Aldi Peanut Butter Might Not Be Worth The Savings. Here's Why

Discount grocery chain Aldi is synonymous with savings, offering customers daily deals on products like pantry staples and cheap meat. However, if you ask some less-than-satisfied shoppers, sometimes those savings come at the cost of quality. Like other supermarkets, Aldi has products worth buying and some you might want to avoid. Unfortunately, the grocer's Peanut Delight Creamy Peanut Butter may fall into the latter category.

According to some folks on the subreddit r/Aldi, the quality of the store's private label spread has declined over time. What was once a product compared to traditional brands like Skippy and Jif now has rubbed people the wrong way with a flavorless taste and oily consistency. The original poster wrote, "The past two jars I've bought have been lacking in flavor, lighter in color, and slightly oilier," and some fellow netizens chimed in with comments like, "Same here. It's literal goo, like actual liquid."

Still, not everyone is convinced that those folks didn't simply get a bad batch. One person even suggested storing it like all-natural peanut butter if oil is pooling at the top of the jar, saying, "Have had no problems with the last 3 jars so far. Just had to flip the jar over to get the oil better distributed as I got closer to the bottom." It is curious, however, that some people are experiencing oily peanut butter from Aldi because it is made with ingredients meant to keep the creamy texture consistent.

Peanut oil is a natural byproduct that comes from grinding peanuts which is, of course, itself part of the process of making peanut butter. In fact, that oil is what actually makes the spread smooth and creamy. When peanut butter sits in your pantry, that oil can come out of that suspension and become liquid. Yet, manufacturers have figured out how to keep that oil in place by introducing ingredients that keep the texture consistent. Many folks simply don't want to stir the jar with every application of their spread.

In contrast, all-natural peanut butter typically doesn't contain anything but ground peanuts and sometimes a bit of salt, meaning there is nothing to stop the oil from liquifying at room temperature. Most commercial brands, like Aldi's product, contain sugar to add some flavor but also include things like soybean and canola oil to keep the peanut oil from separating. Aldi peanut butter only has five ingredients, but among them is hydrogenated vegetable oil made from cottonseed, soybean, and canola. These ingredients should keep the spread uniform while it sits on your shelf, but according to some, that's not the case. One can't be entirely sure why Aldi peanut butter is at least sometimes releasing oil when some people buy it. However, given that it does include ingredients meant to keep the texture creamy, it could be that this was a temporary manufacturing error some unlucky customers have encountered. Still, you may decide to play it safe and get your peanut butter elsewhere.