This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine. #PBLove
Are You Making a Peanut Butter & Jelly the Right Way? Do you know that 1900 people search google a month, asking:
How do you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
I kid you not. But you know what? More and more of the people I tell this little trick to are so excited to give it a try with their next pb&j.
However, if you’re wanting the best way to make a peanut butter and jelly, you’ll love this fried pb&j and may never go back.
Do you put peanut butter on both sides? One side? Stop the madness!
My mind was blown the other day when I stumbled upon a post on Facebook of someone arguing with another person when asked,
“What is the correct way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
…and I promise you, there were hundreds… HUNDREDS of comments on this thread of people backing one another up, arguing with who was right, wrong and why.
But I’ll tell you… I DID learn something from that thread and even though there’s a part of me that wishes I had that 15 minutes of my life back, I kind of feel like I owe it to those who taught me something that day.
So here are TWO of the most popular ways to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:
- Apply peanut butter to both sides first and then jelly on top of both peanut buttered sides – Why? Because that way it keeps the jelly from soaking through the bread, especially if you’re making a pb&j for someone to take with them for the day, and they can’t eat it until later. (School, work, field trip, etc.) Ok ok… so that’s something I didn’t know until I spent 15 minutes of my one life here on Earth, reading these Facebook comments.
- Apply peanut butter to one side and jelly to the other – Why? Because the jelly sticks MUCH better to the sandwich creation, whereas when you put peanut butter on both sides, sometimes it’s hard to get the jelly to stick inside of the sandwich and it can seep out.
Moral of How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly?
There is no wrong or right way… unless you discuss it in a Facebook group and then someone will surely tell you you’re wrong.
Spoon or Knife?
“Huh?”
I know, I know… I can hear some of you saying that right now… but hear me out.
Picture it: Public speaking class, my freshman year in college. (Yes, I’m hooked on watching Golden Girls at the moment, and I find myself quoting Sofia with “Picture it…” before I tell any story these days.)
Our assignment was to prepare a speech on giving a tutorial for the class. I remember one speech — and one speech only — from that day, and it wasn’t mine. A fellow classmate stood up and said,
“Today I’m going to teach you how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
We all chuckled and I even said under my breath “Who doesn’t know how to make a peanut butter and jelly? For real.”
Well to my surprise, my classmate taught me something that day. I was making a peanut butter and jelly ALL wrong.
How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly
I’ll show you below what I learned that day, and how it changed my peanut butter and jelly sandwich making life.
If only I would have known back then that in 15 years I’d have little boys at home who want a pb&j every single day for lunch, I’d probably give that guy a big hug.
Use a Spoon:
Use a spoon.
He said.
So many people that I know use a butter knife to spread their peanut butter and jelly, and it rips their bread and gets so messy.
- A spoon scoops the peanut butter and jelly out easier than a knife.
- Using the back of the spoon, spread the peanut butter and jelly onto each piece of bread.
I promise, if you’re still using a butter knife to make your pb&j’s, use a spoon next time to see if it works better for you. It’s just one of those little life hacks that is so simple, but incredibly helpful!
Criss-Cross Cuts:
With a house full of little boys, I’ve learned that cutting their sandwiches diagonal both ways helps keep the mess down. Their little hands hold on to the small triangles MUCH easier than a whole sandwich, or even half of a sandwich.
What is Your Favorite Way to Make a PB&J?
When we had a big family gathering a few weeks ago, and I was thinking about this blog post… I asked everyone in the room how they make and prefer their pb&j. It was hilarious how different everyone prefers a simple pb&j.
• The crust cut off
• Mix together peanut butter & jelly and then apply to the bread
• Eat whole, cut diagonally or cut down the middle
• Fried (That’s my husband’s favorite way, and I’ve shared that recipe here!)
