This week the kids and I did an experiment with Peanut Butter Powder. Some months ago, I had purchased this...

http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FS D140_A_name_E_Peanut+Butter+Powder

I decided it was time to open it and see how we liked, what it tasted like, what in the world you did with it!

The instructions on the #10 can say: Mix 1 TBSP of Powder with 1 Tsp of water. Add a small amount of sugar for flavor. Add a drop of oil for creaminess.

First, we all tasted the powder plain, just to see (we are home educaters after all). Then we added the water, determined that wasn't even enough to get it moist and added a tiny bit more. We tasted again.

The first two tastings, one while dry and one with just water, drew some interesting comments. One child said, it taste like coffee. Another said it tasted like the flavor on Honey Smacks (minus the sweetness). I personally thought it tasted like roasted unsalted peanut skins (not the nuts, just the skins). But, everyone agreed on one thing, this does not taste like peanut butter.

So, we added a little sugar, more tasting. The sugar seemed to help a lot as far as tasting okay, but still, not a peanut buttery taste. Next we added a "drop* of oil to each persons own expermental bowl. This did wonders for the consistency. Now atleast it looked like peanut butter!

The last part of our experimental tasting that day was to pull out a sleeve of saltines. Finally, success. The children all agreed that our concoction tasted just like the peanut butter that is in the crackers that you buy in individual packs. Everyone ate all of theirs and more.

I cant' imagine at this point that I would be able to eat this in exactly the same way that we do peanut butter from the jar, but I can see some uses for it in our preps. Unopened that can is shelf stable for many years. It can be edible, if not tasty, with nothing but water added.

The kids want us to try again with different types of sweeteners. I think they're on to something. I was using white table sugar. I think that next time we'll try brown sugar, powdered sugar and/or honey. It was hard to lose the graininess of the sugar and I think these others will dissolve better.

We also want to make some of the recipes that we found at the Emergency Essentials site.

http://beprepared.com/recipes.asp?ai=149

I think we'll start with the one for Peanut Butter Cookies, although I don't have Shortening Powder.

I also want to try our family favorite, Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting. I definitely need to keep trying because now I have an opened #10 can and it's shelf life will now be considerably shortened.

I am considering one other thing for the future. For one thing, perhaps not all Peanut Butter Powders are the same. I think I'll order some of this PB2 that I've heard so much of.

http://www.bellplantation.com/

Any of you who have had experience with the Peanut Butter Powders, I'd appreciate any feed back. In the mean time, we shall continue to experiment, learn and adjust.