Peanut butter and Jam?

[One_And_Only_Wanderers]

@Alma

Thanks for clarifying, I sort of had that impression but I wasn’t sure what beggars had to do with it. But I guess it’s akin to beggars can’t be choosers?

nope there is a second meaning to beggar, which doesn’t equate to bum/hobo. From dictionary.com

2. To exceed the limits, resources, or capabilities of: beauty that beggars description.

[One_And_Only_Wanderers]

@jjimm

Well, there’s a lot more sweet/savoury than the mere korma: your pasanders, your kashmiris, anything with black bean/oyster/plum sauce, then there’s your panang curry, massaman, red curry, satay, and of course all the Malaysian and Indonesian delights too. Plus mint jelly on lamb, branston pickle and cheese, redcurrant jelly on poultry, caramelised onions with anything, balsamic vinegar, ketchup on anything, Worcestershire sauce, HP, etc. etc.

I think it’s a false distinction you’re making.

perhaps. If a curry etc has savoury and sweet things in the recipe, but they are blended together I may eat it. On the other hand, if you take a rasher of bacon, and dip it in maple syrup, then that is not OK (for me).

[Alma]

@One And Only Wanderers

nope there is a second meaning to beggar, which doesn’t equate to bum/hobo. From dictionary.com

So much for my grasping the English language. Thanks.

[slortar]

@jjimm

As a proud Englishman who is partial to a nice PB&J, let me tell you that the way we Brits attempt to make the aforementioned sandwich can lead to bitter disappointment in the manner of the OP. I’ve had crappy British peanut butter spread on stale buttered bread, with a tiny thin layer of the Wrong Sort of Jam scraped on the top. Wrong. Here’s how to “get” it:

The bread must be thick, soft and white.
The peanut butter must be sweet and creamy American style (pref. Jif, Peter Pan or Skippy), spread really thick - half-a-centimetre deep. I prefer super-crunchy
The “jam” should be grape jelly (pref. Smuckers), spread to the same depth.
NO BUTTER OR MARGARINE.
Slap another piece of soft white bread on top, bite down, and enter pure bliss.

Listen to the man from Oxford. He speaks wisdom.

[Mangetout]

@jjimm

The “jam” should be grape jelly (pref. Smuckers)

I’ve never seen this for sale in the UK; where do you get it?

[Mangetout]

@One And Only Wanderers

Savoury and sweet should not be mixed!

That’s a completely absurd statement; you’ll find salt included amongst the ingredients of even the sweetest cakes; what about cranberry/cumberland sauce/redcurrant jelly with turkey? Roast pork with apples? Duck with orange? Sweet and sour chicken? Barbecue ribs. Heck, even tomato ketchup and Branston pickle have sweet components to them.

[Inigo_Montoya]

@jjimm

The bread must be thick, soft and white.
The peanut butter must be sweet and creamy American style (pref. Jif, Peter Pan or Skippy), spread really thick - half-a-centimetre deep. I prefer super-crunchy
The “jam” should be grape jelly (pref. Smuckers), spread to the same depth.
NO BUTTER OR MARGARINE.
Slap another piece of soft white bread on top, bite down, and enter pure bliss.

**“spread really thick - half-a-centimetre deep” **
C’mon, I thought you said thick! It’s not vegemite, get some freaking PB on there! It is a well-known fact that fully one third of the thickness of a PB&J sammich is to be the PB & J. This means you’re looking at more like 1 to 2 cm of a PB & J mixture (preferably swirrelled together in a bowl before application to the bread). If you don’t have messy paws when you’ve finished dining, then you’ve just been eating flavo(u)red bread.

When using honey it is absolutely essential that you get a good thick layer and then smash the bread into the honey after you’ve put the slabs together. This gives the honey’d bread a translucent appearance and a nice crunchy texture.

: drool :

[jjimm]

@Mangetout

That’s a completely absurd statement; you’ll find salt included amongst the ingredients of even the sweetest cakes; what about cranberry/cumberland sauce/redcurrant jelly with turkey? Roast pork with apples? Duck with orange? Sweet and sour chicken? Barbecue ribs. Heck, even tomato ketchup and Branston pickle have sweet components to them.

cough Read my earlier post. cough

As for proper US-style grape jelly, there are a few specialist shops in the UK - there’s a deli in Oxford covered market that does it, and I’ve seen it at Selfridge’s food hall. Not cheap here, so I usually get people going stateside to bring me back a tub.

[Inigo_Montoya]

Oh yeah…if you don’t get hiccups halfway through this confection, you’ve done something wrong.

