Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Origin
Alternative name(s)	PB & J
Place of origin	United States
Details
Serving temperature	Chilled, room temperature, or heated
Main ingredient(s)	Peanut butter, jelly, bread
Variations	Multiple
Approximate calories per serving	432 cal/18 g fat/3 g fiber/59 g carbs[1]

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich or PB&J is a sandwich, popular in North America, that includes a layer of peanut butter and either jelly or jam on bread, commonly between two slices, but sometimes eaten open-faced or with one slice folded over.

A 2002 survey showed the average American will have eaten 2,500 of these sandwiches before graduating from high school.^[2]

Variations [edit]

Some variants add honey, bacon, chocolate, maple syrup, the hazelnut-chocolate spread Nutella, marshmallows, raisins, bananas, butter, marshmallow fluff, potato chips, cheese, other dried fruit, or another slice of bread. Other variations include slices of fresh fruit besides bananas such as apples or strawberries.

History [edit]

In the early 1900s, peanut butter was considered a delicacy that was only served in New York City's finest tearooms. The product was first paired with a diverse set of foods such as pimento, nasturtium, cheese, celery, watercress, and on toasted crackers.^[3] In a Good Housekeeping article published in May 1896, a recipe "urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread." In June of that same year, the culinary magazine Table Talk published a "peanut butter sandwich recipe."^[4] The first reference of peanut butter paired with jelly on bread was rumored to be published in the United States by Julia Davis Chandler in 1901.^[5] By the late 1920s, this sandwich eventually moved down the class structure as the price of peanut butter dropped. It became popular with children.^[6] During World War II, it is said that both peanut butter and jelly were found on U.S. soldiers' military ration list, as claimed by the Peanut Board.^[7]

Nutrition [edit]

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich made from white bread, with two tablespoons each of peanut butter and grape jelly, provides 27% of a person's Recommended Daily Intake of fat and 22% of their calories.^[1]

While roughly 45% of the calories are from fat, most of them come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which have been linked positively with heart health.^[8]

"Sealed crustless" PB&J [edit]

In December 1999, two independent inventors, Len Kretchman and David Geske, were granted U.S. patent,^[9] "Sealed Crustless Sandwich" for a peanut butter sandwich that would have a long shelf life. The J.M. Smucker Co. bought the patent from the inventors and developed a commercial product based on the patent called Uncrustables. Smuckers then invested US$17 million in a new factory^[10] to produce the product. By 2005, sales of Uncrustables had grown to $60 million a year with a 20% per year growth rate.

Smuckers attempted to enforce their patent rights by sending out cease and desist letters to competitors, and by expanding their intellectual property coverage via the patenting of a machine to produce Uncrustables sandwiches in high volume. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, however, rejected the viability of the patent citing its similarity to existing processes such as that of fashioning ravioli or pie crust.^[11]

See also [edit]

• Fluffernutter
• Peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich
• List of sandwiches

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

• Flickr: Photos tagged with "peanutbutterandjelly"
• Fun peanut facts
• Keep your peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich from getting soggy
• Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
• History of Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich