Crazy for P.B.Loco
Ah, peanut butter. The substance so addictive that kids develop allergies to it. But somehow we all hit middle school and leave mom’s or dad’s homemade sandwiches behind for lunchroom-bought snacks. OK, for some of us that was more like high school, but everybody develops at their own pace, dammit. And that, it seems, is the idea behind P.B.Loco, which is trying to spice up P.B. with new flavors and market them to kids in adult bodies. Or, as they put it, “grownups… who are averse to button-down shirts, closed-toed sandals, and life without a dog.”
I think I got over my aversion to button-down shirts after a month-long post-college job search, but their Peanut Butter with CoCoBanana threw me back to the nostalgia of those messy, open-top peanut butter sandwiches with bananas and maple syrup. We tried two other flavors from P.B.Loco, the Sumatra Cinnamon & Raisin and the Asian Curry Spice, and they have additional flavors, some of which are quite interesting, including Raspberry White Chocolate and Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough.
Wonderfully, all of these flavors are a little less sticky than your average peanut butter. You know that feeling of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth? — There are probably campfire songs written about such things. — Taking care of roof-of-mouth stickiness was the reason jelly was invented, really. Well, these are a peanut butter mix, so they don’t necessitate honey or strawberry jam. In fact, certain jams should be avoided at all costs. Adding strawberry to the chocolate-banana peanut butter just seems like it’d be a dissonance of taste sensations… well, unless you liken it to a peanut butter ice cream banana split with strawberries, in which case I’m on board.
As mentioned, the CoCoBanana peanut butter was the favorite. The banana taste was pretty real and not at all overwhelmed by the peanut butter, with just a touch of sweetness. Just put it between two pieces of bread and you’re good. The Sumatra Cinnamon & Raisin had real, whole raisins in it and a pretty big cinnamon kick. It was also quite tasty and worked just fine as a sandwich by itself, though it was better as a dip for apples. The combination of cinnamon, raisins, and fresh apples fit well together and makes for a good movie snack.
The Asian Curry Spice was by far the most daring flavor they had. First of all, it’s closer to yellow curry, Indian style, and not sweet like the other two flavors we tried. Picturing it with most jams was not an easy task, though a chutney or a relish might work instead. But one great use would be for cooking, since this flavor could easily replace sesame tahini in Chinese-style cold sesame noodles or could be cooked with savory dishes, as an Asian-style peanut sauce accompaniment. And indeed, if you visit their website, they have suggestions like “Chicken Satay”, “Kenneth’s Curried Shrimp Stir Fry”, and “Melissa’s Curry Spice Rice”.
All flavors come in typical 16 oz. containers and cost between $5.95 and $6.95. For the most part, they are only available online, at PBLoco.com.
