If you’re like us, you’re also transfixed by the taste, texture, and hunger quenching satisfaction of eating peanut butter. Now, there’s even more nut butter options to choose from like almond butter, sunflower seed butter, coconut butter, hazelnut butter, and pistachio butter.
Nearly any nut can be ground into a paste and consumed as a buttery spread. Recipes vary but it usually takes a few hundred nuts to make just one jar. Therefore, consuming a sustainable spread is largely important.
Are Nut Butters Sustainable?
All products’ sustainability is mainly determined by its factors of production; ingredients, waste, and packaging. Depending on the nut, great amounts of water are needed to harvest the plant and blend it into a spread. Not only do nuts like almonds initially require copious amounts of water to grow, but the spread is produced by grinding the nuts with water into a paste. Excessive use of water will take away from a product’s overall sustainability so consider this when searching for your perfect nut butter.
While almonds are usually framed as the least sustainable nut, according to One Green Planet, almond farmers have reduced their water consumption by 33% over the past two decades so the environmental impact of almond production is somewhat better than we’ve been led to believe.
However, peanuts are one of the most sustainable nuts requiring much less water and therefore, solidifying its spot in our cupboards. Even more economical than peanuts though, are pistachios because they require very little water during growth and their shells can be fermented to release methane and create heat. This minimizes its waste production.
Most nut butters are made from blending only nuts and water until the desired thickness of a paste is achieved, making it an easy food to DIY. But if you’d prefer to purchase your nut butter, we may have just the kind for you.
Sweeten it Up
If you’re looking for a sweet spread our Impakter Eco Marketplace offers a plant-based nut butter that is sustainably made and unequivocally delicious.
The B.I.G. Hazelnut Spread by NEXO Chocolate is perfect for people who like sweet treats but want limit their sugar intake. NEXO uses alternative sweeteners in this nut butter like agave and maltitol. Manufacturers blend these ingredients with organic hazelnuts and cocoa, creating a delectable spread.
Decide what you’re looking for in a nut butter. We know you’ll consider its sustainability, but do you want something crunchy? Sweet? Smooth? Creamy? Before making a purchase, make sure you determine your nut butter needs.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: various nut butters. Featured Photo Credit: 550 × 825.
