Peanut butter and Jam are two popular types of spreads found in households around the world. They’re used in many recipes and enjoyed by many people around the globe. People normally ask What’s the Difference Between Peanut Butter and Jam ? This article will explore everything about peanut butter and jam, it’s nutritional values, health benefits and what’s the Difference Between Peanut Butter and Jam.
What is Peanut Butter ?
Peanut butter is a relatively unprocessed food. It’s basically just peanuts, often roasted, ground until they turn into a paste.
Yet this isn’t necessarily true for many commercial brands of peanut butter. These may contain various added ingredients, such as:
- sugar
- vegetable oils
- trans fat
And eating too much added sugar and trans fat has been linked to various health conditions, such as heart disease.
Rather than buying processed foods with several added ingredients, choose peanut butter with only peanuts and maybe a bit of salt as its ingredients.
Nutritional benefits of peanut butter
Peanut butter is a good source of protein and vitamin B-6.
Peanut butter provides a good amount of protein, along with essential vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
Most notably, each 2-tablespoon (tbsp) serving of smooth peanut butter provides the following nutrients, minerals, and vitamins:
Protein
Peanut butter contains 7.02 grams (g) of protein per 2-tbsp serving. This counts toward the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for women of 46 g and 56 g for men, which varies by age and activity level.
Magnesium
With 57 milligrams (mg) of magnesium, each serving helps towards the RDA of 400–420 mg in men and 310–320 in women. Magnesium is essential for health, playing a role in over 300 chemical processes in the body.
Phosphorous
Each serving contains 107 mg of phosphorus, which is about 15.3 percent of the RDA of 700 mg for adults. Phosphorus helps the body to build healthy cells and bones and helps cells to produce energy.
Zinc
A serving of peanut butter provides 0.85 mg of zinc. This is 7.7 percent of the recommended daily intake of 11 mg for men, and 10.6 percent of the RDA of 8 mg for women. Zinc is necessary for immunity, protein synthesis, and DNA formation.
Niacin
Peanut butter contains 4.21 mg of niacin per serving, which makes a useful contribution towards a person’s recommended intake of 14 to 16 mg. Niacin benefits digestion and nerve function and helps produce energy.
Vitamin B-6
With 0.17 g of vitamin B-6 per serving, peanut butter provides almost 14 percent of an adult’s RDA of 1.3 mg. Vitamin B-6 plays a role in over 100 enzyme reactions in the body and may be necessary for heart and immune system health.
However, there are also nutritional disadvantages if a person eats more than the recommended amount of peanut butter.
Peanut butter is high in calories, saturated fats, and sodium.
Each serving contains 3.05 g of saturated fats, which is 23.5 percent of the American Heart Association’s maximum recommended daily intake of saturated fat for those consuming 2,000 calories a day. People should aim for less than 13 g of saturated fat per day.
It also contains 152 mg of sodium, which is 10.1 percent of an adult’s ideal daily upper intake of sodium of 1,500 mg.
Health benefits of Peanut Butter
Eating peanut butter in moderation and as part of an overall healthful diet may provide the following benefits. The health benefits of peanut butter answers the question what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam.
Improved Heart Health
One of the main fats in peanut butter is oleic acid. When substituted for other fats in your diet, oleic acid is shown to help maintain good cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Managing these levels in your body can lower the risk of heart disease.
Peanut butter also contains omega-6. This fatty acid lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol and increases protective (HDL) cholesterol. In addition, peanuts are a natural source of arginine, an amino acid that may prevent heart and vascular disease by promoting good blood vessel function.
Help in Weight loss
Several studies suggest that eating peanuts and other nuts can help people maintain their weight, or even help with weight loss.
This may be because peanuts improve satiety, which is the feeling of fullness, thanks to their protein, fat, and fiber content.
A 2018 study suggests that eating nuts, including peanuts, reduces a person’s risk of being overweight or obese. This study compared the dietary and lifestyle data for over 373,000 people from 10 European countries over 5 years.
Earlier research based on data gathered from over 51,000 women suggested that those who ate nuts twice weekly or more experienced slightly less weight gain over an 8-year period than women who rarely ate nuts.
Reduced Risk of Diabetes
Oleic acid also been shown to reduce the body’s insulin resistance, a condition that raises your blood sugar and leads to diabetes. Research shows that peanut butter’s omega-6 content may have this same effect as well.
