I discovered two new nut spreads while I was shopping for baking supplies at one of my happy places, All About Baking in SM City East Ortigas: First Harvest’s Coco Sugar Peanut Spread and Peanut Crunch with Rice Pops. At first, I was attracted to their packaging: it looks quite premium and artisanal. Upon closer inspection, I was happy to discover that First Harvest is a homegrown brand.
The production and sales of First Harvest’s offerings provide employment and skills development to the mothers in the Gawad Kalinga village in Angat, Bulacan. All ingredients used in the products are grown or sourced locally and prepared into these artisanal nut butters using traditional methods, and without the use of artificial preservatives. Furthermore, the enterprise’s profits also helps fund college scholarships for local youth.
Being a peanut butter aficionado, I just knew I had to try these out. The variants below are the ones stocked at my nearest All About Baking outlet.
Coco Sugar Peanut Spread (Php160/250g)
It has a smooth and creamy texture that spreads well and evenly on white bread, perfect for my son who likes his peanut butter just so. Churned with less oil and made using coco sugar as sweetener, it is a relatively healthier nut spread at 50 calories per 2 tbsp serving.
Ingredients: Peanuts, Coco Sugar, Canola Oil, Iodized Salt
Peanut Crunch with Rice Pops (Php170/250g)
I prefer some texture in my nut butters so this crunchy variant is a winner for me. Sweetened with honey and made crunchy with pinipig bits, it goes well with wheat bread. The additions that give it a sweeter taste and a popping crunchy texture do take their toll however; a 2 tbsp serving is at 170 calories (but it was worth it!).
Ingredients: Peanuts, Rice Pops, Canola Oil, Iodized Salt
These nut spreads are of high quality, comparable to imported products that I have tried recently. I had to expend some effort to remix the nut spreads before applying them to my toasts due the separation of the oil from the rest of the mixture. I didn’t mind, though. That’s the consequence of not using artificial stabilizers, etc.
And since the products are made with much love by the nanays of a rural community, I wouldn’t mind supporting them by regularly buying First Harvest nut butters so I can help spread the love to my family. (I even hounded the staff of All About Baking to inform me of when they restock their First Harvest Peanut Crunch.)
If you like peanut butter whether as a spread or as an ingredient for your culinary masterpieces, do give First Harvest a try.
I’m looking forward to trying out the original First Harvest Peanut Butter (the one sweetened by honey instead of coco sugar) and the brand’s Salted Coco Caramel (a twist to my childhood’s classic coco jam).
FIRST HARVEST
Address: GK Enchanted Farm California Street, Brgy. Encanto Angat, Bulacan Philippines 3012
Mobile: +63 90538-24447
Instagram: @firstharvest
Twitter: @firstharvestph
Facebook: FirstHarvestFoods
E-mail: inquire@firstharvest.ph
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