CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Krema Nut Company drives me nuts. Whenever I go there, I think, why don’t I come here more often. For some unfathomable reason I forget that I love their spicy peanut butter. And I can never quite convince myself to buy a “Can You Handle My Spicy Hot Nuts?” boxer shorts….but maybe someday I will have the courage to do that (or I could just buy it online). If you need any type of nut (edible) they have it or can get it. Krema is often the only place I can find Black Walnuts when it is time to make my dad’s Apple cakes. Krema has nuts but whole lot more.

Krema’s biggest claim to fame is peanut butter. They have made it since 1898. Krema may be the oldest continuous manufacturer of peanut butter in the country. If that is not the case then clearly 112 years of practice makes for a good product. Their peanut butter is all natural – no sugar, preservatives, salt etc., just fresh, fancy grade, roasted Spanish peanuts. Krema also cranks out (literally) Almond and Cashew Butter. The products are made in small batches by a master nut roaster. Krema offers tours where they show you the whole process (call for details). The Columbus Dispatch also has a nice slideshow to show off our local treasure.

Krema is a good one stop gift shop for the “fooder duder” in your life. Especially this time of year. In addition to nuts, butters and suggestive T-Shirts they have a wide selection of sweet treats including chocolates, popcorn, classic candies and a sugar free line of goodies. They also sell local favorites Johnson’s Ice Cream and Jeni’s Ice Cream by the pint.

My favorite part of the store is the on site cafe (10 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday). Using all of the Krema Nut Butters as a base – they craft over a dozen sandwich options with great flavor combinations. My two favorite sandwiches are The Kicker: Hot and Spicy Peanut Butter with raspberry preserves and The Buckeye: peanut butter with Nutella chocolate peanut butter spread. All sandwiches are served on your choice of bread. What pairs better with a PBJ o PB(something) sandwich than a milkshake. In addition to the standard Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry options, Krema mixes up Peanut Butter shakes (of course), PB and Jelly (perfect) and my favorite, a Buckeye shake (Chocolate and Peanut Butter). Krema developed an ingenious way to take your cafe order. They have the menu printed on a paper bag. They circle what you ordered to make sure you get everything and they you take bar coded tags for each item to the cash register in the retail section of the store to pay for your feast.

So there you have it – Krema has all of that and a bag of nuts.

Krema Nut Company
1000 West Goodale Boulevard
Grandview (more or less)
614.299.4131
(800) 222.4132