# The Perfect PBJ **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393 "2019-01-25T14:30:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/21 "2019-01-25T17:47:16Z")
Toasted sourdough Crunchy PB Grape jelly Swiss Cheese (yes, I said it. I put cheese on it) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/22 "2019-01-25T17:52:14Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Toasted sourdough > Crunchy PB > Grape jelly > Swiss Cheese (yes, I said it. I put cheese on it) That actually does sound good to me. I might even go farther and try some blue cheese on it. But that ain’t PB&J! That’s PB&J&C! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/23 "2019-01-25T18:29:42Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The perfect PB&J can only be made by a mom. Preferably my mom, but I suspect other moms are pretty great at it too. Probably some dads as well. > > But whatever method I try, it’s never as good as when someone else makes it, preferably my mom. How could I forget this important factor. Yes, it must be made by a **mom** too. Moms know, for instance, the _correct way_ to cut the sandwich. With dads it can be hit or miss. Heck, you never know with a dad… they might slice the bread horizontally, so you end up with a ‘round top’ half and a ‘rectangular’ half - which needless to say can completely destroy the experience. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/24 "2019-01-25T18:48:49Z")
I vastly prefer my pbj grilled. Chunky pb and strawberry preserves. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/25 "2019-01-25T19:32:59Z")
Man, no fans of blackberry jam in here? That’s my favorite to go with Sunbeam Giant white bread and creamy Jif PB. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/26 "2019-01-25T20:27:49Z")
PB & Apple Jelly on whatever bread we happen to have. Currently we buy Oroweat Oatnut bread. I rarely have grape jelly in the fridge. It’s ok but I prefer Apple or Strawberry. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/27 "2019-01-25T20:30:38Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > A perfect PB&J (it’s NOT PBJ!) … You’ll be hearing from the ASPS - the Ampersand and Syllable Preservation Society! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/28 "2019-01-25T20:42:03Z")
I agree Wonder or Sunbeam bread makes the best PBJ. That’s my childhood. We just rarely have it on hand to use. I brought PB & mashed banana sandwiches to school for a lunch in grade school. Once in awhile I had PBJ. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/29 "2019-01-25T21:02:46Z")
Nutty, crunchy wheat bread Crunchy Jif Smuckers raspberry preserves (If you don’t have to floss after a PBJ, it was a failed sandwich) ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/30 "2019-01-25T21:03:14Z")
I would agree with the OP except the bread has to be better. I bake sourdough at home and it makes for killer PB&Js. Also, I was always a concord grape jelly fan, but I tried this stuff called [damson preserves](https://www.amazon.com/Tiptree-Damson-Preserve-Ounce-Jars/dp/B01LRWTHJ4/ref=sr_1_16_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1548449994&sr=8-16&keywords=damson%2Bjelly&th=1) recently and it was _amazing_. I didn’t think jelly could be so good. So, crunchy Jif and damson on sourdough would be my perfect PB&J. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/31 "2019-01-25T21:26:44Z")
Before getting into more nitty-gritty stuff, let me just ridicule the notion that the perfect PB&J involves store-bought preserves. Yeah, I realize it’s the best option available to most of you, but life is tough. This winter, alas, my family and I are having to settle for my wife’s aunt’s homemade strawberry preserves, which kick the butt of anything available at the grocery. I say “settle” because her strawberry-guava preserves **really** knock it out of the park, but there must’ve been a terrible guava crop this past year, because guavas just aren’t to be found down her way. (Central Florida.) Since we’re talking about the _ideal_ PB&J, I’d personally choose that strawberry-guava jam as the J, even if we currently don’t have any. It won’t be gone forever. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/32 "2019-01-25T21:41:14Z")
