Is there a food more identified with an American childhood than peanut butter? PB&J sandwiches were the first lunch most of us were allowed to help make, on Wonder Bread, if you were lucky. Peanut butter cookies are one of the simplest, most kid-friendly dessert recipes and one of the first that many kids learn to handle solo.

Over the years, peanut butter has suffered its share of bad press, especially from diet book authors and other nutritional nabobs. However, with no cholesterol, no trans fats and a healthy dose of protein, peanut butter is actually a good addition to your daily menu.

The problem, as with most things that taste really good, is moderation. The serving size for all the following peanut butters is two tablespoons. It's a safe bet your last peanut butter sandwich had more than that. And if you're an aficionado of, say, the Elvis sandwich -- fried peanut butter and banana -- or that fat-laden joy of the peanut butter and bacon sandwich, well, you're just doomed.

For this test, we bought six creamy peanut butters, five national brands and one "house" brand. We chose creamy rather than crunchy because some of the more upscale brands don't offer crunchy.

A tasting panel of five adults rated the contestants on aroma, texture and flavor, awarding a maximum of 20 points per entry for a possible perfect score of 100.

And now, we'll start with a national brand that probably graced your table at some point during your childhood:

Jif: 190 calories, 16 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 7 grams carbs.

The aroma was muted, more of a hint of peanut than a real fresh-roasted aroma. The flavor was very sweet, with a weaker-than-expected peanut note, although the saltiness was well-tuned. It tasted somewhat like a product to which peanut flavoring had been added rather than something made of roasted peanuts. Final score: 63.

Full Circle Organic: 190 calories, 15 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 55 mg sodium, 7 grams carbs.

If you've ever eaten a raw peanut, you'd identify the flavor here easily. The roasted flavor you know and love is barely present, and the palm oil used in place of hydrogenated vegetable oil gives the mouth feel a greasy edge. The aroma is actually the best part, with a good peanut "hit" at first sniff. Final score: 71.

Lowe's Foods (house brand): 180 calories, 15 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 130 mg sodium, 8 grams carbs.

This was a blind taste test, and when the labels were revealed there was consternation that this entry was a house brand. The aroma and flavor were very peanutty, with a good roasted note and balanced saltiness. It was sweet, as you'd expect, but the sugar was a backup singer, not the lead. The texture was a bit oily, but that was the only real off note. Final score: 93.

Peter Pan: 210 calories, 17 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 7 grams carbs.

This was the creamiest of the brands tested, with no graininess or oily mouth feel at all. Unfortunately, it also had the least aroma of any of them, with hardly a hint of scent. The flavor was fairly salty, with a good roasted-peanut finish. Final score: 82.

Woodstock Farms Organic: 180 calories, 15 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium, 6 grams carbs.

No, the sodium figure isn't a misprint. This is peanut butter in its purest form, made solely of roasted peanuts with no salt, sugar or oil added. All the testers would have loved to have been high-minded enough to give it high ratings for purity, but the fact is that it was an oily, grainy, flavor-impaired mess. Even after prolonged stirring, it was impossible to get all the separated oil to blend back into the peanut paste, and it was so gummy that two testers required massive soda infusions to cleanse their palates. Final grade: 33.

Skippy: 190 calories, 16 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 7 grams carbs.

This jar was nearly half-empty by the time the tasting panel finished sampling, resampling and "just one more" sampling. A fairly light aroma belied a flavor that was a really excellent mix of sweetness, saltiness and intense peanut flavor. Skippy is the "little brother" to Jif and Peter Pan, but beat them both in our taste test by a mile. Final score: 96.

So the Skippy is the winner by a nose (and a couple of tastebuds) over the Lowe's Foods house brand. But at roughly half the price, the house brand is the clear choice as best buy. In my experience, this holds true with most house brand peanut butters.