Know Your Spreads

What are you actually getting in the jar?

Two jars can both say pistachio, hazelnut or chocolate on the front and still be very different products.

What's actually in the spread, how much of the main ingredient it contains, the fats used, its sweetness and its texture can all make a difference.

Here's what to look for.

First, turn the jar around.

The ingredient list is one of the easiest ways to understand what kind of spread you're buying.

Ingredients are generally listed in order of weight, starting with the one there is most of.

So if pistachio appears near the beginning of a pistachio spread's ingredient list, that tells you something different from a product where pistachio appears much further down.

And if sugar and vegetable oil are the first ingredients, they make up a significant part of the product.

Ingredient order helps tell you what the product is mostly made from.

How much of the thing on the front is actually inside?

For some spreads, the percentage of the defining ingredient is particularly useful information. It's often shown next to that ingredient in the list.

Pistachio Spread

Look for the amount of pistachio.

Hazelnut Spread

Look for the amount of hazelnut.

Chocolate & Hazelnut

Look at both the hazelnut content and how the chocolate or cocoa character is created.

Speculoos / Biscuit Spread

Look at the biscuit content and the other ingredients used to create the final spread.

More of the defining ingredient doesn't automatically mean “better”. But it tells you more about what you're buying.

A spread with more pistachio may taste more strongly of pistachio, while another product may intentionally be sweeter, creamier or milder. These can be different products for different preferences and uses.

Look at the fat, too.

Fats play an important role in how a spread feels, melts, flows and stays stable. Depending on the product, fat may come from:

The Nuts Themselves

Pistachios, hazelnuts and other nuts naturally contain fat.

Cocoa Butter

The natural fat found in cocoa beans and an important part of chocolate.

Milk Fat

May contribute richness and flavour in some milk or white chocolate style spreads.

Added Vegetable Oils or Fats

May be used to create a particular texture, improve spreadability, control melting or help keep the product stable.

Added oils and fats aren't automatically a bad sign. The useful question is:

What fat is being used, and what is it doing in the product?

Where does the chocolate flavour come from?

Different spreads can create their chocolate character using different ingredients. The point is not that one is automatically better.

Cocoa Powder

Provides cocoa flavour and colour with relatively little cocoa fat.

Cocoa Mass

Ground cocoa material containing both cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

Cocoa Butter

The natural fat from cocoa beans and an important part of chocolate's melt and texture.

Chocolate

Some spreads contain chocolate itself as an ingredient.

“Chocolate spread” can describe products with very different formulations.

Want to understand chocolate better?

Know Your Chocolate

And what makes a spread “white chocolate”?

White chocolate doesn't contain the dark cocoa solids that give brown chocolate its colour. Its characteristic chocolate ingredient is cocoa butter, alongside ingredients such as sugar and milk ingredients.

So when you look at a white chocolate spread, useful things to check include:

  • Whether cocoa butter is present
  • What other fats are used
  • Milk ingredients
  • Sugar
  • The overall recipe

How sweet is it meant to be?

Sugar affects much more than sweetness. It also contributes to the balance, texture and overall experience of a spread.

Instead of simply looking for “less”, consider:

How prominent sugar is in the ingredient list
How sweet the product actually tastes
Whether that sweetness suits the main ingredient
How you plan to use the spread

Less sweet isn't automatically better. Sweeter isn't automatically worse. Know what you're choosing.

Smooth, thick, runny or crunchy?

Texture isn't a quality ranking. Each one is designed to give you something different.

Smooth & Creamy

Easy to spread and designed for a uniform texture.

Thick

More body and may hold its shape differently.

More Fluid

Easier to drizzle or use in certain desserts and applications.

Crunchy

Contains pieces or inclusions that deliberately change the eating experience.

The question isn't which texture is “best”. It's which one you want.

You can learn a lot from one spoonful.

You don't need to be an expert. Pay attention to a few simple things.

First flavour
What do you notice first? Pistachio? Hazelnut? Cocoa? Biscuit? Or mainly sweetness?

Sweetness
Does the sweetness balance the main flavour, or dominate it?

Texture
Is it smooth, creamy, thick, oily, waxy, crunchy or something else?

Melt
How does it change in your mouth? Does it melt cleanly or leave a noticeable coating?

Aftertaste
What flavour stays after you've swallowed it?

Most importantly, do you actually like it?
Personal preference matters.

Comparing two spreads? Start here.

  1. What's the product actually meant to be?
    Pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate, biscuit, etc.
  2. Where does that ingredient appear in the ingredient list?
  3. Is its percentage stated?
  4. What fats are being used?
  5. Where does the sweetness come in?
  6. What texture is the product designed to have?
  7. What are you buying it for?

There isn't one “best” spread.

A pistachio heavy spread, a sweeter hazelnut cream and a crunchy chocolate spread are different products designed to give you different things.

One may emphasise the main ingredient. Another may prioritise creaminess, sweetness, texture or convenience.

The point is to understand what's in the jar, what that means, and whether it's what you're looking for.

Ready to choose?

Explore the spreads available at Foodways.

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