Next up: the peanut butter. All-natural, salted. I’m an agnostic with respect to smooth v. crunchy; it’s good either way. However, the texture is important. During the years I was using TJ’s all-natural PB, the one thing I missed was the texture of the freshly-ground PB I used to get at health-food stores a few decades back, where the PB still has that fine granular texture, rather than having been pulverized to a paste. Smucker’s all-natural has that texture. So does the Weis store brand of all-natural. In Florida, so does the Publix all-natural store brand, IIRC. (I think the last two may be the same stuff, just with different labels.) Anyhow, let’s go with Smucker’s, since that’s a national brand, while Publix and Weis are regional chains. When opening the jar, I recommend pouring off some of the peanut oil that’s separated out before stirring it in. Makes for a thicker, drier PB that enables you to make a really **thick** PB&J sandwich, without all the PB trying to squeeze out the sides. So: the PB for the ideal PB&J is Smucker’s all-natural, with a middlin’ amount of the separated-out peanut oil poured off before mixing what’s left. [I usually have one jar that I use for making sandwiches, and another for eating the PB straight from the jar. In the latter case, I pour off \*\*all\*\* the peanut oil that’s separated out. But that’s getting off topic.] ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/33 "2019-01-25T21:45:12Z")
I’m less particular about the bread. My personal preference is Arnold Oat-Nut Bread, toasted, but to each his/her own. Putting it all together, **my** perfect PB&J is: PB: Smucker’s all-natural, with a middlin’ amount of the separated-out peanut oil poured off before mixing what’s left. J: my wife’s aunt’s homemade strawberry-guava jam. Bread: Arnold Oat-Nut, toasted. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/34 "2019-01-25T21:48:20Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > … > > And please NO BUTTER. My mom would put butter then the peanut butter. I shudder when I think of it. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for the sweetness of jelly or jam and I’ll have just a butter and peanut butter sandwich. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/35 "2019-01-25T22:19:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > PB should be Suckers natural crunchy - no ingredients other than peanuts. I think you mean S **m** ucker’s. 🙂 And assuming you do, it’s also got salt. At least, I haven’t seen a salt-free version of Smucker’s natural PB. (Nothing wrong with a little salt - it brings out the natural sweetness of the PB. :)) > [@](#): > > To establish my bona fides, I’ve been eating a PBJ probably 99.5% of my days at work for the past 35 years. > By conservative estimate, that is at least 7000 PBJs. > Anyone got more? 😉 You’re way ahead of me. I’d say an average of 4 PB&Js a week over the past 15-16 years since I discovered I could buy natural PB at TJ’s. So that’s more on the order of 3000 sandwiches or so. Plus a 16 ounce jar about every 4 days of PB that I’m eating straight from the jar. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/36 "2019-01-25T22:32:59Z")
I demanded PBJ with creamy PB and Welch’s grape jelly on local white bread in my school lunch every day for years. My mother got to the point where it would make her gag just to look at them. I still like a good PBJ, but usually use homemade jams. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/37 "2019-01-25T22:59:03Z")
Martin’s potato bread Skippy Super Chunk Smucker’s Strawberry Perserves ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/38 "2019-01-25T23:39:22Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Man, no fans of blackberry jam in here? That’s my favorite to go with Sunbeam Giant white bread and creamy Jif PB. I’m with you on the PB and blackberry jam. I go with a grainy bread instead of white, tho. And Jif is best used for PB cookies, not for regular eating. Another good combo is PB and sliced banana, with a little honey drizzled over it all. If there is one food I could eat every day and never get tired of it, it’s peanut butter! ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/39 "2019-01-26T00:49:18Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > And please NO BUTTER. My mom would put butter then the peanut butter. I shudder when I think of it. We are in disagreement. Ample butter on both pieces of bread. Be careful, it makes the jelly try to slide out! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393/40 "2019-01-26T01:22:06Z")
Damn, you people are now making me want PB&J for dinner! Whole wheat or multigrain bread, toasted. All-natural 100% peanut butter, chunky. Fruit preserves, type negotiable, probably raspberry, sour cherry, or blueberry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-pbj/828393.md?page=3)