The largest producer of peanut butter in the world sits right in Lexington.
In 1955 Proctor and Gamble purchased Big Top Peanut Butter, changing the name to Jif as they wanted to create a product to compete with popular brands Skippy and Peter Pan. They chose Jif because it is easy to spell, say and remember.
Changing more than the name, the company also updated the recipe by adding molasses, sugar and different oils.
Today, Jif is owned by JM Smuckers, which produces 270 million pounds of peanut butter annually with over 1,200 peanuts in a 28-ounce jar of Jif.
– Rebecca Hastings, The Kentucky 100