A peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PB&J) consists of peanut butter and

fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the met ...

—jelly—spread on bread. The sandwich may be open-faced, made of a single slice of bread folded over, or made using two slices of bread. The sandwich is popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, especially among children; a 2002 survey showed the average American will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. There are many variations of the sandwich, starting with the basic peanut butter sandwich or jam sandwich.

Preparation

In basic preparation methods, a layer of peanut butter is spread on one slice of bread and a layer of fruit preserves is spread on another before the two sides are sandwiched together. (Jelly is a fruit-based spread, made primarily from fruit juice boiled with a

gelling agent A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

and allowed to set, while jam contains crushed fruit and fruit pulp, heated with water and sugar and cooled until it sets with the aid of natural or added pectin.) The water inherent to preserves can make the bread soggy, especially when the sandwich is prepared ahead of time as part of a bag lunch. To prevent this, the peanut butter can be spread first on both slices of bread. The fat in peanut butter will block the moisture from the preserves from entering the slices of bread. However, the preserves are now more mobile and can squirt out the sides. If the open sides are sealed, the preserves are thoroughly contained; this technique is utilized by the major manufacturers of sealed crustless sandwiches (e.g. "Uncrustables").

Variations

There are many variations on the sandwich; for example, honey or sliced fruit can be substituted for the jelly component, e.g., a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Marshmallow fluff can also be substituted for the jelly, or added for extra flavor; this sandwich is called a "

Fluffernutter A fluffernutter (also called a "peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich", "peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich", or "peanut butter and marshmallow stuff sandwich") is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme usually ser ...

". The popularity of

almond butter Almond butter is a food paste made from grinding almonds into a nut butter. Almond butter may be "crunchy" or "smooth", and is generally "stir" (susceptible to oil separation) or "no-stir" ( emulsified). Almond butter may be either raw or roas ...

has inspired some to transition to "almond butter and jelly" sandwiches; other

nut butter A nut butter is a spreadable foodstuff made by grinding nuts into a paste. The result has a high fat content and can be spread like true butter, but is otherwise unrelated. Nut butters include: * Acorn butter * Almond butter * Cashew butter ...

s are less common. Seed butters, such as sunflower seed butter are also possible peanut butter substitutes.

Cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...

, substituted for the peanut butter, makes a "cream cheese and jelly" sandwich.

Nutella Nutella (; ; ) is a brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was first introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. History Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, ...

is another possible

spread Spread may refer to: Places * Spread, West Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film. * ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers * "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...

History

Peanut_Butter_and_Strawberry_Jam_on_the_Half_Sand

Peanut butter was originally paired with a diverse set of savory foods, such as pimento, cheese, celery, Worcestershire sauce, watercress, saltines and toasted crackers. In a ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'' article published in May 1896, a recipe "urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread." The following month, the culinary magazine ''Table Talk'' published a "peanut butter sandwich" recipe. The first known reference for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich appeared in the ''Boston Cooking School Magazine'' in 1901; it called for "three very thin layers of bread and two of filling, one of peanut paste, whatever brand you prefer, and currant or crabapple jelly for the other", and called it as "so far as I know original". In the early 20th century, this sandwich was adopted down the

class structure A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inco ...

as the price of peanut butter dropped. It became popular with children with the advent of sliced bread in the 1920s, which allowed them to make their own sandwiches easily. Since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, both peanut butter and jelly have been found on US soldiers' military ration list. National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day occurs annually in the United States on April 2.

Nutrition

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich that is made with two slices of white bread, two tablespoons each of peanut butter and grape jelly provides 403 kcal, 18 g fat, 58 g carbohydrates (mostly sugar), and 12 g protein, which is 27% of the Recommended Daily Intake of

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

and 22% of calories.Jegtvig, about.com, undated,
How Nutritious is a PB&J?
, archived fro

January 13, 2006. Accessed December 20, 2017. While roughly 50% of the calories are from fat, most of them come from

monounsaturated fat Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Molecular description Fatty acid ...

and

polyunsaturated fats In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

, which the American Heart Association considers beneficial to heart health. File:Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (11120683916).jpg, Sandwich preparation, where each slice of bread is protected by a layer of peanut butter File:Oozing 3 365 (2752498522).jpg, Close-up view of a cut peanut butter and jelly sandwich showing soggy whole wheat bread

References

External links