66 | DECEMBER 26 • 2024 
J
N

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

The Return of 
Velvet Peanut Butter
T

here are two reasons behind 
my Looking Back this 
week, which revisits my 
column from 2023 on that great, 
great invention of 
Jewish Detroiter Paul 
Zuckerman. Yes, I’m 
talking about the 
unparalleled Velvet 
Peanut Butter! 
Detroiters know 
that this is the peanut 
butter with the yellow 
label featuring three 
kids: “Pure,” “Delicious” and 
“Fresh.” For many, many years, and 
still today, those three boys stare 
at me when I am having a peanut 
butter and jelly sandwich. “Pure” 
and “Delicious” looked friendly 
enough, but I don’t quite trust that 
“Fresh” kid. He looks mischievous, 
like he’s just pulled a prank on me. 
Velvet was and is a Jewish Detroit 
original. Invented and produced 
in the city for many years, it is a 
product that made its way into 
thousands, if not millions, of 
homes in Michigan. Long before 
the famous “Choosey Mothers 
Choose Jif” television commercial, 
Velvet was the peanut butter of 
choice for many “choosey” mothers 
in Metro Detroit. Just search for 
“Velvet Peanut Butter” in the 
William Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History, and my 
point will be proven. 
One cannot write about Velvet 
without writing about Paul 
Zuckerman. Born in Istanbul in 
1912, he grew up in Detroit during 
the Great Depression of the 1930s 
and is an outstanding example of 
a Jewish immigrant success story. 

Zuckerman worked various jobs in 
the city, including driving a truck, 
and working as a manager and 
buyer for a food wholesaler. He 
was also a born entrepreneur, and 
he made it his mission to make a 
better peanut butter. 
In 1944, Zuckerman introduced 
a “homogenized” peanut butter, 
trademarked with “Fresh. Pure. 
Delicious,” as personified by 
the three freckled-faced kids 
on Velvet’s label. He began his 
enterprise by selling jars and cases 
of Velvet from the trunk of his car.
Velvet was a huge success. 
Zuckerman became a wealthy man 
and was also one of Jewish Detroit’s 
great communal leaders. Nearly 
1,200 pages in the Archive mention 
Zuckerman — who was nicknamed 
the “Peanut Butter King” — and 
his wife, Helen, and their support 
for hundreds of good causes in 
Michigan and Israel. 
The first reason for revisiting the 
story of Velvet was the local news 
from Dec. 1. Several publications 
in Detroit ran a story about Mark 
Reith, a native Detroiter, founder of 
Downtown’s Atwater Brewery and 
a lover of Velvet Peanut Butter. He 
purchased the 90-year-old brand 
and is planning to bring Velvet 
Peanut Butter production back to 
the city. Mazel tov!
The second reason is very 
personal. With this column, you 
will find an image of 6-month old 
Eva, my newest grandniece. What 
does she go nuts over? Peanut 
butter! From her first-taste, Eva 
was a peanut butter connoisseur. 
When I visit her in Portland, 
Oregon, next month, you can be 

sure that I’ll bring her a delicacy 
from Detroit: Velvet! 
Yes, Velvet is a great Detroit 
tradition (although I’m still not 
sure about that “Fresh” kid). I am 
happy to see that Mark Reith is 
bringing the best peanut butter — 
ever! — home to Detroit. I wish 
him great luck. May Velvet Peanut 
Butter forever grace our PBJs. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
archives, available for free at 
thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

My grandniece 
and peanut 
butter-lover, 
Eva.

