Peanut butter lovers – what do you carry it in

…an empty fish food container. They can be small. They are lightweight, and the ones I use have a screw on lid. I doubt they are water tight, but should work very well for peanut butter.

I think it's fair to say that on the long trails that's what most people do. I think of peanut butter as a calorie dense food when working hard hiking, so as well as putting it on crackers and such I will get out a spoon and eat a spoonful or two when out on the trail. Thus I can utilize a smaller size jar in just a few days.

I have tried most of the above options. I have had success rolling the PB out on a piece of wax paper and then rolling it up and then folding the ends over. Then into a Ziploc. This method works nicely because when you open it you can just scrape peanut butter off with a cracker, etc. Then the wax paper goes back in the Ziploc and into your stash of trash. If it's hot outside the wax paper can leak into the Ziploc which can be a bit messy.

Last trip I just bought 2 oz packets. A bit more money, but, I think I like that better. No leakage.

Trader Joe's Valencia peanut butter with roasted flaxseeds is really pretty decent. Though it requires refrigeration after opening it makes it for a few days in the pack. Gerry tubes are available from the generic camp supplier Coghlans as queeze tubee. I'm pretty sure REI handles these also.

Rather than scraping the remains out, when you get to the end of the bag you might try resealing the zip, cutting off a corner and squeezing the rest out. It works for me at home with goopy-er stuff in bags. Also, bags for holding breast milk *might* be ideal for carrying peanut butter, but I've never tried it.

Paul

Justins.

Also, I have some Army-issue peanut butter packets in the same size.

–B.G.–

Ditto, jar it comes in on longer trips, with the caveat that I like to buy these at places like gas station mini-marts, as they sometimes carry smaller sized jars, i.e., a 12 oz rather than an 18 oz jar. I've noticed more often recently that even the gas stations are carrying the larger sizes now, so if you do get a smaller jar, consider cleaning it out and reusing it.

Related factors are how much peanut butter you eat, whether you're sharing food between 2 or more people, and how many days of food you're packing.

I miss the old 0.9 oz singles and the 9 oz squeeze tubes, I think these are hard if not impossible to find now (?), and the little single-use units for sale in stores now aren't very good for packing and generally the wrong size for me.

An alternative is to look for alternatives to peanut butter. Refried bean powder works well for me; while it's more on-trail fiddle factor, it's lighter, tasty, and provides the protein I'm looking for.

As Nick Hazelton said, I've used refillable plastic squeeze tubes for peanut butter for the last 30 years. (Yes, Coughlan's has been selling them for that long.)

Nowadays I mix in jelly for instant PBJ. I also carry honey in the squeeze tubes but the "honey tube" also goes in a ZipLoc bag for double protection.

P.S. Be SURE to duct tape the slide-on end keeper so you don't find your food bag full of peanut butter or honey or ketchup, etc.

I like the Justin's peanut butter squeeze packs. These are conveniently sized and have enough peanut butter to make a small meal out of or at least spread out on over a dozen crackers. I found these searching for supplements to gels for long distance trail running. Justin's sells their peanut butter in ketchup sized packets, squeeze packets 1.15oz. (preferred), and 16oz jars.

Here's a list of their other flavors that come in the 1.15oz. squeeze packets: honey peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut, classic peanut butter, maple almond butter, honey almond butter, classic almond butter, and chocolate almond butter.

Justin's Peanut Butter Squeeze Pack

I carry Justin's. Their plain PB is kind of bland, but the flavored is OK. Oly downside is they're organic, so my body doesn't get all the chemicals it grew up with.

Justin's also sells the smaller size as well (.5 ounce) – you can get the line from Minimus these days as well.
http://www.minimus.biz/search.aspx?keyword=Justin

I really like Scott's idea and it would work with freezer paper as well. I might have to try that out for our spreads. Like Tohru, I've been using the 4 oz Nalgene for butters.

One packet of Justins, mixed with one packet of Gu.

–B.G.–

Or PB and "Stinger" packets, which are honey.

These are great and there are other option besides Justin's.
http://www.minimus.biz/Spreads.aspx

I carry this myself.It is a lot lighter, but mixing is required. I used it on trail bars, tortillas, ect.
http://store.bellplantation.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-s/3.htm

For individual portions, check this out.
http://store.bellplantation.com/Sample-Packs-of-PB2-and-Chocolate-PB2-s/5.htm

Regards,
John

PB2 is good but realize it has a lot less fat than regular PB does.

Sunflower butter is quite good (PackitGourmet carries it, can't remember if Minimus does.)