Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Good Ol' Peanut Butter and Jelly


Last weekend as Doug was rushing around getting ready to leave for hunting/camping with his brother, I offered to slam a couple of PBJ's together for him to throw in his pack. He was in a hurry, and it probably wasn't the best time for me to decide to take food photos, but he's used to that.

Anyway, I was thinking about how some of my international friends have never tried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and how that is such a common food item for us in America. It's common for us like vegemite is for our Australian friends.

I remember the first time I ever heard of vegemite. It was in the Men at Work song Down Under - "She just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich..." That was back in the early 80's before one could just Google "What in the world is vegemite?" A few years later a friend of mine would host an exchange student from Australia, and the student had brought a jar of vegemite. Whoa! That is some very STRONG tasting stuff. I tried it, but I didn't like it. Maybe it's an acquired taste...

And about those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Somehow, they are always better when someone else makes them. And they're always better with a whole lot of peanut butter and jelly - don't scrimp and merely smear it on/wipe it off. You've got to lay it on thick.


Life with a blogger - you wait for your food until the photo session is over. {Thanks, Doug!}
So I'm curious - are you a fan of PBJ?
What's your favorite sandwich?

21 comments:

Susi said...

Love PB&J...especially grilled! My husband would not be so patient with the picture taking.

Deb@threeisacharm said...

Love it! Especially with a nice cold glass of milk!

Ruth said...

I don't dislike that combination, but it does need to be a light scraping of both! I have that exact brand of grape jelly in my kitchen cupboard - a gift before my American friend went home.

Jo said...

Although I don't often have it in a sandwich I do love to have PB&J on toast in the evening if I'm feeling peckish and want something naughty :)

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Oh yes, I love it! In fact I put PB&J sandwiches in my boy's lunch box today. I've never heard of having it grilled though!

Cheri said...

I was never a big fan of the peanut butter and jelly combo. But I used to eat peanut butter on toast. Of course, now that I'm not eating bread, peanut butter has been relegated to the status of a dip! Great for apples.

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

Not a fan, really. But you make it look good!

Maria Ontiveros said...

3I ate a few PB and grape jelly as a kid, but not that many because they were more "American" than what my mom had grown up with (and so she didn't make them for us until later in life, as she became more American-ized). Later on, she also made PB and strawberry jam (which was totally yummy). Today, I liked PB and banana.
Rinda

Becky said...

Can't stand peanut butter! The rest of the family love it though and like it with jam (jelly!) although the favourite here is pb with Marmite (UK version of Vegemite)!

Kirsti said...

Haven't tried PB&J. I love crunchy peanut butter and chocolate spread on hot whole meal toast!!! Yumm..xx

Lisa-Jane said...

I've never had a PBJ but I am intrigued! I love chicken and mayo with English mustard or a good old cheese and ham :-)

Cate Brickell said...

Vegemite is an acquired taste, one I never acquired! I was always intrigued by PB&J growing up, but I didn't get the whole jelly-as-jam-thing and couldn't figure out why you would spoil a perfectly good peanut butter sandwich with jello (did I get that right?)

traci said...

nothing like good old pb & j. now i want one.

Abi said...

I have never had a PB and J sandwich. I don't particularly like jam on bread so I am dubious about whether I would like it! We have marmite over here which is similar to vegimite and it is definitely a love hate thing!

Amy said...

Cate has made me laugh because I used to think the same thing about the jelly/jello confusion!

Vegemite is most certainly an acquired taste, I don't mind it, but spread very thinly on toast.

Anyway, this is such a fun post. Can I tell you .. a US expat friend returned to Australia after a summer visit home and she bought back a selection of chocolates - ones that we have an equivilent here - and I noticed that they were a lot sweeter. Might explain the PB&J thing too, it isn't big here and I think generally we have a more savoury palate down here. Family and friends who have travelled through the US have also commented that everything is sweet ... and that you have massive serving sizes.

One thing I don't get at all and I'm not sure if it comes from the US or Canada is the whole bacon and maple syrup situation ... I can't imagine it!

Karen said...

I haven't had a PB&J sandwich in years, though I do like them. PB on toast happens more frequently. Love that last photo!

Irene said...

Funny I had a taste for peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday. I like grape jelly on mine, please.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely love them especially when made with raspberry jam. I also love cheese and marmalade sandwiches!

helena said...

yes I love them - also love peanut butter and raisins. don't like vegemite even after 19 years in NZ

Audrey said...

Love, love, love PB&J's. Also love PB with honey or PB with bananas. My hubbie (a European) makes PB & Nutella from time to time....which the kids love. If you have World Market, you may want to try Biscoff spread. Try it and you can thank me later!!! (big smile)

Margaret said...

I'm liking almond butter these days. So good with a crisp apple.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...