Traci P says
My kids are teenagers and I still struggle with this!! Just last night in fact—the bread was extra soft which made it extra hard to spread without tearing. But, what I heard a while back is that you should spread the jelly on TOP of the peanut butter—not on the other piece of bread. It will spread easier and not tear the bread. Now, I don’t really do this, because I think “what if I have to go back into the jelly jar? Then there’s peanut butter on my knife (now it will be a spoon) already and it will contaminate my jelly jar 🙂 Of course, this is easily solved by grabbing another knife/spoon, but why make things easy? 🙂
Jessica says
Haha!!!! I love that you shared this Traci! I always freak out about using the same spoon for both too, but never want to use an additional spoon. LOL!! Why do we do this to ourselves!? 🙂
Traci P. says
I used a spoon last night! Heck, I went for it and used TWO spoons…I will never go back to a knife. And I will teach my kids to do the same. At 14 and 18 they really should be making their own lunches anyway 🙂 Thank you!
Jessica says
Ah!!!! Yay Traci!!!! Haha, how fun! So happy that you like doing it that way. 🙂 You’re so welcome!
Nickster says
No no no, all wrong! You’re supposed to spread PB on *both* slices of bread, put a dollop of jelly in the middle, then seal up the edges!
Jessica says
Haha! That’s interesting! I’ll have to see if my kiddos want to try it that way next time! 🙂
Pete B. says
If you’re worried about accidentally tearing the bread, maybe you should rethink your choice of bread. Cheap breads do tear easily. Either that or don’t put so much peanut butter on the bread. I’ve used knives before and haven’t had any problems with tearing the bread. I imagine that a spoon might hold the ingredients in place better, but a knife is more ideal for spreading the peanut butter and the jelly on the bread.
I also put the jelly on top of the peanut butter when making a sandwich and wipe any excess peanut butter and jelly on the blank slice of bread if it’s just peanut butter and jelly on my sandwich. If I add other ingredients, then the jelly goes on the other slice of bread, with excess peanut butter also getting wiped onto it.
Within the past two years, I’ve taken a liking to adding banana slices and honey on my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and mmm mmm, they are delicious! I’m even eating one right now! *takes a bite* Mmm, so good.
Jessica says
Haha! Thanks for letting us know how you make yours! It’s always interesting to hear how everyone is different!
Pete B. says
You’re welcome. Brownberry Whole Grains 100% Whole Whea is my go-to bread, and while soft, it’s also sturdy. I have never had a slice of this bread tear while spreading anything on it.
Jif is also my go-to peanut butter, although I prefer their Natural Creamy variety. I also use Smucker’s jams and jellies, with four of their Simply Fruit flavors – Seedless Black Raspberry, Seedless Blackberry, Concord Grape and Seedless Red Raspberry Spreadable Fruit – and their Natural line’s Concord Grape Fruit Spread being my favorite jelly flavors to pair with peanut butter. Stick a layer of Aunt Sue’s Raw and Unfiltered Wildflower Honey between two layers of Jif Natural Creamy peanut butter, place a sliced banana on top of the second layer of peanut butter all on one slice of bread, spread jelly on the other slice of bread, place the jelly-covered bread on top of the peanut butter, honey and banana-covered bread, gently press the two slices together, serve the remainder of the banana as a side item, pour a glass of milk, and you have a meal that is certainly delicious, undoubtedly nutritious, and definitely filling. You won’t be hungry again for hours after eating one.
I’m even eating one right now. Jif Natural Creamy peanut butter, Aunt Sue’s Raw and Unfiltered Wildflower Honey, a sliced Chiquita banana and Smucker’s Simply Fruit Seedless Blackberry Spreadable Fruit, all brought together between two slices of Brownberry Whole Grains 100% Whole Wheat Bread. *takes a bite* Mmm, great sandwich!
Feel free to try it yourself.
Pete B says
I have actually started using a larger spoon for scooping out the peanut butter as the jar starts to run low. Which is something that I don’t think that I would have considered if I hadn’t happened upon this blog entry. I emptied one earlier while making the PBHBJ sandwich I am eating right now and I got the vast majority of what remained of the peanut butter out of the jar and onto the bread. I still use a knife for spreading, but when the jar runs empty, I will definitely reach for a spoon to get the good stuff out.
Thank you so much for suggesting this! *offers you a bite of my peanut butter, honey, banana and jelly sandwich*