In case you have not realized yet, I am a big fan of all things peanut butter. I have joked for years that I can improve the taste of almost anything by adding either peanut butter OR ketchup. I am also one of those children who will never grow up and stop mixing foods to create new flavors. P.B.Loco, a small company out of Minneapolis, managed to peak my interest by combining my love for peanut butter with my relentless desire to mix foods. They specialize in what they call “adult peanut butter”.

From the P.B.Loco website:
Do not enter if you are not 18.
Some P.B.Loco flavors may be too intense for younger taste buds. If you have parents or guardians, they should be looking over your shoulder.

P.B.Loco is peanut butter for adults who already know the scintillating pleasures of cold microbrews, left-of-the dial bands and independent movies. It’s for grownups who aren’t completely grown up and who are averse to button-down shirts, closed-toed sandals, and life without a dog.

Yes, I am the proud owner of one of P.B.Loco’s t-shirts. Just a smilie face grin with a tongue sticking out. I love it! I am always curious about their different concoctions, and recently picked up a jar of their Asian Curry Spice to subdue that curiosity.

I will start off by saying that I went into this tasting with very high hopes and expectations. Independently, curry and peanut butter are two of my favorite things, so they MUST be amazing combined. Besides, think about some other asian dishes: Pad Thai simply wouldn’t be the same without the crushed peanuts, and what would cashew chicken (or shrimp) be without the cashews?

On first inspection, the aesthetics were not helping it get off to a good start. This jar was excessively oily. I have eaten my fair share of “natural” peanut butters, so I am completely comfortable with the usual oil that rises to the top and must be stirred down into the jar prior to eating. I am fairly certain that my jar was in no way damaged, but after opening the lid, I noticed that the oil had actually seeped through the foil seal and coated the bottom of the lid. The seal seemed to be in tact, so I continued with the tasting.

After several minutes of stirring to incorporate the oil, I was still left with an overly liquidy form of peanut butter, and a yellow stained washcloth from a small portion I wiped up after spilling. I should note that this stuff has a tendency to stain just about anything it touches. I suppose that should be expected, because the same is true pretty much anytime one works with turmeric or curry powder, but I just wanted to give a fair warning for your fingers, wash cloths, and counter tops. After eating, I noticed that I somehow managed to stain part of my beard yellow. How does that happen??? I guess it just takes talent…

So, what about the taste?
I was expecting a little more of the “asian spice” blend and maybe a little less of the turmeric / curry. I question how different it would taste from taking “regular” peanut butter and dropping in a bit of curry powder. Some of the spices did not completely mix into the butter, and I was able to pick up on a little graininess, even amidst the excessive oil that just could not be stirred enough.

Again, from pbloco.com:
Now, we know what you’re thinking. Peanut butter is great. Curry is great. But Curry Peanut Butter? How can that be great? To be honest, it wasn’t for the first 4,387 tries. Then we mixed up batch number 4,388. Mmmmm. Eureka.

Sorry guys, but maybe it needed one more batch?

Slice #2 was split half Peter Pan, and half Asian Curry Spice to provide a more objective tasting. (Side note: No, I did not eat two huge pieces of bread smothered in peanut butter all by myself… The dogs were more than happy to help with the tasting!)

Overall, it was just… ok. I am not going to say that I disliked it, but I just don’t think a slice of bread is its preferred vessel. I am going to give it another couple of tries, mixing it into ramen noodles, making a stir-fry, or randomly using it to add a special flair to some veggie dish. Actually, they offer several recipes for ways to use it in cooking on the P.B.Loco concoctions page. I’m thinking it will be much better when cooked into something, as opposed to being eaten alone or generously topping a slice of bread. Frankly though, even if it proves to be an incredible accompaniment to a cooked dish, I will probably just use a cheaper brand of peanut butter and add my own curry powder as opposed to paying the same as a jar of good almond butter.

To the P.B.Loco peeps, I remember enjoying your Cocoa Banana, and I will look forward to trying some of your other flavors. This one however, just didn’t do it for me.