Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

These are a kid's favorite and pack well for school lunches.

Who invented this popular sandwich, why & when? The when is easy to document, the why is a relatively simple matter of technology, economics & commerce. The who? Is still a mystery. Let's start with a quick study of the ingredients. Food historians tell us that finely chopped nuts (especially almonds) were regularly used by ancient cooks in a variety of dishes. BUT! It wasn't until the late 19th century that peanut butter...as we know it...came on the market. Did you know that peanut butter was first marketed as a health food? Ancient cooks also knew how to preserve fruit. BUT! It wasn't until the 15th century that modern jellies/jams/preserves were made. Ancient cooks also made bread. BUT! Sliced pre-packaged bread...the stuff we Americans use today to make our peanut butter & jelly sandwiches...didn't happen until the late 1920s.

"The first located reference to the now immortal peanut butter and jelly sandwich was published by Julia Davis Chandler in 1901. This immediately became a hit with America's youth, who loved the double-sweet combination, and it has remained a favorite ever since...During the early 1900s peanut butter was considered a delicacy and as such it was served at upscale affairs and in New York's finest tearooms. Ye Olde English Coffee House made a "Peanut Butter and Pimento Sandwich." The Vanity Fair Tea-Room served its peanut butter with watercress...The Colonia Tea-Room served peanut butter on toast triangles and soda crackers.

Peanut butter sandwiches moved down the class structure as the price of peanut butter declined due to the commercialization of the industry. Peanut butter's use also moved down the age structure of the nation as manufacturers added sugar to the peanut butter, which appealed to children. The relationship between children and peanut butter was cemented in the late 1920s, when Gustav Papendick invented a process for slicing and wrapping bread. Sliced bread meant that children could make sandwiches themselves without slicing the bread with a potentially dangerous knife. As a consequence of low cost, high nutrition, and ease of assembling, peanut butter sandwiches became one of the top children's meals during the Depression. "

---Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Urbana] 2002 (p. 35)

Beginning in the 1920s, manufacturers lobbied school cafeterias to buy inexpensive peanut butter.

---"Peanut Butter," Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor in chief [Thomson Gale:Detroit] 2003, Volume 3 (p. 56) (p. 12)

For each sandwich:

2 slices of bread, white or wheat
Peanut Butter
Favorite jelly (raspberry, strawberry, and grape are good)

Spread one slice of bread with peanut butter, top with jelly and the other slice of bread. Cut in half diagonally. Serve with a glass of milk.