[ZipperJJ]

@jjimm

The bread must be thick, soft and white.
The peanut butter must be sweet and creamy American style (pref. Jif, Peter Pan or Skippy), spread really thick - half-a-centimetre deep. I prefer super-crunchy
The “jam” should be grape jelly (pref. Smuckers), spread to the same depth.
NO BUTTER OR MARGARINE.
Slap another piece of soft white bread on top, bite down, and enter pure bliss.

Thanks for schooling the OP, jimm. I had a feeling there might have been some cultural differences that lead to the OP’s confusion as to what PBJ was. Heck, we should have known from the way he misspelled “jelly” as “jam.”

We can’t even be sure that what he used in his recipe was actually “peanut butter” and “jelly” as we know it. Remember, in England they put meat in their pies and “pudding” isn’t what we think it is

To make a proper American PBJ sandwich your bread must be more bleach than wheat, your PB must be more trans fats than peanuts, and your jelly must be more sugar than fruit. duh.

[friedo]

I object.

PB&J on whole weat is also excellent.

[Hal_Briston]

Hey, thanks everyone! I was just trying to figure out what to have for lunch.

[Clockwork_And_Candy]

@Hal Briston

Hey, thanks everyone! I was just trying to figure out what to have for lunch.

Dude, does that PB&J have three layers? WTF.

That’s a pretty badass sandwich. I approve.

[chowder]

Look I was stating that I find the combo. quite gross.

I mean if Joe Black can eat peanut butter by the spoonfull straight from the jar then it’s gotta be ok, he never asked for any jam.

*he never asked for salt either but never mind

[chowder]

@One And Only Wanderers

perhaps. If a curry etc has savoury and sweet things in the recipe, but they are blended together I may eat it. On the other hand, if you take a rasher of bacon, and dip it in maple syrup, then that is not OK (for me).

I’m with you here Allardyce man. I had the same dished up to me in the USA, on 2 occasions.

[ZipperJJ]

@friedo

I object.

PB&J on whole weat is also excellent.

(I do agree. There are lots of different combos of PBJ that are excellent. However, if the OP wants the “full effect” of the Great American PB&J…there should be as little nutrition as possible for the first go-round)

[teela_brown]

@ZipperJJ

To make a proper American PBJ sandwich your bread must be more bleach than wheat, your PB must be more trans fats than peanuts, and your jelly must be more sugar than fruit. duh.

I respectfully disagree on the peanut butter part. I’ve been buying the organic, no preservative, no added fats or sugars type from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, and the difference is unbelievable. It tastes like PEANUTS, just like that, all in capital letters, and it makes a helluva PBJ.

Another observation: on international flights, we have been given little snack packages of peanuts produced by some European company or other, and they tasted like ass. I thought all peanuts tasted the same, but apparently our Georgia peanut growers really know their stuff. Maybe some of the peanut butters bought in England are made from these lesser-quality European peanuts I tasted?

[Mindfield]

I still likes me some PB&J on occasion. Kraft peanut butter though. And strawberry jam. Jam, mind, not jelly. Preferably the real strawberry jam, not the cheap store-brand. Smuckers or ED Smith are good, but real preserves are best. Butter is not required, but I wouldn’t complain to the waiter if it’s there. In fact, peanut butter goes well with a number of sweet things:

• Bananas. Not fried, ala Elvis, just toasted bread, thick-smeared peanut butter and thick-sliced banana slices. That’s some awesome stuff. Bonus points if you slather the peanut butter on while the toast is still hot, allowing it to melt a bit.
• Honey. Although the liquid kind makes for a messy sammich, it is nevertheless better than the creamed variety and tastes much better.
• Marshmallow Fluff. Although this is too sickly-sweet for me these days.

[chowder]

@Inigo Montoya

**“spread really thick - half-a-centimetre deep” **
C’mon, I thought you said thick! It’s not vegemite, get some freaking PB on there! It is a well-known fact that fully one third of the thickness of a PB&J sammich is to be the PB & J. This means you’re looking at more like 1 to 2 cm of a PB & J mixture (preferably swirrelled together in a bowl before application to the bread). If you don’t have messy paws when you’ve finished dining, then you’ve just been eating flavo(u)red bread.

When using honey it is absolutely essential that you get a good thick layer and then smash the bread into the honey after you’ve put the slabs together. This gives the honey’d bread a translucent appearance and a nice crunchy texture.

: drool :

Good God :eek: , I cannot believe anyone would eat what you describe. It sounds positively awful

[gigi]

@Clockwork And Candy

Dude, does that PB&J have three layers? WTF.

I’ve done that when I had three pieces of bread left, or if I was making one sandwich but wanted to be fuller.