PB&J

PB&J, an acronym for peanut butter and jelly, is a simple snack or lunch popular in Canada and the United States. With a wide range of bread styles that can be used for the sandwich, plus the many different types of jams and jellies that can be used, there’s a flavor for almost everyone. A quick sandwich that moms can make for their kids’ lunches or that dads can make for a midnight snack, supplementing their diets. It seems like this sandwich has been around forever for those of us who can and do eat them. But how long has it been around?

Ancient Mesopotamians used honey or sugar to preserve fruit in the earliest documented evidence. Since then, the process has changed very little, with the only difference being the fruit and/or the recipe used. Whether it’s a jam or a jelly, both pair well on bread– depending on your taste, you might like jams better than jellies and vice versa.

Peanut butter can be traced back to the ancient Aztecs and Incas, who roasted peanuts and ground them into a paste. It wasn’t until 1895 that the first machine was patented by Dr. John H. Kellogg. This machine would grind raw peanuts into butter, which he then marketed to the elderly as a protein substitute. People would eat this peanut butter with pimento cheese, cheese, celery, crackers, and Worcester sauce (among other foods).

Breadmaking has been around for centuries, in one form or another. With each passing decade, bakers and later bakery companies improved how breads were made until we had the different types we have today. The biggest achievement of breadmaking though was by Otto F. Rohwedder, a jeweler by trade, who invented a bread-slicing machine that sliced bread to a precise thinness that he introduced at the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri in 1928. People started eating more sandwiches, because of the invention of his machine, due to the thickness of the bread making it softer and more pliable.

Julia Davis Chandler is credited with submitting the first recipe for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in 1901 to the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics. Her recipe called for crab-apple or currant jelly, with an optional 2 tablespoons of butter to grill the bread if desired. Its popularity didn’t spread until WWI and WWII because it was a way for the military to stretch out rations and was a great filler high in protein, for our soldiers to eat. During the Great Depression, peanut butter became cheaper, and more people began eating peanut butter and/or PB&J sandwiches. In 1928, with the invention of the bread slicer, the sandwich took off in popularity.

The PB&J even has a legend associated with it. According to the Colorado Mine Company, a Denver, Colorado restaurant, Elvis once flew from Memphis, Tennessee just to eat 22 of their Fool’s Gold Loaf. It took him 2 hours to eat them before he flew back home again. One sandwich consists of one loaf of French bread, one jar each of peanut butter and grape jelly, and one pound of crisp fried bacon. That’s one rich sandwich. I don’t think I could eat a quarter of a loaf.

Sadly, some people are deathly allergic to peanut butter and can’t eat or touch it. For this reason, those who aren’t allergic need to be careful with it. Some schools won’t even allow peanut butter on the campus if any students are allergic to it. Parents should always ask about allergies before sending a peanut-based snack or meal to school or daycare.

The PB&J hasn’t been shared by recipe for long. The oldest recipe is only 123 years old. Since that recipe was released, the sandwich has come a long way. People have put different twists and variations on the snack to make their own special treat. Some even substitute either bananas or marshmallow fluff for the jelly. A peanut butter & Banana sandwich is good, but I like peanut butter and homemade cranberry jelly. Do you like PB&J? What’s your favorite jam or jelly to use if you do eat them?

Peanut butter, jam

A sweet and savory treat

A classic delight

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P B and Jelly

Eaten on wheat or white bread

Perfect snack or lunch

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Two slices of bread

Spread P B and J on both

Combine bread and eat