ounces (15.9 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “The peanut chunks are smaller than other chunky versions. It’s bitter and almost tannic. It tastes like the red skins on the peanuts. That gives it the bitterness.”

22: Reese’s creamy

Price: $3.99 for 18 ounces (22.2 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “We so badly wanted to love this. It’s a little sweeter, but I expected more. Maybe I should add some sugar and chocolate.”

Julie: “It’s smoother than most. It’s almost silky like the whipped peanut butters we had earlier.”

23: Wegmans creamy

Price: $1.19 for 18 ounces (6.1 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “Easy to scoop out of the jar. It’s a bargain at $1.19. True, it’s not big on flavor, but it’d be fine with a good jelly or strawberry preserves. Or bananas. Or apples.”

24: Tops crunchy

Price: $1.69 for 16 ounces (10.6 cents per ounce)

Julie: “Fair amount of chunks. This is Tops, isn’t it? It’s just a normal peanut butter flavor. It’s not going to blow you away.”

25: Great Value (Walmart) creamy

Price: $1.18 for 18 ounces (6.6 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “Easy to spread. Flavor is a little muted. It isn’t very sharp.”

Julie: “Good peanut taste. It’s not bad. Very basic.”

26: Teddie super chunky all natural

Price: $3.49 for 16 ounces (21.8 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “This is an absolute mess. Oil spilled all over while trying to stir it. It didn’t have enough salt. Now the jar is slick. Even with jelly, it’s not good.”

Jacob: “I actually liked the Teddie better than the first natural one (Wegmans Just Peanuts).”

27: Teddie smooth all natural

Price: $3.49 for 16 ounces (21.8 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “I like the peanut flavor. It’s a bright roasted flavor. It’s probably the kind of peanut that isn’t good on a sandwich. But maybe for a peanut sauce.”

Charlie: “It would probably be good with ice cream or in a milkshake. But just getting it out of the jar is a chore. I think you could put this jar in a paint can shaker and still not mix it up completely.”

28: Pics (Price Chopper) creamy

Price: $1.99 for 16.3 ounces (12.2 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “It’s twice the price of Wegmans brand. Why? It’s not worth the extra cost.”

Julie: “I like this. Is there salt? It’s not overpowering. It’s good. I like the texture.”

29: Tops creamy

Price: $1.69 for 16 ounces (10.6 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Very pale. If you said this was reduced fat, I’d believe you. It’s run of the mill.”

30: Pics (Price Chopper) chunky

Price: $1.99 for 16.3 ounces (12.2 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “This one has a decent roast flavor to it. But that’s about it. It’s a one-trick peanut butter.”

31: Peanut Butter & Co. smooth operator creamy

Price: $4.49 for 16 ounces (28.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “It’s more pale. The nuts clearly weren’t as roasted.”

Charlie: “Pale? It tastes like paper.”

32: Homeplate creamy

Price: $4.79 for 16 ounces (29.9 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “I like the taste, but it’s thinner than most creamy varieties. They say it’s made by athletes for athletes. That doesn’t make me want to buy it.”

33: Homeplate crunchy

Price: $4.79 for 16 ounces (29.9 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “It tastes like a boutique peanut butter, if there is such a thing. I wouldn’t pay more for it though. We’ve had some that are much better.”

34: Justin’s

Price: $4.49 for 18 ounces (24.9 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Knowing what it is now, it’s among the better of the unsalted peanut butters. Trader Joes was certainly darker. I’d prefer this over the two.”

Julie: “That’s gross.”

35: Trader Joe’s crunchy salted

Price: $1.99 for 16 ounces (12.4 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Flavor isn’t bad. It tastes like peanuts from the shell.”

Charlie: “Ew. It’s runny.”

Julie: “Seriously, Jake? This is the worst one of all them.”

Bottom of the Barrel

36: Wegmans Just Peanuts Natural Peanut Butter crunchy

Price: $2.69 for 16 ounces (16.8 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “It’s bland. I get some off flavors. If you told me that it was close to the expiration date, I wouldn’t be surprised.” (It wasn’t. It expires July 31, 2020.)

37: Wegmans Just Peanuts Natural Peanut Butter creamy

Price: $2.69 for 16 ounces (16.8 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “What a pain it is to mix. And there’s no return in the end. It’s tasteless after doing all that work to stir it up.”

38: Peter Pan Natural creamy

Price: $2.99 for 16.3 ounces (18.4 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “This is almost gelatinous. It’s very thick, and it’s hard to swallow. Just awful. Good lord.”

39: Great Value (Walmart) crunchy

Price: $1.18 for 18 ounces (6.5 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “It’s very thick and dry. It’s a penny less than Wegmans, but you get 2 more ounces Keep the 2 ounces.”

40: Smart Balance chunky

Price: $5.49 for 26 ounces (21.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “Very compacted. More nuts than anything else. Is there flaxseed oil in this? (Answer: Yes there is.)”

41: Smart Balance creamy

Price: $5.49 for 26 ounces (21.1 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “I taste sugar and flaxseed oil. Those are not what I want to be tasting when I’m eating peanut butter.”

Charlie: “Look at it. It’s shiny. Yuck.”

42: Trader Joe’s crunchy unsalted

Price: $1.99 for 16 ounces (12.4 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “This would remind you that peanuts are actually legumes. It has a vegetal flavor.”

Charlie: “Take that back, Jake. I like beans. That’s an insult to beans.”

43: Trader Joe’s creamy unsalted

Price: $1.99 for 16 ounces (12.4 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “If you can eat salt, don’t get this. If you can’t eat salt, you still shouldn’t eat it. It’s runny out of the jar, and it has zero flavor. There are other salt-free choices out there.”

44: Trader Joe’s creamy salted

Price: $1.99 for 16 ounces (12.4 cents per ounce)

Jacob: “This is what I have at home. It’s OK.”

Charlie: “Don’t invite me to your home for PB&J’s please, Jake.”

For kicks

45: Smucker’s Goober grape jelly and peanut butter stripes

Price: $3.79 for 18 ounces (21.1 cents per ounce)

Charlie: “Very smooth and easy to spread. Very sweet. No wonder kids like it.”

Jacob: “I loved this when I went camping as a kid, but this peanut butter tastes really odd.”

Julie: “Everybody likes Goober. Maybe I’m still just a kid.”

45 peanut butters with guest judge Julie SteinbrecherCharlie Miller

Find your favorite peanut butter on Amazon, Walmart and Target.

Charlie Miller and Jacob Pucci find the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact Charlie at (315) 382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com. You can reach Jake at (315) 282-8611, or by email at jpucci@syracuse.com.

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