During peanut butter production, peanuts are ground into a smooth paste under the high-speed grinding action of peanut butter machines. Most commercial peanut butter production equipment—particularly colloid mills and industrial peanut butter grinders—utilize friction, shear forces, and pressure to achieve ultra-fine grinding.

Consequently, significant heat is generated during the production process. If heat management is inadequate, it can adversely affect product quality and machine performance.

In terms of product quality, high temperature may destroy the nutrients in peanut, such as vitamin E and some unsaturated fatty acids, which are very important to the nutritional value of peanut butter. In addition, high temperature may also lead to changes in the flavor of peanut butter, and even a burnt smell, thus affecting the consumer experience.

Seen from the production process, too high temperature may lead to unstable operation of equipment, and even damage the equipment. Therefore, in some modern peanut butter production lines, a cooling system will be equipped to reduce the temperature of the peanut butter by water cooling or air cooling to ensure the safety of equipment and products.

However, not all production processes need cooling. If the design of the peanut butter machine can control the heat generation, or the temperature requirement of the production line is low, then the cooling step may not be necessary. In addition, some traditional techniques may pay more attention to preserving the original flavor of peanuts, in which case, cooling may be omitted.

Whether cooling is required during peanut butter processing is not fixed but depends on the peanut butter machine, production method, and product positioning. For industrial production of high-quality peanut butter, effective temperature control is generally recommended to preserve nutritional content, flavor, and equipment performance. In practice, selecting appropriate processes and cooling methods is key to achieving consistent quality and efficient production.