Gear Review: Artisana Raw Organic Nut Butters

Artisana Nut Butters Line

Peanut butter is a staple for many outdoor enthusiasts. As a backpacker and having hiked long distances, I have tried to embrace the love/hate relationship with peanut butter, love the calories, hate the container weight, and get sick of the taste. So I was really excited to see that Artisana not only carries nut butters in individual serving sizes, but they have a whopping 10 different flavors of nut butters to chose from. I am now in nut butter heaven and don’t have to put up with plain peanut butter again.

Artisana Almond Butter

Artisana makes a variety of nut butters packaged in either single serve tear packets or jars. While the jars are perfect for at home use, the individual packets are excellent for backcountry use, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, they fit into any meal. The packets are easy to tear open with little tear notches located on either side of the packet. Their line is all raw processed, non-GMO and gluten- and dairy-free. The nut butters have been processed in a peanut-free facility so these are safe for most diets. They have coconut butter, coconut oil, walnut butter, pecan butter, almond butter, tahini butter, cashew butter, cashini butter, cacao bliss, and macadamia butter.

Cacao Bliss and Banana sandwich

Cashini with honey sandwich

The nut butters are not simply limited to what bread should I eat with it. Artisana suggests adding nut butters to oatmeal in the morning as a wonderful way of jazzing up oatmeal. Even Ramen Noodles can be jazzed up by adding in nut butter like cashini with some soy sauce to make a mock pad thai.

The almond butter is a strong nut butter, tasting of almonds with a bit of bitterness from the skins. The cacao bliss has a milder coconut flavor and a slightly bitter taste of chocolate. Both of these are excellent alone but equally excellent with banana on bread.

Coconut oil added to Indian dehydrated meal

The coconut butter and oil taste quite strongly of coconut. The macadamia butter is a mild tasting nut butter, as is the cashew butter with which the macadamia butter is mixed. I have used the coconut oil in an Indian lentil dish I was rehydrating. Not only did it add a wonderful coconut flavor to the dish but it added in more calories making my meal more filling. At another meal I added a cashew butter to an Alfredo meal without significantly affecting the flavor but adding in calories and a richness to the sauce.

Coconut Butter with whole coconut flesh

Cacao Bliss

The cashini butter is a mild nut butter that can be a good peanut butter substitute. I have enjoyed the cashini with bananas as well as honey and on its own. The walnut butter has a hint of bitterness but tastes pleasantly of walnuts. The pecan butter is a milder version of the walnut butter without the bitterness. The tahini is a bit strong tasting of sesame seeds. I like some flavors more than others, which is to be expected. I really like the almond, cacao bliss and pecan butters the best.

Each packet of nut butter needs to be kneaded before opening to incorporate the oil back into the nut butter and/or to soften the nut butter. This is more crucial with some flavors more than others. The nut butters with coconut butter tend to be quite hard when cool while others like the tahini always seem to be malleable. I have placed a coconut butter packet in the crook of my knee to warm it up, which worked quite well. The portion sizing is good for a small sandwich or two may be combined for a larger sandwich or wrap.
 

Snacking at the trailhead

I always have a hard time deciding what to do for lunches in the backcountry. I have a hard time coming up with good meals that will keep me filled and that I will like to eat. With the Artisana nut butters, I can grab a handful and some deli thin bread and decide what I feel like when I get to my lunch destination. This was especially true on a backpacking trip to the dessert southwest. I could decide on the go what I wanted to eat and I didn’t need any extra water to prepare my meal. The packets are really handy and don’t generate much trash. I tend to squeeze out as much nut butter as possible from the packet, then fold it in half to get the last little bit of nut butter out. I then use the folded packet as a knife to spread the nut butter before discarding the packet. This makes clean up a breeze while making sure I get every little bit of goodness out of the packet.

Pecan Butter with banana

Artisana has really helped expand my nut butter choices and livened up my meals. I have a few favorites that I love to eat in a sandwich while others I love to add to cooked meals for calories, and/or flavor. Some nut butters are so mild that they are over powered by the bread. These nut butters do well added to meals or combined with a stronger nut butter. Others like the almond butter are great on their own and would over-power milder tasting items.

The Artisana Nut Butters are easily transported, taste great and come in a lot of great flavors. The nut butters are very versatile and can work with a variety of different foods and can be used at any meal. I now look forward to jazzing up my meals in the backcountry with Artisana’s Organic Nut Butters.

Manufacturer	Artisana Organic Nut Butters
Flavors and Calories	Walnut (205 cal), Pecan (213 cal), Macadamia (214 cal), Cacao Bliss (177 cal), Almond (187 cal), Tahini (195 cal), Cashew (183 cal), Cashini (193 cal), Coconut Butter(221 cal) and Coconut Oil (120 cal)
Weight	1.2 oz/34 g (1.19 oz/33.7 g net weight)
Price (MSRP)	n/av

This story was originally posted April 3, 2011.