I know, but, no, in this case the meaning of jelly was understood. And jelly or jam the idea seemed to be equally horrifying. (Eventually I got my SO to eat a PB&J. But then, he made me eat haggis.)
I would say the difference is just that…not much of the Jiff and Peter Pan and mostly the latter. So, no, not really different from what Americans mean by peanut butter. And it seemed to me most of them got the jelly idea…much as they know to ask for cookies when they’re over here.
Hmm…speaking of Jiff, does anyone know if they still make that peanut butter and jelly together in the same jar? My SO has a birthday coming up evil grin.
I’m British, living in America, and do not think there is an obvious difference in the two countries. Maybe there is if you are an afficionado of PB, which I am not - I don’t much like it, but I don’t find it “disgusting”, to answer the OP.
I find the idea of PBJ bizarre and yes, I do know what the “jelly” is.
PB was readily available in my youth, so presumably some British people eat it, but it certainly had nowhere near the iconic stature it has in the US.
For those who think peanut butter is disgusting, are peanuts themselves equally disgusting? I can’t stand the overly sweetened and syrupy processed brands, so I get the kind made with just peanuts and salt.
Can I speak for my cousins? (In India). They simply can’t understand why I would eat this vile stuff. I’ve brought them a jar, they tried it and then looked at me like I had three heads.
Although I merely dislike peanut butter, I will answer anyway: I like peanuts. I like salted peanuts, I like peanuts in shells (especially at baseball games), and I like dry roasted peanuts.
I’m from Spain, have lived in the US for 5 years (now back home).
I like my peanuts as, well, peanuts. Not mashed peanuts. I like peanuts with chocolate around, but then, if it had chocolate I might consider eating hemlock.
Don’t recall his name now, but I recall reading an article in Chemical and Engineering News about the gent who created peanut butter. He was black and from the South, which doesn’t mean squat re his mental ability but it does mean he had to work extra for the same results. He had training as a Chemist and applied it to agriculture, realizing that the reason cotton fields lost yield with time was loss of N-based nutrients. He saw that the best way to get nitrogen back into the ground was growing beans and the best one was peanuts (which are more closely related to green beans than to chestnuts or almonds).
Problem was, this led to a huge excess of peanuts, so he came up with new uses for peanuts - among them, peanut butter.
I go through phases where I alternately love and despise peanut butter.
I ate way too much as a kid, so now it’s an occassional thing for me. I spread some on my toast with honey, or make PB and banana sandwiches. No jelly for me, unless it’s my Grandma’s homemade chokecherry jelly.
It took a while for me to even try it (These crazy Amrikis, I would say). Just the tought of putting the sticky, gooey stuff in my mouth seemed nauseating. But I quite enjoyed a PBJ sandwich the first time I tried it and I eat it as a snack often now. Yes, yes, me likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The crunchy kind.
I still say ‘These crazy Amrikis’ of course, but only when I’m watching reality TV. :smack:
I’m an American and lived in the UK for a bit. I’ll agree that there is a difference between UK and American peanut butter, it’s not a very big difference. The UK is just a bit less sweet.
To all the non-Americans who don’t like peanut butter – what’s the reason? I used to only eat brands such as Jif, store brands, etc. Now, I grind my own peanut butter in my food processor and the difference is like night and day. The peanut butter is fresh and fluffy, and I can use any nut I like. I must confess, my favorite peanut for grinding is honey roasted peanuts to add sweetness. You could try grinding your own.
Irishfella has 2 slices of toast with peanut butter every morning- he likes “Panda smooth style”, which is (oddly) made in Argentina.
Personally I prefer Marmite, jam or marmelade (“Bonne Maman” raspberry and my mother’s homemade Seville orange marmelade respectively) but I’ll eat PB occasionally.
I’ve tried PB&J, made by an American, with ingredients sent from home in a care package. It was sickeningly sweet, horribly sticky and not my cup of tea at all.
Peanut butter fell out of favour in our house when Mum decided it was bad to eat it (you never know when you may become allergic to it) and I never really bothered again when I left home.
I do like peanut butter cookies and its nice from time to time on toast but honey and marmalade are much more preferable. Probably because I find peanut butter sticks to the top of my mouth too much
I like all natural PB and sometimes use it as a snack straight from the spoon. It provides a very satisfying mix of sweet-ish, protein-y and gooey. My favorite is Maple Grove smooth style, because you can emulsify it pretty well by just shaking the jar rapidly in your hand for a minute or so.
I have never tried Marmite or Vegemite, but imagine I’d find either about as appetising as Samsonite. Something about the suffix -ite just doesn’t make me think of food-y goodness.
I have never tried it and doubt I ever will, the whole idea seems odd to me, mushed up peanuts in bread? I don’t think so, not this soldier, no sir.
Maybe I should give it a go, that many Americans can’t be wrong can they? Wait a minute, how many voted for Bush? (joke by the way before you all pounce on me!! ).
Canadian here, and a big fan of peanut butter.
On celery, in cookies, with chocolate, on crackers, but mostly in sandwiches. Sandwiches with bananas, with honey, with salt & vinegar potato chips (preferably ruffled), with jam, with apples, yes, these are all good sandwiches. Also good on a hamburger.
Well…it’s not like there’s a rule keeping you from using good jam. That’s what I do–I grew out of being able to stand Wonder Bread and jelly long ago, but whole grain bread and a nice apricot preserve make the perfect accompaniments to extra crunchy Jif.
But they aren’t boiled, just ground up :o . In fact at the Whole Foods store they have peanuts in a hopper and you can grind your own peanut butter (cashew or almond butter in another machine) to order.
I’d always thought that George Washington Carver invented peanut butter. He certainly did more than anyone else I can think of to promote the use of peanuts. But I saw a documentary on Carver about a week ago, and it said that although many people believe that Carver invented peanut butter, he actually didn’t. Great man, though. What a mind!
There’s a place in Bellingham that makes burgers with peanut butter. A friend of mine said they’re fantastic. I’ve not tried one yet, though.
Re: Marmite and Vegemite. The difference is that Vegemite tastes good, and Marmite doesn’t.
I think it’s important for non-USers to realize that most American peanut butter, and especially the PB&J sandwich, isn’t meant to appeal to adult tastes. It’s kids’ food. Kids like sweet, gooey foods. The adults who eat PB&J sandwiches (myself included) mostly do so partly out of nostalgia or because we like having a kid-style treat now and then. We’re also likely to buy super-sweet chocolate-flavored cereal with a cartoon mascot on the box to have for breakfast. But I wouldn’t expect any adult who didn’t develop a taste for it as a kid to appreciate that, either.
BTW, I don’t usually point out other people’s typos, but yours was pretty serious, Johnny L.A.. Remember, “Marmite” starts with an M-A-R, and “Vegemite” starts with a V-E-G-E, not the other way around like you had! :smack:
