Forty Thieves

Peanut Butter Smooth, Almond Butter Smooth, Almond Butter Crunchy, Cashew Butter and Hazelnut Butter are nuts and nothing else. Peanut Butter Crunchy is 99.5% peanuts with 0.5% salt. Everything else in the range starts at a minimum of 68% whole nuts.

Not always the pail, which is the part people get wrong. On Peanut Butter Smooth the 1kg jar is the cheapest way to buy it at about $1.27 per 100g, ahead of the 4kg pail at $1.38 and the 500g jar at $1.36. The 2kg pail works out at $1.57, which is line ball with the 375g jar.

Almond is the same story: the 500g jar at about $2.89 per 100g beats the 2kg pail at $3.31. Only the 4kg almond pail is cheaper again, at $2.85. Prices move, so check the shelf, but buy the pail for the convenience of not running out rather than assuming it is the cheaper option.

Forty Thieves publish their sourcing. Macadamias come from New Zealand and Australia, almonds from California and Australia, hi-oleic peanuts from Argentina, hazelnuts from Turkey, and the chocolate from the Solomon Islands. The grinding and jarring all happens at their own factory on the Hibiscus Coast.

Both are normal and both are fixed the same way. Because there are no emulsifiers, the natural oil rises when a jar sits, so stir it back in for about 30 seconds rather than pouring it off - pour it off and you are left with a dry butter that will not spread.

On the chocolate jars the white is cacao butter separating out in the cold, which is called fat bloom. Stir it back in, and if your house is cold, stand the jar in a bowl of hot water first.

It is the vacuum packing. The tool that pulls the air out also pulls a little butter up onto the lid, which can leave what looks like someone has taken a scoop out. Nothing is missing.

Yes. Forty Thieves use premium peanuts and test for aflatoxins at least once a month. They state that no test has ever come back with traces.

Every jar is vegan, dairy free and palm oil free, chocolate ones included. On gluten they are careful and so are we: all the ingredients are gluten free and no gluten is used in the facility, but the range is not certified gluten free, so it is not the right choice if you have coeliac disease.

A cool, dry cupboard rather than the fridge, with a stir every so often. Shelf life is 12 to 14 months from production. The Satay and Korma pastes are the exception - refrigerate those once opened.