Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
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Image:Pbnjmpegman.jpg The peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PBJ or PB&J) is a common sandwich in the United States and Canada (where it is called a peanut butter & jam sandwich). Children are the largest consumers of PB&J sandwiches, usually eating them for lunch.
The recipe is as simple as the name — one slice of bread spread with peanut butter and another spread with jelly, jam, or marmalade. The two spread sides are then stuck together, resulting in a sandwich that generally will not drip or spill no matter which way it is held. The simplicity of preparation, storage, and eating makes the sandwich a popular choice for children.
A child's lunch is usually made in the morning before going off to school. While at school it will most likely sit in their lunchbox while in the student's locker. This can lead to the jelly soaking through the bread, especially if the jelly side happens to be on the bottom of the sandwich or some other item in the lunch presses against the jelly side. A popular way to avoid this is to slightly alter the way the sandwich is made by spreading peanut butter on both slices of bread and then jelly on top of the peanut butter thus avoiding the problem of the jelly soaking through. Another option is to spread butter or margarine before spreading the jelly on the bread.
Peanut butter was first widely introduced in 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition although it had been sold as a medical nutritional supplement in St. Louis, Missouri for about 15 years. There is no mention in print of the PB&J prior to 1940. While no one can take credit for the sandwich's invention, one thing that can be ascertained was that both peanut butter and jelly were packed with United States Army K-rations in World War II. The combination proved so popular that returning GIs made peanut butter and jelly sales soar.Template:Fact
PB&J sandwiches are also popular because they can be kept for relatively long periods without refrigeration (unlike, for example, a ham and cheese with mayonnaise).
The United States Department of Defense is researching ways of preserving a PB&J for up to 3 years for its combat troops in the field. Although peanut butter and jelly has been available in the military instant food Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) for many years, it proved difficult to keep bread from spoiling.
In 1998, a shop called Peanut Butter & Co. opened in New York City - they serve nothing but peanut butter sandwiches, and make six different kinds of all natural gourmet peanut butter. Their peanut butter & jelly sandwich is called "The Lunchbox Special" and includes a side of potato chips and carrot sticks.
In December 1999, two independent inventors, Len Kretchman and David Geske, were granted a U.S. patent, US 6004596, "Sealed Crustless Sandwich" to an improved peanut butter sandwich that would have a long shelf life. The J.M. Smucker Co. bought the patent from the inventors and developed a commercial product based on the patent called Uncrustables. Smuckers then made a US$17 million dollar investment in a new factory to produce the product. By 2005, sales of the product grew to $60 million a year with a 20% per year growth rate.
Smuckers has gone on to enforce their patent rights against those that tried to copy the invention by sending cease and desist letters.
Smuckers has also gone on to expand their patent coverage by patenting a machine to produce Uncrustables sandwiches in high volume (US6874409: Method and apparatus for making commercial crustless sandwiches and the crustless sandwich made thereby)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, however, rejected an effort by J.M. Smucker Co. to patent its process for the making pocket-size peanut butter and jelly pastries.