Photo: Westend61 (Getty Images)
It’s a duel as old as time. One that conjures up images of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton (mostly because of the ‘Got Milk?’ commercial). An epic showdown that divides families like the Hatfields and the McCoys. No, it’s not the contemporary political climate or anything to do with COVID, it’s a bit nuttier than that. It’s the battle between creamy and crunchy/chunky peanut butter.
If you’re a peanut butter purist, you might think there’s no question about which style is better. This is because when most people envision peanut butter, it’s the smooth, cream version many of us know and love. But there’s a darker, likely more malevolent, possibly anarchist group of the population that believes that creamy or chunky peanut butter is better.
To get to the bottom of this clash of nuts, we decided to list the various pluses and minuses of each. Keep scrolling to see how everything turned out so you finally know which is better: creamy or chunky style peanut butter.
Creamy VS Chunky Peanut Butter
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Appearance
There’s no denying the appeal of creamy peanut butter. After you tear off the paper on top, it’s like looking at a perfectly still lake waiting for you spoon to add a few ripples. Chunky style on the other hand looks more like stormy, wavy, ocean waves. It’s not remotely as appealing.
Winner: Creamy
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Mouthfeel
Once again, there’s no real comparison. Creamy peanut butter is just that. It’s creamy, smooth, indulgent, and just asking to be eaten directly from the jar. Crunchy style is just that. Crunchy or off-putting. If I wanted to eat a handful of peanuts with a little peanut butter mixed in, I would.
Winner: Creamy
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Taste Alone
We’ve reached an important section. When it comes to flavor alone, if you’re a true peanut fanatic you’ll probably prefer chunky style. This is because, instead of eating a paste of peanuts you’re still enjoying pieces of crunchy peanut mixed into the churned up peanut butter.
Winner: Crunchy
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Taste in a Sandwich
This is tough because it’s really about your own personal taste. For us, when we eat a classic peanut butter and jelly, we prefer creamy peanut butter because we don’t want any random crunches to take away from the grape, strawberry, or raspberry jelly that makes up the rest of the sandwich. If we want some crunch, we’ll add potato chips.
Winner: Creamy
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Intangibles
One is a jar filled with creamy, sweet, smooth, delicious peanut butter and the other is a jar with big chunks of peanuts mixed together with creamy peanut butter. The first is classic peanut butter. The other feels unfinished. It’s the kind of thing that your teacher would give an “incomplete” grade to.
Winner: Creamy
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Overall Winner
Honestly, what did we expect? This was a pretty one-sided contest and it wasn’t fair from the get go. Creamy style peanut butter is just better in every way. If you don’t agree you’re obviously some anti-social deviant who hates good things. That’s all there is to it.
Winner: 4-1 in favor of creamy style peanut butter
