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We don't think of good ol' PB&J as such an odd combination -- it's the classic salty-meets-sweet pairing that's found in many cuisines. Think of Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork or American snacks like Cracker Jack. To uncover the sandwich's origins, we said those magic words "A la, peanut butter sandwiches!" and searched on "peanut butter jelly sandwich history." According to Smuckers, no one really knows when or where this sandwich was first created. Bread and jelly have been around for millennia,
but peanut butter wasn't invented until 1890. This spreadable creation was a hit at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, and during the 1920s and 1930s, commercial brands of peanut butter such as Peter Pan and Skippy were introduced. Around the same time, pre-sliced bread became common in the U.S. But there's no mention of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before the 1940s. Food historians know that both peanut butter and jelly were part of the U.S. military's rations during World War II. This lead to the speculation that American GIs may have added jelly to the peanut butter to make it easier to eat. A few sources claim that the peanut butter and jelly sandwich itself was on military ration lists. Food rationing on the homefront may have contributed to the combination's popularity. Meat and butter were scarce and expensive in the U.S. during WWII. Peanut butter was a cheap, readily available source of protein. No matter how it started, the PB&J was a big hit in postwar America and has been ever since. We suspect that the sandwich is popular with children because of that salty-sweet flavor, and early on, parents may have appreciated how fast, simple, and inexpensive it was to make. The National Peanut Board reports that the average kid eats 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before she or he graduates high school. Then there was Elvis
Presley, who may have eaten that many fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. We'll stick with jelly, thanks.
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