I Like Peanut Butter…

Skippy vs. Jif: Creamy Peanut Butter

Like most red-blooded American kids, I grew up on peanut butter, not only PB&J sandwiches and peanut butter crackers but also peanut butter candy, ice cream, milkshakes, etc. You could say peanut butter was one of my favorite foods when I was a kid, but that wouldn’t be quite right. That’s because peanut butter is still one of my favorite foods. I like -no, LOVE-peanut butter.

Skippy was my main squeeze. It was the brand my mom bought and I stayed loyal when I launched out on my own. It’s a great product and I would have never cheated with another if I hadn’t been forced into it when the store was sold out. Then I tried Jif for the first time.

It wasn’t love at first bite, but Jif does taste more like peanuts. I realized that after I tried to go back to Skippy. Jif also has a low-fat alternative that tastes really good. Skippy has an oilier flavor, and after eating Jif, I just couldn’t go back. It was a bittersweet farewell, but I had a new love: Jif Peanut Butter. Sorry, Mom.

Winner: Jif

Store-Brand Microwave Popcorn Challenge

Publix vs. Walgreens: Microwave Popcorn, Movie Theater Butter

My husband is a popcorn junkie. For some reason, throwing a bag in the microwave has become a nightly ritual. Needless to say, we keep plenty of popcorn in the house. But one fateful night, we ran out, prompting a late night trip to Walgreens. The store was sold out of our regular brand, so out of desperation, we purchased the Walgreens brand.

Much to our delight, we liked the Walgreens popcorn better than the brand name we had gone in search of. It had just the right amount of butter flavoring and nearly every kernel popped.

Curious to see how good other store brands were, we picked up a box at Publix on our next trip to the grocery store. The Publix brand was good, but had a few drawbacks. The butter flavoring left a waxy aftertaste and there were a few too many unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bag. In the Publix vs Walgreens Microwave Popcorn Challenge, Walgreens is the victor.

Winner: Walgreens