I'm about to eat a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for the first time at 24. AMA
Here goes nothing
Edit: I didn't like it :(
I don't know if I ate wrong or what but this just tastes super weird. No idea why it's so popular
Edit 2: I just remembered I loved peanuts dipped in honey as a kid. That's kinda similar. I wonder why I didn't like this then.
What was your ratio roughly? I’ve found you need less peanut butter than you think and more jelly than you think. When it’s right it’s usually a nice mix of sweet and salty. However it’s of course not for everyone!
Oh maybe you're right. I used roughly equal amounts of both
Yea, bad ratio for sure, need way less jam. I find apple butter a better complement to peanut butter, and you want a thin layer.
Plus most peanut butters today are sweetened, making this sandwich problematic.
The idea behind jelly (or other sweeteners) was peanut butter lacks sweetness, it just has salt.
Get some organic/natural peanut butter, it'll have a different taste than the sweetened crap.
Honestly, peanut butter and honey is where it's at.
And don't just spread each one on your bread - mix them together on a plate and then spread the mixture on buttered bread.
Its better if you use fresh, coarse ground (not chunky) peanut butter with a little salt and honey in it. Our local grocery store had a grinder in the store where you can make your own. I also prefer to use preserves or jam, not jelly.
For bread, if you can get good fresh bread, its amazing, if not, lightly toasted (but not buttered) honey-wheat is my go to.
You can also make a fluffernutter by substituting the jelly/jam/preserves with marshmallow fluff. Use the good fluff stuff with the red lid though, not the generic stuff. It really does make a difference.
Another good one is peanut butter and banana slices with honey, or peanut butter and apple slices.
Crunchy or smooth?
There's crunchy??
What exactly is crunching?
Small pieces of peanuts.
With peanut chunks maybe?
Rodent bones.
Smooth
I always go with the crunch, I need some texture to contrast a little with the otherwise softness of the bite and I’m too lazy to wait three minutes for bread to toast
As a non American who has tried this and enjoyed it as a kid, I have to say the jam has to be grape to hit the spot. Where I live that's an unusual one, I don't usually see grape marmalade when grocery shopping, and the few times I tried to make a PB&J using other jam/marmalade I was very disappointed. Blackberry jam is probably the most passable one though, out of the easy to find flavors.
In Taiwan, we put peanut butter + honey on our burgers.
peanut butter and slices of banana. 👍
smooth peanut butter.
crunchy peanut butter is just a half job.
Those guys on city road crews leaning on shovels for three months? they like crunchy.
Nope. I probably should have researched yeah
PB&J is about the nostalgia too. You have to have started eating it as a kid. 😉
You know I actually really loved peanuts dipped in honey. Maybe I'll eat that again.
Deffo need a glass of milk with it
Interesting. Will try
Medium layer of peanut butter on one half of one side of bread. Very thin layer on the other half of that side. Jelly/jam on top of the very thin layer- medium thick but not so much that it will ooze everywhere. Foldover and eat. Ratios are tricky and specific to the individual. Nothing else that's peanut butter and jelly flavored fully matches the real deal, but I occasionally do a mixed shot of peanut butter and blackberry liqueurs for dessert.
Did you toast it
Nope. I've never used a toaster before. I guess I could have pan toasted it.
Are you supposed to toast it?
Op I agree with you and I grew up eating them. The sweet and salty is ok, but the texture is just off to me. It's two different "slimy" textures combining in soft bread without a supporting texture element, and it tends to make the bread soggy.
Did you get special bread for it?
Is there a special bread I'm supposed to get?
I just got store brand whole wheat toast bread
I second the "ew" on whole wheat, it will be better on white bread.
Oh man, i dont know if i could eat a pb&j on whole wheat. My go to is usually the classic white bread or toasted sour dough if im feeling fancy.
Good question.
I am also a peanut-jelly-noob and just curious myself if there is a special type of bread you are supposed to go with...
My go-to stoned college PB&J used 3 Eggo waffles instead of bread. Double decker.
You gotta try peanut butter and cheddar cheese. It’s amazing
Tbh I hated them as a kid. Still prefer just peanut butter but now have issues with that being a trigger scent. Husband says pbj is better when the jelly is actually strawberry honey butter I've made. I'm sure it is, that stuff is tasty.
Are you American? If there's one thing the US does leagues better than the rest of the world it's peanut butter.
I still like our local peanut butter. But American is soooo much better.
No I am not American. This peanut butter was bought in Germany where I currently reside although I'm not German either.
That might be the problem. My understanding is that European peanut butter is more like peanut paste and PB&Js don't work as well with it.