Thursday, September 18, 2014

Food Review: Jif Whips' Pumpkin Pie Spice Whipped Peanut Butter

Enjoying some Jif Whips on toast with rice milk!

One of the first Halloween/fall food items I bought this year was Jif Whips' Whipped Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Pie Spice, which I found at Target. I bought it over a month ago, so you may be wondering why I haven't reviewed it sooner. An explanation is below, which you are free to skip and go directly to the review if you choose.

Well, the truth is I've put off writing about this item because its ingredients include monoglycerides and diglycerides, which may come from animal sources (ew!), which would therefore make it not vegan (or even vegetarian, for that matter!).

Long story short, mono and diglycerides can be derived from vegetable, synthetic, or animal sources. Since Jif's ingredient sources are rather dubious, this may make their products potentially NOT vegan/vegetarian-friendly. Prior to purchasing the new Jif Whips, I was unfamiliar with these two ingredients and since the rest of the ingredients listed in the Whips appeared vegan, went ahead and purchased/enjoyed the pumpkin pie spice whip.

Now that I know this product has the possibility of having animal-derived ingredients, I probably wouldn't purchase it again. Personally, I don't stress about micro ingredients or potentially tiny amounts of animal ingredients due to processing, cross-contamination, etc., and am happy being a 99.99999% vegan. We don't live in a perfect world, and being 100% vegan is pretty impossible (there are animal products in tires, in electronics, and so on). I believe that veganism is not about personal purity but rather focusing on fighting the good fight for the animals. I think we lose sight of what we are fighting for when we squabble over micro animal ingredients that may or may not be in "accidentally vegan" food. However, by all means make your own call on this and do what you feel is best for you! And for those still with me, I still want to provide a review.

Jif Whips Pumpkin Pie Spice Whipped Peanut Butter smelled amazing when I first popped off the lid. It may have been the middle of August, but it smelled like autumn with it's sweet pumpkin-y and peanut butter-y scent! I stuck a spoon in it for my first bite and was delighted at the light, fluffy texture. I had never had "whipped" peanut butter before, so the airy consistency was a fun surprise. The taste itself was delicious, with the sweet flavors of pumpkin and maple syrup spiked with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves intermingling perfectly with the slight salty peanut taste.

I've tried it as a spread on toast, I've used it as a dip to dunk snickerdoodle cookies in, topped chocolate with it, crowned bowls of ice cream with it, and just eaten it straight out of the tub. Yep, it's pretty addicting! Have you seen the movie The Stuff? Ya, kinda addicting like that!

Of course, it is definitely not healthy, but a little treat once in a while doesn't hurt! However, if you are vegan/vegetarian, please keep in mind what was mentioned above - that this product contains mono and diglycerides and it is unknown if they are from vegetable/synthetic/animal ingredients.

Other than that, this is a yummy Halloween treat! It's also available for a limited time, and I think I've already seen it on sale at Target, so get it while you can!

4 comments:

  1. By "whipped", I'm sure they mean, "hydrogenated", heh heh.

    Personally, I'd go for the creamy locally sourced organic peanut butter from the hippy-dippy mart near me, peppered with a little allspine and cinnamon a la Mrs. Thompson's Celtic Herbalism, heh!

    http://celticherbs.com/herbs.html

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    Replies
    1. Haha, too true!

      And that is a genius idea! I am definitely going to make my own like you suggested!

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  2. Hello, belgian reader here :)
    I've recently discovered your blog and I'm happy I did!
    Sadly, reading your Halloween posts reminds me how our countries are different, and how much I'm missing!
    I'd love to have the shop shelves filled with Halloween stuff here, well, more than a furry spider and some spiderwebs.
    That peanut butter you're describing make me want to scream because it looks delicious and I know I'll never have the chance to eat something like that!

    And, you just offered me some defense against the aggressive meat eaters!

    Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Hello and welcome! Thanks for all the kind words! I really do wish all the world could celebrate Halloween!

      Oh, and for the peanut butter you can make your own!! And I'm sure it will be much better! See the comment above for how to make it!

      And yay for fighting off those meat-eaters...go get 'em!

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