One of the most popular and common sandwiches in North America—particularly for children—is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s been estimated that children in the United States eat approximately 1,500 to 2,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school. That’s probably why someone finally decided to give this sandwich combination its own holiday—a holiday known as National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day, celebrated on April 2nd each year.

The History Of Peanut Butter & Jelly

Even though our extensive research failed to discover the individual or organization that created National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, we thought that we’d take a few moments and talk about the history of this great sandwich combination. After all, even though this combination is a well-known sandwich in the United States, not everyone knows why that’s the case.

Before the early 20th century, peanut butter was a food item that wasn’t widely available to the working classes. That’s because it was considered a delicacy, so if you wanted to enjoy it, you had to head to one of New York’s finest tea rooms to get a taste. Fortunately for all of us who love peanut butter and jelly, that didn’t last long, and people started making their own at home. This started after Good Housekeeping magazine urged all of its readers to use a meat grinder to make their own peanut butter. The article also urged housewives to spread the peanut butter on bread and make a sandwich out of it after they made it. This was the beginning of the peanut butter sandwich, but sadly, it would take jelly a little while to work its way into the conversation.

In June of 1896, a culinary magazine named Table Talk published a recipe for a peanut butter sandwich, and soon the floodgates were opened, with many different publications beginning to publish their own peanut butter sandwich recipes. Eventually, this led to the first recipe for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in 1901. This is when Julia Davis Chandler published her recipe for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics.

Although the peanut butter and jelly sandwich had been invented in 1901, it would still be many years before it became a popular staple among the working class. This didn’t happen until the price of peanut butter began to plummet during the 1920s, and Americans began making them for their children. It would become so popular that during WWII, the combination was often a part of U.S. soldiers’ military rations list.

How To Observe National Peanut Butter And Jelly Day

This holiday isn’t just a day in which people can enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches—even though that is a popular way to celebrate it. No, people can also use a peanut butter and jelly combination on other types of foods as well. For example, they can try peanut butter and jelly-covered pancakes, peanut butter and jelly pie, or try icing their own donuts using peanut butter and jelly. The only limit is a person’s imagination, so whatever new food item they create using peanut butter and jelly, they should post a picture of it on social media using the hashtag #NationalPeanutButterAndJellyDay.