How many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches do you think your kids have eaten since they were born, or just this school year?

In my family, this is a daily necessity for school lunches, but by summer they don’t want to see another one!

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day is celebrated annually on April 2nd. The average American will have eaten more than 2,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school!

According to the National Day Calendar website, this is how the peanut butter craze began; peanut butter was considered a delicacy in the early 1900′s and was only served in New York City’s finest tea rooms.

In a May 1896 article published in Good Housekeeping magazine, a recipe “urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread.” That same year, in June, the culinary magazine Table Talk, published a “peanut butter sandwich recipe.”

The first reference of peanut butter and jelly on bread was published in the United States, by Julia Davis Chandler in 1901. By the late 1920′s the price of peanut butter declined and the sandwich became very popular with children.

According to the Peanut Board, during World War II, both peanut butter and jelly were part of the United States soldiers' military ration list.

Want to do something a little different than simply slathering some peanut butter and jelly on bread? Here are some other ideas for ways to use them!

  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Donuts
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Fudge

Be sure to visit the National Day Calendar website for more info on Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, as well as the other unique days of the year listed there!

 

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