Just like there are Elvis people and Beatles people, there are two kinds of people in the world: smooth eaters and chunky eaters. The biggest and most important peanut butter decision is also the most fun. Do you like crunchy, chunky peanut butter, or smooth and creamy? There is no wrong answer. Some studies show that, in the United States, women who live on the East Coast will gravitate toward smooth peanut butter, while male Californians and other West Coasters will more often pick chunky. Go figure. Good peanut butter should only have two ingredients: peanuts, salt, and possibly a sweetener like honey or sugar. If you see added hydrogenated oils, steer clear. Natural peanut butter is more expensive because it contains the peanut oil, which will settle on the top of the jar and need to be stirred in before use. The most valuable product of the peanut is in the oil, which large food companies will extract from the peanuts ground into peanut butter, and then replace with sunflower oil. So, while it seems like you're getting whole ground-up peanuts in a jar of Skippy or Jif, you're really getting peanuts and the oil of other, cheaper nuts. While it might seem like a healthier alternative, peanut butters that are advertised as "reduced fat" usually include more hydrogenated oils and more sugars, but the same amount of calories, to account for the loss of fat. Essentially used as a marketing scheme, this ploy ignores the fact that healthy fats from natural peanut butter are more effective as sources of fats. Reduced fat peanut butter replaces mono saturated "healthy" fats with refined sugars and carbohydrates, causing blood sugar spikes. It's not good for you. . If you're a particular peanut butter eater, you might enjoy mixing up your own batches and perfecting your recipe. Pick nuts you like the taste of, grind them in a food processor, and add a small amount of honey or salt, to taste. As you grind, you might need to add a little oil to aid in the process. You can control the consistency and the flavor and make the kind of peanut butter you like. Remove the skins before grinding your peanuts on a high setting, adding oil as necessary. Use whatever peanuts you like to eat: Valencias, Virginias, Spanish peanuts, and Runners are all perfect for making peanut butter. Some prefer Spanish peanuts, because they have a slightly higher oil content. Raw peanuts can be used to make peanut butter, which will taste a little different than the more popular roasted variety. Try out honey-roasted peanuts for a special treat. You can also grind your own peanut butter at most natural food stores automatically. Like grinding coffee, these grinders will work quickly at the flick of a switch and give you freshly-ground peanut butter. It's pretty much the best and the easiest way to get it. Find one close to you and give it a try. Peanut butter is the classic stand-by, but if you're looking to spice it up a bit, you can experiment with other more exotic nut butters to throw a little variety into the mix. They're typically more expensive, but feature completely different flavors than the traditional peanut butter. Commonly available spread and butters are made from: Almond Cashew Sunflower seed Hazelnut Peanuts are ground nuts, or legumes, meaning that if you've got a peanut allergy, you might be fine with tree nuts, depending on the severity of your allergy. Find out if some of these alternatives might be more right for you. Why buy the jelly separately? You can also get peanut butter with mix-ins already included. Swirled grape jelly? Nutella? Marshmallow fluff? It's almost too good to be true. While these mixes sometimes have a slightly grainier texture than smooth peanut butter, if you're a fan of chunky, this can be a fun alternative, especially for kids.

Summary: Pick chunky or smooth. Read the label and look at the ingredients. Avoid "reduced fat" peanut butter. Consider grinding your own Consider other nut butters. Try mixed peanut butters.

Fresh, raw peanuts actually grow underground, so they often have dirt and other residue on their shells. Before salting 2 pounds (907 g) of peanuts, place them in a colander and run them under cool water. Toss the nuts gently to ensure that they're all rinsed well. Even if the peanuts look clean, you should still rinse them. All of the dirt may not be visible. To create the brine, fill a large stockpot with 2 gallons (7.5 l) of water. Add 4 tablespoons (68 g) of salt to the pot, and stir well to ensure that the brine is well mixed. The brine requires 2 tablespoons (34 g) of salt for every gallon (3.8 l) of water. You can adjust the recipe based on how many peanuts you're salting. When the brine is mixed, place the peanuts in the pot. Let the nuts soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. The longer you allow the peanuts to soak in the brine, the saltier they'll be. After the peanuts have soaked in the brine for at least 8 hours, pour them into a colander to drain the water. Shake the nuts well to remove the excess water, and then spread them out on clean kitchen towel or paper towel to dry.

Summary: Rinse the peanuts. Fill a large stockpot with water and salt. Add the peanuts and soak them for several hours. Drain and dry the peanuts.

for full control over sales and licensing. If you don't want to design a site from scratch, look for a web hosting service that offers templates specifically designed for artists or small businesses. Making your own store will give you complete control over how you price, license, and deliver your photos to customers. Services like Shopify and Yahoo! Stores offer easy ways to set up your own storefront with lots of convenient built-in features (such as customer mailing lists and secure payment systems). If you build your own website from scratch, you will need to select a payment system that works for you and your customers, such as PayPal or Google Pay. Try to select a domain name that reflects your personal brand and the kind of work you do. Stock photo vendors like Shutterstock, SmugMug, and 500px offer an easy way to sell your photos to an established audience. Each vendor has different pricing and licensing policies, so shop around to find the one that fits your needs. Many of these services require a monthly subscription fee for hosting and selling your photos, so you will probably need to post a lot of photos in order to make a profit. Most stock photo agencies offer either a percentage or a flat fee for the sale of each photo. Fees may vary depending on the size or resolution of the photo and how the buyer plans to use it. While smaller agencies may let you start submitting photos right away, some of the larger ones (like Getty) have a more selective and complicated review process. In addition to selling digital copies of your photos, you might want to offer more tangible merchandise, such as prints. You can sell high-quality prints through websites like Fine Art America, or put your designs on merchandise like shirts and buttons using custom vendors like CafePress or Zazzle. If you make your own prints or other products featuring your photographs, Etsy is a good option that allows you to keep a generous percentage of the profits.
Summary: Create your own online store Use an online stock photo agency for greater convenience. Try online art and design stores to sell prints or other merchandise.