It’s Time

“Dear Jelly, It’s time. Sincerely, Peanut Butter” (Anonymous)

While George Washington Carver was an amazing inventor who found over 300 uses for peanuts, he was not the first to make peanut butter in all of recorded history. The first recorded instances of peanut spread are from the ancient Incas and the Aztecs. Peanut butter was originally paired with a diverse set of savory foods such as pimento, cheese, celery, watercress, saltines, and toasted crackers.

An early recipe for a peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich appeared in The Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics in 1901. "For variety, some day try making little sandwiches, or bread fingers, or three very thin layers of bread and two of filling, one of peanut paste, whatever brand you prefer, and currant or crab-apple jelly for the other."

Until the late 1920s, PB&J wasn’t a staple in American homes though it became widely commercialized soon after. The invention of sliced bread by Gustav Papendick in 1928 didn’t immediately catch on. Pre-sliced bread made it possible for children to make their own sandwiches. Plus, the low cost, the ease of putting it together, and the high nutrition made it the perfect sandwich for the Depression Era.

PB&Js were staples in military rations during WWII. The returning soldiers helped popularize the sandwich. Soldiers had to get creative with their food, and most likely combined these ingredients very often.

A peanut butter and jelly (or jam) sandwich consists of peanut butter and fruit preserves spread on bread. The sandwich may be open-faced, or made of a single slice of bread folded over. The jelly or jam can make bread soggy especially when the sandwich is prepared ahead of time as part of a bag lunch. Peanut butter can be spread on both slices first, with jelly or jam separated from the bread by prevents this. Below are interesting statistics that you may not know about a PB&J:

·        A Huffington Post survey states 36.53% people love strawberry jelly, 31.15% was next with grape. Following that was raspberry, blueberry, apricot, and finally orange marmalade.

·        39,303 PB&Js were made by a restaurant chain in one hour to break the world record in 2015.

·        94% of Americans have at least one jar of peanut butter at home so a PB&J is always at the ready.

·        A PB&J averages about 50 cents so it’s an affordable sandwich.

·        A PB&J costs 90% less to make than to substitute the peanut butter        with almond butter.

·        A PB&J has 15 grams of protein per serving, 13 grams of plant-based unsaturated fat and 5 grams of fiber. That keeps you full and helps build muscle. Plus 12.5 grams of sugar provides the quick release of energy that athletes need. (It is a staple snack of the National Baseball Association (NBA).

·        Americans eat an average of 2,984 PB&Js in a lifetime.

·        Assuming that a PB&J is made with two slices of white bread, two tablespoons each of peanut butter and strawberry jelly, it provides 403 calories, 18 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbohydrates and 12 grams of grams of protein. While roughly 50% of the calories are from fat, most of them come from monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fats, which the American Heart Association considers beneficial to heart health.

·        National PB&J Day occurs in the U.S. every year on April 2.

·        Peanut butter is the number one most donated item to food banks. It makes a balanced, healthy, cost-effective meal for those in need.

·        The average North American child will consume 1500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school (age 18). 

Add variety to the familiar PB&J. Below is some creative suggestions:

A PB&J…

·        Grilled or toasted (with a sandwich sleeve)

·        In milk with a fork

·        In three levels, crust cut off, sliced into squares, and skewered

·        Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookie

·        Panini

·        Protein Pancake (or Waffle) Sandwich

·        Swirl with Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread

·        Swirled Yogurt

·        Truffle with Nutrella or berries

·        With banana slices, raisins, apple slices, honey (or agave) on whole wheat bread (or a pita)

“Everyone has…talent to some degree. Even making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you know whether it tastes better to you with raspberry jam or grape jelly; on chewy pumpernickel or white toast.” (Anna D. Shapiro) [i]

---

[i] Sources used:

·        “10 Things You Never Knew About Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches” by  Grace Eire

·        “5 Reasons PB&J is the Best Sandwich Ever” by National Peanut Board

·        “5 Tasty Twists on Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches” By Marge Perry

·        “9 Surprising Facts about PB&Js” by National Peanut Board 

·        “It's National PB&J Day! 5 New Ways to Enjoy the Kiddie Classic” by Rebecca Gruber

·        “Peanut butter and jelly sandwich” From Wikepedia

·        “Sticking with the PB&J” by Natalie

HAPPY JULY 4TH 2020