Nut butter (mainly peanut butter) is one of the most expensive products per weight on the Ugandan and world markets. In Uganda, a half a kilogramme costs between sh10,000 to sh12,000. Certainly, this high cost gives an opportunity to local farmers.
In fact, most of the nut butter is imported as you can see on our stalls. It comes from as far as the US. And because it is imported, it is expensive. And yet, Ugandans can produce their own pea-nut butter using the common groundnuts.
Sample ingredients for groundnut butter
- 500g of raw groundnuts, preferably skin-on because these help hold the paste together.
- 1 teaspoon of groundnut oil, preferably the semi-refined to help stop disintegration of the paste this is also available in super markets.
- ½ teaspoon of salt for good taste.
- 1 teaspoon of honey as a sweetener.
Procedure
To make groundnut butter, soak the nuts for at least six hours in order to induce them to soften and then produce and then drain them. You then have to roast the nuts until they are crunchy. This can take at least one hour. Then you grind them when still warm, using a nuts grinder or even a local grinding mortar. Both the grinder and mortar are many on the market. As you grind, the butter begins to create on the sides. In most localities, what comes out of the mortar is commonly called ebinyebwa ebipooli and this can be eaten on bread or further cooked into sauce paste. The more you grind, the more oil comes out of the nuts. The butter can be stored under cool temperatures for at least three months even without any other additives.
