Peanut butter was never a part of the diet for most Indians (until now), however as Indians are becoming more aware about nutrition, peanut butter is gradually making its way into the kitchen of most Indians.
The domestic consumption of peanut butter in India is very low (compared to the Western world) currently, but its awareness is growing by the day.
It’s a great source of protein for vegetarians and it’s delicious (better than normal butter). Kids love to eat peanut butter sandwiches, but more and more adults are also adding it to their diet because of its rich protein and high fibre content.
The other day I was in a super store (D-mart) and I noticed a couple of well-built, young guys looking for peanut butter. They looked like regular gym-goers and it seemed they had realized that peanut butter is a rich source of protein, which helps in muscle recovery intense post-workout.
You can eat it with bread, use it in sandwiches, cookies, smoothie and ice-cream, and in other recipes.
Rich Nutritional Content
The fibre makes it more filling, which means you won’t get hungry soon. A serving of peanut butter has 3 mg of the powerful antioxidant vitamin E, 49 mg of bone-building magnesium, 208 mg of muscle-friendly potassium, and 0.17 mg of immunity-boosting vitamin B6.
Peanuts are known to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other types of chronic health conditions.
Peanut butter is also high with monounsatu-rated fat, which is good for the heart. Peanuts high concentrations of poly-phenolic antioxidants reduces the risk of stomach cancer by reducing the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines.
They are also an excellent source of resveratrol, an antioxidant, which has protective function against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and viral/ fungal infections.
Buying Peanut Butter in India
If you live in a metro city in India, you will be able to find peanut better in most stores.
However, finding good organic peanut butter may still be a challenge. You can check online for good brands of peanut butter.
Pintola Peanut Butter
Pintola peanut butter is made from the finest grade, fresh, crunchy and nutritious peanuts available in market. These are free from harmful preservatives, excess sugar and excess salt. You get a variety of flavours – creamy, crunchy, and chocolate in peanut butter, available in various packaging sizes.
Among the healthiest peanut butter brands available in India, at reasonable pricing. Other peanut butter brands available in India use oils and fillers, but PINTOLA uses all natural and healthy ingredients. Tastes good and has a nice texture to it.
- Pros: All peanut (no additional things added)
- Cons: Taste is bland because no sugar, more ‘liquid’ish because of the absence of emulsifiers
If you’re a big fan of peanut butter, you’re going to like Pintola peanut butter, an affordable product. The other peanut butters are either very tasty (too tasty to be healthy) or are expensive (if its imported). Its manufactured by Das Foodtech, a peanut butter manufacturer and exporter based in Gujarat, India.
Pintola All Natural peanut butter is bland with a neutral taste, and bit oily. It’s also darker in color (compared to other brands like sundrop, funfoods). I guess its because these guys include the peanut skins which contributes to the darker color. It only makes it healthier because it increases the fiber content. It has got only peanuts (100%) and nothing else.
Its also very affordable, compared to other peanut butter’s available, which are quite highly priced and includes ingredients like oils, salt, sugar etc. Other peanut butters available in the market include lots of filler, to bind the entire thing together. But then, its not really needed, because you want the peanut butter to be as natural as possible.
Some users say that Pintola should have included natural sugars like jaggery or honey, because the taste is bland and almost tasteless. However, most genuine health products are bland, so that’s a small compromise to make especially when you’re getting a really healthy product.
Pintola peanut butter nutrition facts: You should eat peanut butter to get PROTEIN and healthy fats (cut down on carbohydrates to reduce weight).
Next time you pick up any product, do read about its ingredients.
Gujarat leads peanut butter production in India
Besides milk and butter production, Gujarat is also the largest manufacturer of peanut butter in India.
Thanks to the availability of quality groundnuts, several companies have established plants in Gujarat to make peanut butter.
“As per the industry estimates, annually 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes of peanut butter is produced in the state and over 90% is exported across the globe,” as per report in TOI.
Gujarat is a leading producer of groundnut in India, which helps these companies as quality raw material is available locally, which helps reduce manufacturing cost. Groundnut forms 90% of the ingredients used to produce peanut butter.
These manufacturing units produce various types of peanut butter, including chocolate and honey flavoured.
Gujarat also offers excellent roads, rail and port infrastructure,which is another reason that companies are setting up plants here. Gujarat based companies are also engaged in contract manufacturing of peanut buter for firms selling in other countries.
“One has to be in Gujarat to compete with Argentina, the US and China, which are major peanut butter manufacturing countries,” says Nihal Bhurani, chief managing director, United Foods.
The domestic consumption of peanut butter in India is very low, but awareness about the health benefits of peanut butter is gradually increasing in India.
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