Peabutter is a savory spread used as an alternative to

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

History

The product was first prepared by Alberta farmer Joe St. Denis in July 2002 who realized that the brown pea had certain similarities to peanuts. Oils such as

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...

and

cottonseed Cottonseed is the seed of the cotton plant. Composition The mature seeds are brown ovoids weighing about a tenth of a gram. By weight, they are 60% cotyledon, 32% coat and 8% embryonic root and shoot. These are 20% protein, 20% oil and 3.5% sta ...

are combined with

icing sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, po ...

and mixed with crushed solid brown peas to form the spread.

Distribution

Peabutter was distributed to the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

, which requested alternative products for those allergic to peanuts.

Concerns

Children who are susceptible to peanut-triggered

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follow ...

may not be able to distinguish between peabutter and peanut butter. Some schools have also banned peabutter, fearing potential confusion with peanut butter.

References

{{Authority control Canadian snack foods Legume dishes Spreads (food) Products introduced in 2002