FAQ
Much Better Butters are handmade in small batches in California with certified-organic and Non-GMO ingredients.
All our butters are Peanut-Free, Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free. They are also no-to-low sugar, high in plant-based protein and school friendly.
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
Even in normal times, we make sure everything from ingredients to processing equipment to food handlers are properly sanitized following USDA and CA Dept. of Health protocols. In this new climate, however, we’re being especially diligent. All workers in every phase of production are required to wear masks, there is extra hand washing and food protections in place, and no employee with any symptoms is permitted to work. Additionally, the FDA has announced that there is no direct evidence that food or food manufacturing is involved in the transmission of the COVID-19. For more information, you can read the FDA's Food Safety and the Corona Virus here.
KINDER WORLD
What kind of organizations do you support to help make a better world?
- Girl Ventures – inspiring girls to lead through outdoor adventure, inner discovery and collective action.
- The Mosaic Project – working towards a peaceful future by uniting children of diverse backgrounds and empowering them to become peacemakers.
NUTRITION
Our butters are a delicious, super nutritious way to boost your meals and snacks. A single one-tablespoon serving packs 6-7grams of plant-based protein as well as healthy unsaturated fats. They’re also a great source of important nutrients like fiber, vitamin E, B vitamins, zinc and selenium. We also add essential amino acids to every jar for increased health. Please see individual product descriptions for more details.
I've heard sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E. Is that a good thing?
It sure is! According to the USDA sunflower seeds are very high in vitamin E, an important antioxidant that helps protect the body’s cells, reduces inflammation, and promotes healthy skin.
One serving of Roasted with Sea Salt provides a whopping 60% of the FDA Daily Recommended Percentage of vitamin E.
Are your butters certified organic?All our butters are made with certified-organic sunflower seeds, our Honey-Kissed flavor is made with certified-organic coconut oil and certified-organic Hawaiian honey and our Chocolate-Treat is made with certified organic Fair Trade chocolate.
- Sunflower seeds are Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth under the USDA Organic Regulations.
- Coconut oil in our Honey-Kissed is certified USDA Organic and Non GMO Project Verified.
- Honey in Honey-Kissed is raw, unprocessed certified USDA Organic Hawaiian honey.
- Our Guittard chocolate is certified USDA organic and Fair Trade.
As a small family-run business, Much Better Butter is working hard towards total official certification, so please stay tuned!
Which of your butters are vegan?
Roasted with Sea Salt and Chocolate Treat are both vegan. (Our chocolate source states that they may produce on equipment that also processes dairy.) Honey-Kissed contains raw honey so it is not considered vegan.
Are all your butters gluten-free?
Yes. All three flavors are free of gluten-containing ingredients and are produced in facilities that have ingredient segregation and handling practices in place to avoid cross contamination.
I see amino acids listed in the ingredients. What are they and why do you use them?
One of the reasons Much Better Butter tastes so darn good is our unique recipe that includes a dash of natural amino acids. Amino acids are organic compounds that are the building blocks of proteins, and they are essential to a healthy body. They’re also the key to our smooth, delicious flavor!
GENERAL
Why are your organic sunflower seeds from Eastern Europe?
When Tina first started roasting and blending sunflower seeds into butters, she tested a lot of varietals. She found the petite non-oilseed seeds to be best—resulting in a smooth, high protein butter that is superior to other sunflower seeds.
After some searching, Tina was thrilled to find a responsible, ethical supplier for her petite Bulgarian beauties. California based Tradin Organic works directly with farmers and processors to support existing organic programs as well as new transitions to organic.
These sunflowers seeds, along with her unique recipe, ensures a tasty spread that is never bitter.
What makes your organic Hawaiian honey so special?
Our Honey-Kissed sunflower butter is sweetened with raw, unprocessed USDA Organic Hawaiian honey. This special wild crop honey is from a small off-the-grid organic apiary nestled on the edge of old-growth forests on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s highest volcano. We chose Hawaiian organic honey because of its exceptional purity.
Did you know that Hawaiian honey is the only certified-organic honey in the U.S.? The USDA will not organic certify any honey from bees on the mainland since those bees can fly long distances and forage from non-organic crops and plants.
Bees from Hawaii Harvest Honey, our family-owned supplier, are geographically isolated and forage from wild crops that aren’t treated with chemical pesticides. Besides making for a better honey, it’s better for the bees, the soil, and the ecosystem!
I see your Chocolate Treat is made with Fair Trade chocolate—what does that mean?
When you see a product with the Fair Trade Certified Seal, you can be sure it was made according to rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards.
Certifiers ensure that the people making Fair Trade Certified chocolate work in safe conditions, protect the environment, build sustainable livelihoods, and earn additional money to empower and uplift their communities. They adhere to strict ethics standards that prohibit slavery and child labor and ensure cocoa growers receive a steady income, regardless of volatile market prices.
It's not an easy process. You can thank them for their commitment, and incentivize even more sustainably-made chocolate, by enjoying fair trade chocolate in its many forms, from chocolate bars to foods like our Chocolate Treat sunflower butter.
CARE & HANDLING
All of our jars have a Best Buy date stamped on the bottom. We recommend storing them in a cool, dark place. Once opened, they will taste their best until the "Best Buy" date.
Since our butters are delicious right out of the jar, please be sure not to put any contaminated utensils (or fingers) into the jar — no double dipping!
Please note: keeping opened jars in the fridge will increase the shelf life and keep any natural oils from separating, but might make it harder to spread.
Yes! All of our flavors are peanut-free and made in a peanut-free facility.
Roasted with Sea Salt and Chocolate Treat are also nut-free. Our facility does process tree nuts but not during the shifts they are making Much Better Butters.
Honey-Kissed is not considered nut-free since it contains coconut oil. (Yep, coconuts are classified as nuts!)Some of the baked goods I make with your sunflower butters get a green hue. Why does this happen and is it ok?
While developing her recipe for Chocolate Treat Banana Bread, Tina learned that adding sunflower seed butter to baked goods can sometimes result in a totally delicious but slightly green-colored treat.
Turns out, baking soda reacts with the naturally occurring chlorophyll (chlorogenic acid) found in sunflower seeds when they’re baked together. This is why you might notice an olive green color develop when your baked goods cool.
It doesn’t affect taste, but if you want to keep the “green” out, try one of these suggestions: using baking powder instead of soda; substituting brown sugar, honey or molasses for white sugar; adding citrus juice, vinegar, or other acidic ingredients such as cream of tartar, raisins and dates.
I just opened my Chocolate Treat and there are little bubbles or white blobs on top. Is it ok?
Yes—that’s just cocoa bloom, and it’s completely normal and safe to eat. The cocoa solids in our Chocolate Treat can separate slightly because we don’t add any stabilizers or emulsifiers.
If your jar has “bloomed”, try sitting it in warm water for a few minutes to melt the cocoa solids. Then just stir them right back in and enjoy.
Have more questions about our products, our company or our values? Please contact us anytime.