| My goal was to make or find a tool that would effortlessly and cleanly do the job when used with an electric drill.
1. The Model LM Jiffy Mixer blade is the majik. The small mix head pumps down when turning clockwise (looking down at the jar} so it does not make a mess as long as you're careful not to turn it counter-clockwise. Spec says use at less than 1200 rpm, but I used it at 1700 rpm with no problem. Place the head at the bottom of the jar, hold the jar tightly with one hand, and go. The mixer is well balanced so it doesn't wobble, and you have full control with no worry about breaking a glass jar.
You might place the jar in the sink before mixing, to minimize the possibility of mess.
Clayworks Supplies, Inc. had to order 6 stirrers to meet an order minimum, but the nice people did it readily.
2. My first try was to bend an 8-inch length of 3/8 inch rod to make an elongated L. The result had a shaft of 7-inch length and a bottom (horizontal) length of about 1 inch. This rod is stiff enough to handle compacted nut butters. I made the shaft quite straight to minimize wobble.
I expected this to be not much of a mixer, but I thought it would loosen the compacted mass so I could mix it easily with a knife. This is exactly what happened in a 28-ounce jar of Kirkland brand (Costco) organic creamy peanut butter, which is about the softest nut butter I've ever used, but I was happily surprised that it worked much better in a 16-ounce jar of chunky natural peanut butter. This was quite thick, and the simple gizmo mixed it up completely with no mess. This was the house brand of SuperFresh/A&P, probably GreenWay - I gave it to Jean to use for peanut butter cookies. She says they're delicious.
3. Last week, an old Sunbeam stand mixer fell into my kitchen. It is circa 1990, but the old style dough hooks are still available. The outer dough hook mixes nut butters when used in the correct mixer socket. The other socket turns counter-clockwise, which makes this dough hook pump up instead of down, and a terrible mess ensues. Trust me, I know.
I would be reluctant to use this with the relatively high speed of an electric drill, but if you're a thrill seeker...
I'm not really recommending this, I mention it as an option in case you already have a stand mixer with a dough hook that looks something like this one. Be careful. I used it in a 28-ounce jar, did not try it in a 16-ounce jar. |
