Almond Butter Anywhere?

07/06/23 Where in Brasil must I go to get almond butter?
Cannot find it in any grocery stores in the State of Rio de Janeiro so far.
Checked so far: Zona Sul, Pao de Acu, Regina, Extra, Green Fruit, Hortifruti, and more...
-@ExpatUSATravels

Amazon.com.br sells it.  Search on "manteiga de amêndoa".

So does Mercado Livre (Brazil eBay) : https://lista.mercadolivre.com.br/mante … 3%AAndoa#D[A:manteiga%20de%20am%C3%AAndoa]

Check Casas Pedros in Rio

Alternatively buy a cheap (but good enough) blender and its really easy to make your own.

@ExpatUSATravels

Thanks everyone. It seems that I now have to turn to shopping online.

And I alsonow know why they don't sell it in grocery stores here. lol.

Do they think Almond butter is a specialty item?

Interesting how certain items bring a premium in Brasil.

Maple syrup in a tiny 4-5 oz jar in store is R$100, do i pass on it.

Very strange thing i learned yesterday.

Imported Gouda / Masdam cheese in stores here is usually about R$250 per kg, but i found it for R$109 at other store.

So I know now that it some places double charge what should be normal BR proce instead of being only 20% higher than US prices.

Ex: Almond butter in est in usd prices for a very small 250 g jar

USA $6 reg store

MEX $4

MEX $2 costco mexico

BRA $11

07/07/23 @ExpatUSATravels.  Almonds just aren't all that popular in Brazil, and aren't a major crop, I think.

We do a lot of online shopping, because since Manaus has no land connections to the rest of the country, selection even of some staple items here can be sporadic, and even more for anything imported.  Our standard practice for non-perishables is to check the local stores, and then the principal online services if we can't find an item locally at a reasonable price.  Since the last price increases, we even get our coffee (whole bean) online, because with free shipping from Prime, it's a lot cheaper.  We're currently buying our maple syrup in "kits" of three 250ml/8.45 oz. bottles for R$229/kit.

Check Casas Pedros in Rio
Alternatively buy a cheap (but good enough) blender and its really easy to make your own.
-@bolinho_expat

I agree - my wife makes peanut butter and even cashew nut butter just using a blender... very easy!

@abthree wow more than R$70 avg per jar maple. Id rather use honey then. lol.

My point is that some places in BR charge double for same item same size.

Cheese from other countries like Netherlands Gouda.

Yes Amazon Prime is good free shipping.

@Peter Itamaraca thanks for link.

@abthree wow more than R$70 avg per jar maple. Id rather use honey then. lol.
-@ExpatUSATravels

We're rank traditionalists, and my husband and I like our waffles on Sunday morning.  Honey just won't cut it for us. 😂😉

@abthree I am not a fan of waffles nor maple syrup (in fact I never eat breakfast), but my wife is, and we always have maple syrup in stock. The secret? Canadian friends who come once a year and bring it for us, so that is your challenge, to find local Canadian contacts...!

Do you have a health food shop there? Where I live there is a shop that presses the almonds 'as needed' to make almond butter, cashew nut butter, peanut butter etc.

@edrosamond  Sounds good! We just buy the nuts and chuck them in the blender...

@abthree yes i totally undetstand about how great maple syrup is. I like it too.

I guess some things we just must pay more and sometimes a lot more for in Brasil.

That is life and how the planet works.

Its just sad that in Mexico i can buy 1 liter 1,000 g (wow) of Canadian maple syrup for about $15 / $R75 .... just makes me wonder.

I know intl shipping isnt that much.

Brasil im guessing charges 10-20% for import duties on food items.

So do the math.

Some people just find niche in the market for certain items.

@Peter Itamaraca who gets the job of cleaning the sticky mess out of the blender?

I'd like to get a nut/butter machine tool.

I used to have a champion blender years ago in the usa, and they have attachents to make nut butter. Very nice.

Maybe i will look for a nut butter maker machine in BR if I can find one, or buy one next time in the US.

@bolinho_expat Great idea. Will look for either a mini strong food processor or nut butter machine as mentioned in other post.

@edrosamond Good idea. I will have to check.

Anybody finding a decent nut butter maker (220VAC) for a decent price please do post or DM me. I make my own peanut butter and make it in a blender but it is time consuming and I have to add a bit of oil (I use toasted sesame) to get it smooth.

