Like many other people with busy lives, I am used to multi-tasking. Which doesn’t mean that everything always gets done well…or well, actually done. But the intention is still there and I am always on the lookout for new ways of doing things more efficiently. And as a Registered Nutritionist, an avid cook and a runner, I literally, have a lot on my plate. Which is why I read with much interest about a trend that has merged running with a bit of food prep. Now, I am used to developing recipe ideas, making mental shopping lists and solving allergy-related menu challenges whilst out on a run. I would go as far as to say that some of my best problem-solving always takes place on runs. But could the food prep also benefit as the kilometres go by? Of course, I had to take a deep dive into the trend to learn more.
Thankfully, the running while prepping food trend did not involve any slicing, dicing, grating or breaking the worldwide embargo of ‘running with scissors’. Which is fortunate for me because I have a bit of a ‘tripping issue’ on trail runs. Instead, the trend involves using the movement of running to shake the ingredients you carry into something ready to eat. Specifically, butter.
Yes, that is correct. Runners are pouring whipping cream into zip-lock bags and carrying them on their runs. By the end of the workout they have a bag of freshly churned butter (and buttermilk). It may sound implausible and is potentially very messy, but the buttery results shared on social media have helped the trend take off. In fact, it has gathered so much momentum that the Canadian dairy brand, Lactantia has taken notice. They have just launched their limited-edition Ultimate Butter-Churning Vest. The running vest is (wisely) insulated and designed with pectoral pockets and a container for the whipping cream that fits snuggly inside. The container includes a ‘kinetic ball’ to aid the churning, while the position of the pockets allows for ‘maximal kinetic impact’ while running. The vest even has additional pockets for a butter knife and a slice of bread. Which means that after running approximately 10km, you can be sitting down to some freshly churned butter and bread.
Despite the fact that I was very tempted to join the running-while-churning trend, I knew I couldn’t. Because although I bake with butter in desserts, I rarely eat it as a spread. To be honest, my go-to spread on any toast, muffin or bagel is always peanut butter. There just isn’t anything better in the world. It is simply a fact. Albeit, I do have a caveat. It has to be made with 100% peanuts and I will also allow a little salt. But if it contains any added oil, sugar or other additives, it is not real peanut butter and I don’t have time for that. Fortunately, almost every supermarket now sells their own branded 100% peanut butter. Though being slightly obsessed, I have used the chopping attachment on our electric mixer to make homemade peanut butter. Given all of the chopping, grinding and creaming that is needed to make homemade peanut butter, I think it would be near impossible to replicate this by running. I mean, everyone has a different running style but trying to shake a bag of peanuts into peanut butter would involve something a bit extreme.
Though as I rejected the idea of running-while-making peanut butter, I realised that there might be another peanut butter-related area which could benefit from the trend. Because for peanut butter aficionados, they face an issue every time they open a jar. Oil separation. When peanuts are ground they release their natural oils and in a jar of 100% peanut butter, it all floats to the top and sits in an oily layer. This is why some brands add emulsifiers that prevent any separation so they can keep things creamy 24/7. For the 100% purists, it means that you always have to do a little peanut butter prep by stirring the oily layer into the larger peanut mass before using it.
If you are thinking, ‘So what??’, then you are clearly not eating the good stuff. Because this simple task is especially tricky to do when you have a new jar. First, the peanuts are usually glued solid to the bottom of the jar and have formed a mass which can’t be broken up very easily or blended with the oil. Second, there is not enough room in a full jar to stir everything together easily and without splashing peanut oil and peanuts absolutely everywhere. This problem only increases exponentially with the size of jar and its age. In other words, if you find a long-forgotten emergency jar at the back of your cupboard, you are in for a long shift. Essentially, it takes much time and patience to achieve a good spread which many peanut butter lovers do not have when they are hungry.
I am sure I am not alone in having had many unsuccessful and messy attempts at trying to prep a new jar quickly. I’ve tried storing unopened jars upside down for weeks and then used a multitude of different multipurpose kitchen gadgets and utensils to help stir. However, I have never achieved my ultimate aim of being able to use a new jar of 100% peanut butter fully mixed without any mess or loss of the precious spread. I had to wonder if this eternal problem could be solved by following the churning-while-running trend. Could packing a new jar into my running vest transform it into my own Ultimate Peanut Butter-Stirring Vest?? How far would I have to run to shake it to the perfect spread? Well, there was only one way to find out.
In an unscientific study of 1, I selected two unopened jars of 100% peanut butter of equal weight. The first jar was new but the other was found in the recesses of a cupboard and had a best before date that was completely illegible. Both jars were the crunchy type, which I knew from experience, was the most difficult to blend. Before beginning the experiment by tucking them into my running vest, I made some initial observations. At 0km, the peanut oil was clearly floating in a layer at the top of each jar. In the older jar, the oil had even managed to breach the top boundary and had formed a menacing cavernous side pocket of oil. I wrapped the jars snuggly in a tea towel inside the running vest, set my Garmin and started a trail run.
In the current heatwave, it felt a little heavy to be carrying the peanut butter on top of the couple of water bottles I had packed, while running. But at least my study wasn’t including my family’s usual 1kg tubs. I started to run an out-and-back 10km route, since this was the estimated distance needed to churn butter. As the route was undulating, it felt like the jars were getting an extra shake-out. With sweat pouring down my face, I decided to check the status of the peanut butter at 4km.
I was surprised and relieved to see that the peanut oil layer was virtually gone in the new jar. The oil cave in the older jar had also disappeared. I have to say, I was very impressed because they looked about 99% and 95% stirred, respectively.
By the time I reached 8km and opened the jars at home, they had already reached 100% perfect spreading consistency without a single drop of mess or any loss. It was like opening the holy grail of peanut butters.
The results showed that crunchy peanut butter could hit peak spread before 5km. Which means that you could be sitting down with the perfect jar of peanut butter after only doing a parkrun. The only other thing you would need to remember to pack is whatever you want to spread it on (or just a spoon).
Like all studies, the results always prompt more questions and further research and this one is no different. Such as, would creamy peanut butter hit peak spread at a shorter distance? How would the results compare with other nut butters, such as almond, pecan or cashew? Does the size and shape of the jar affect the distance to peak spread? What is the most effective way to transform a running vest into an Ultimate Peanut Butter-Stirring Vest? Would Pip & Nut (among other PB majors) sponsor me to find all this out??
In conclusion, this kind of food prep is not a multitask too far because I am now enjoying my holy grail jar of peanut butter. As I wait to hear from peanut butter manufacturers, I can at least offer another recipe for what you should spread it on: Banana & maple muffins. They are not only tasty but they can easily be tucked into a running vest.
