I recently bought some "natural" crunchy peanut butter from Harris Teeter. Other than natural my only other description is the oil rises to the top when it isn't stirred for a while. There is a very large message on the top that says:
Refrigerate after opening
However, I mainly use peanut butter for PBJ sandwiches and I cannot spread the peanut butter while its cold. I could set it out for a while, but that seems against the message on the jar.
Is there some secret to spreading this peanut butter when it must be kept in the refrigerator?
Even if you don't have to refrigerate I would like to know how to spread it. I live by myself and it could take 6 months to empty the jar, so refrigeration would help it last longer.
Best Answer
The easiest solution that comes to mind would be to figure out how much you need for a sandwich, remove that from the jar, set it on the counter to come to room temp (or put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds) and then spread it when it's warmed up.
"Refrigerate after opening" doesn't mean that it must be in the fridge every second, though... so even if you left the entire jar on the counter for 30 minutes to warm up, it shouldn't pose much of a problem.