Almonds, off the shelf here run about R$8.90/100gm. I think that is kinda expensive BUT I haven't been able to find almond bits&pieces - just whole nuts.

I love maple syrup also so I splurge periodically and buy some.  Probably there is no demand for maple syrup in Brazil and maple syrup is very time consuming to make.  As for a Dutch cheese like Maasdam or Gouda.  I am Dutch and love old Dutch cheese but we have a local cheese store here that sells mostly cheeses made in Minas Gerais.  Many of these cheese are delicious.  They are not inexpensive but less than you'll pay for imported cheeses.  The store I go to will let you taste any cheeses you want so you don't have to buy cheeses if you're not sure you'll like it.  Yes, and as far as the nut butters is concerned I would just blend them myself also. 

Where in Brasil must I go to get almond butter?
Cannot find it in any grocery stores in the State of Rio de Janeiro so far.
Checked so far: Zona Sul, Pao de Acu, Regina, Extra, Green Fruit, Hortifruti, and more...
-@ExpatUSATravels

What for???

Try some goat variety of butter. Best dairy there is out there. 

Most storefronts that sell Northeast Staple Food must carry i ( Lojas Nordestinas ). If they sell Queijo de Cabra ( Goat Cheese ), they can certainly carry manteiga de cabra ( Goat Butter ). 

Goats, if free range pastured, are browsers. Not grazers. Most of your vital and hard to get trace minerals come from knoxious weeds. The very same weeds farmers try to get rid of by using herbicides (glyphosate a carcinogen) .  Those weeds are precisely what goats crave.

The are your source for selenium, and other rare trace minerals.  it is all about different root structures.

PBS Wyoming aired a documentary on Goat Grazers on youtube.  Check it out. 

Ditch the Almond.  That's hypster.

https://youtu.be/9PGJmUENh00

https://youtu.be/jJBtmSR7Nn

c

@ExpatUSATravels In my book whoever makes the mess, cleans the mess!

When we lived in Campinas, there were two stores in our neighborhood (Barao Geraldo/Guara) that had things like this. If you ever get down that way, try Frutaria Rio das Pedras (http://www.frutariariodaspedras.com.br]/) or Armazem Casa Grande (https://armazem-casa-grande.negocio.site/). The latter is owned by a Minnesotan, Tammy, who has lived in Brazil for 30 years. She has a great accent!

@Droplover Is the cheese store in Campinas? Would love to share it with my foodie friends there.

when i first came to Brazil I had trouble finding decent peanut butter too...Pao de Acucar in Sao Paulo carries JIF now but way too expensive. If you want to find any kinds of nut butter you'd have to explore those 'natural' goods stores or those that sell all sorts of grains, nuts, pressed powder. Any kind of natural peanut butter is considered health food here I think and so it goes together with all the grain and powder one would add to their shakes. You should be able to find cashewnut butter but not sure about almond nut butter tho'....

@BraGringa Wow, it's a small world!  We live in Barao Geraldo and shop at Fruteria because it is 2 blocks from our house.  My husband picks up bread from Armazem Casa Grande every other day.  What is with that name?? (hate it)

I have/had several students from Armazem who I teach English.  The cheese store is called "Sonhos de queijo" and it is awesome.  I've never met Tammy but my husband knows her.

If you are after peanut butter, I Don’t know if you have a Sam’s club nearby, they have lots of imported goodies (of course we are close to Natal in Rio Grande do Norte). Cheers, Claudia and Jay

@Droplover I really loved living in that neighborhood! You are lucky to be there. I would walk around the lagoa every morning and see lots of birds. Thanks for the name of the cheese shop -- I'll see if my friends know it.

@ExpatUSATravels  I have seen it at a health food store in Porto Seguro also Cashew butter . They have one of those but grinding machines that makes nut butters right in front of you.

We lived in Bella Vista 2 years ago and were delighted to discover Olive Natural on R. Frei Coneca, R. Frei Caneca, 785 - Consolação, São Paulo - SP, 01307-000.  It's a mid-size. store and sells a variety of nut butters. However, we learned that almonds are just not big in Brazil, but cashews are. The store sold several kinds of cashew butter and loved all of them, though beware that some are sweetened. Peanut butter is plentiful, but I am allergic to peanuts, which is why I use almond butter in the US instead, in baking, sauces, and on crackers and sandwiches. This store sells both cashews and almonds in bulk, so you can also make your own.