Peanut butter with Conor Pope.

Kelkin American Style Crunchy Peanut Butter 2.81 for 350g 8.02 per kg

Highs: This is, the packaging tells us, the "healthy choice" and it is good to note that it contains no artificial ingredients and no added sugar. It should prove to be easy to track down and seems pretty fairly priced. Made with finely chopped peanuts, it spreads easily and has a lightness of texture that some of the other brands lack. While the peanut pieces may be small they don't lose anything by way of crunchiness.

Lows: It may well be the healthy choice but is made with just 78 per cent peanuts with the rest of the ingredient list taken up with hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetable oil and salt which doesn't sound all that healthy to PriceWatch.

Verdict: Not so nutty

Star rating: ***

Tesco Crunchy Peanut Butter €1.83 for 454g 4.03 per kg

Highs: This pale-coloured peanut butter is by far the cheapest of the lot and is exceptionally good value. It is absolutely crammed with peanuts - at 98 per cent it has the highest peanut ratio of all the brands tried. It lacks the foil seal the other brands had and while this might not be so good for keeping it fresh, it certainly made opening it a whole lot easier.

Lows: Although it has more nuts than a squirrel in November, it doesn't taste that nutty. Like some of the other brands, this peanut butter feels compelled to warn us that this "recipe contains peanuts" and while it is hardly Tesco's fault it is a bit depressing to live in a world where such a warning is deemed a legal requirement.

Verdict: Very good value

Star rating: ****

Panda American Style Peanut Butter €2.69 for 510g €5.27 per kg

Highs: This is light in colour and has a surprisingly smooth texture for a crunchy peanut butter. It comes in a good-sized family jar and is very keenly priced. It also has a nice sweet taste.

Lows: Although that might be too sweet for some tastes. It is also in danger of suffering a serious identity crisis - it's made in Argentina for an Irish company and is keen to emphasise its American heart with the stars and stripes labelling. It is made with 90 per cent peanuts but many of them were chopped into very small pieces so it lacked any real crunch. It also had consumer-proof packaging and getting the foil seal off proved something of a challenge.

Verdict: Sweet and soft

Star rating: **

Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut butter €5.25 for 510g €10.29 per kg

Highs: Jif is not kidding when it says this is an extra crunchy peanut butter - it is absolutely filled with full-sized roasted peanuts which are bursting with flavour. It is nice and creamy and gets the balance between the sugary and the salty spot on.

Lows: PriceWatch couldn't find any mention of the peanut percentage on the packaging which was a little strange, particularly as it appeared to be chock-full of the things. It too lists hydrogenated vegetable oil among the ingredients, which spoils the feel-good factor somewhat. It is very pricey and while it tastes nothing at all like a kitchen cleaning product, its name seems a little unfortunate.

Verdict: Nice but dear

Star rating: ***

Whole Earth Crunchy Peanut Butter 3.30 for 227g €14.54 per kg

Highs: Bought in a health-food shop, this organic product should be the most wholesome option - which it might well be if the short and additive, colourant and sugar-free recipe list is anything to go by. It has a lovely rich peanutty taste and with its rough complexion looks a lot less processed than some of the competition. It is certainly top of the class in taste terms.

Lows: Sadly it is bottom of the class in price terms and at nearly four times the price of the cheapest option (from Tesco) it seems wildly overpriced. It has a very thick texture and was a little like eating glue, albeit very nice-tasting glue.

Verdict: Great tasting but at what cost

Star rating: ***