Anticancer Properties
Peanuts are a great source of antioxidants like manganese, vitamin E, and B vitamins. These compounds act to prevent and repair cell damage in your body, and this effect can reduce your risk of chronic diseases like cancer.
Reducing the risk of breast disease
Eating peanut butter, especially from a young age, may reduce the risk of benign breast disease (BBD), which increases the risk of breast cancer.
A study in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, reports that eating peanut butter and nuts at any age may result in a lower risk of developing BDD by age 30.
The researchers examined the data for over 9,000 schoolgirls in America. Other types of pulses, such as beans and soy, along with vegetable fats and other nuts, may also offer protection from BBD.
Even those with a family history of breast cancer had a significantly lower risk if they ate peanut butter and these other foods.
Homemade Peanut Butter
Ingredients
- 15 ounces shelled and skinned AB’s Roasted Peanuts, recipe follows
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
Roasted Peanuts:
- 2 pounds in-shell raw peanuts (see Cook’s Note)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt
Directions
- Place the peanuts, salt and honey into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Place the peanut butter in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Roasted Peanuts: - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Rinse the peanuts under cool water to remove excess dirt. Pat dry and place in a large bowl and toss with the peanut oil and salt until well coated.
- Place on 2 half sheet pans, making sure to spread them out into a single layer. Roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking. Once you remove the peanuts from the oven, let them cool slightly before eating. They will continue to “cook” and become crunchy as they cool.
- If using peanuts to make peanut butter, remove shells and discard. Remove the skin by rubbing the peanuts together in your hands held over a salad spinner, allowing the peanuts and skins to fall into the bowl. Once the skin has been loosened from all of the peanuts close the salad spinner and spin until all of the skin has been separated from the peanuts.
What is Jam ?
Jam is a sweet food, usually made from very rich fruits or tubers, and each type of jam has a different flavor depending on the processing material.
Jam is the jelled puree which is made with the flesh and juice of both vegetable and fruit. Along with sugar and water it is heated which helps to activate pectin. It is also made with the combination of various fruits such as peaches and plums. As it has no free liquid, it is easy to spread. The fruits such as blueberries, apricots, peaches, cherries, raspberries, pineapple, strawberries and rhubarb should be mixed with the high pectin fruits to set or gel. It is also known as conserves.
Some health benefits of jam are:
A ‘jam’ is a type of fruit preserve (it has to contain fruit) made with sugar (it has to contain sugar), and whatever else takes the fancy. Jam can variously contain chunks of fruit, fruit pulp, or a smooth fruit paste. Here are some health benefits of Jam.The health benefits of jam answers the question what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam.
Less fat and cholesterol
Unlike other spreads like Nutella and toast that have high-fat content, jam is absolutely free of cholesterol and has a very low-fat content as it is made up of fruit. It can be included as a part of a regular diet in limited quantities.
Good for hair, skin and fingernails
Jam contains a substance called pectin. Pectin is present in all fruits, and in the process of making jams, it gets modified. This modified version of pectin is very helpful in improving hair, skin and fingernail health and texture.
Decreases blood pressure
Pectin present in a jam is helpful in decreasing blood pressure. Consuming fruit jam also helps in healing cuts and wounds faster.
Reduced risk of heart attack
As jam is made of healthy fruits, it can help in the prevention of conditions like stroke, heart attacks and other heart-related diseases.
How to make a fruit jam
Requirements:
- Fruits 2 ½ cups diced
- One lemon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons (metal)
- Measuring cups
- Knife, cutting board
- Spatula
- Jar with lid
Instructions:
- The fruit should be cut into large chunks.
- The sugar and fruit should be mixed with a pinch of salt using a pot. Heat it to the medium till it has chunky texture.
- Boil the mixture and stir if frequently.
- When bubbles become thicker and smaller. Cook till it becomes set.
- After turning off the heat, it should be poured to the jar and screw the lid.
What’s the difference between peanut butter and jam
With the difference between peanut butter and jam, a lot of good things about both peanut butter and jam. They are fairly rich in nutrients and a decent protein source. It’s also loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, although this doesn’t seem as significant when you consider the high calorie load.
While peanut butter is made from peanut, jams are made with crushed fruits