My list of things to do is not only about big personal challenges or adrenaline fuelled experiences. It also contains a number of little things that I haven’t done that I would like to.
I have been lucky enough to visit the USA four times now. I’ve still only ventured to the Sunshine State, but I love it there and would love to go back sometime soon. I want to see the rest of the States and the world too of course, but sometimes it’s good to go somewhere you know you will enjoy. This time around I managed to tick three things off my list, all different – there was the Skycoaster, the swim with Dolphins at Discovery Cove (which may get its own post sometime in the New Year), and I ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.
For some reason Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches have always intrigued me. They are very American, here in the UK we like to keep our peanuts and our jams separate! I have wondered how they would taste – I like peanut butter, I like a nice jam sandwich, it is supposed to be the most popular sandwich filling in the USA, so it must be good!
It was mission accomplished one sunny lunch time in Florida in October. We’d been to Walmart for groceries and bought a jar of PB&J – apparently America’s favourite combination of the two sandwich fillers – and I got to giving this thing a go.
No. No, no, no, no. No. I did not like. I couldn’t even finish the sandwich. Yuk.
The combination of buttery nutty and a little bit salty peanut butter with the incredibly sweet and chemically grape jelly (sorry, jam) was not nice. I could not make the flavours go together. My taste buds rejected them and wanted to separate them to different corners of my mouth. What I was hoping for was a perfect marriage of fruit and buttery nut, a revelation in flavour that would mean I’d be taking PB&J sandwiches to work. But what I got was an unpleasant taste in my mouth that I just couldn’t get rid of. Disappointed!
Maybe if I used products from home, which aren’t anywhere near as chemically (what goes into processed food in America?!?!), it would be different. Maybe I should try another one. I don’t know that I could bring myself to do it.
I’m really sorry my American friends, but I really don’t get it. I wanted to like it, I really did, but no, this combination is not for me. Please don’t hate me, but every time I hear any mention of PB&J on the telly or anywhere else I will involuntarily screw my face up with a look of “euwwww”.
Any other strange foods I should be trying?
Splodz Blogz » Review: Ben & Jerry’s Core Peanut Butter Me Up (Bzz Review)
[…] peanut butter and jelly then? Ah. You may remember I tried a PB&J sandwich not so long ago (it was on my list – read about it here) and I thought it was […]
A Things To Do List Update - Splodz Blogz
[…] I tick something off, whether big like the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge or small like eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, I find new things to add. The list is long but there is always room for more, new, interesting, […]
Shawn
Try strawberry preserves along with Jif peanut butter. The pre mixed kind like that is terrible.
Splodz
Strawberry definitely sounds better than grape… and yea that pre mixed one is AWFUL!
Ed
As an American (who actually just finished a PB&J) don’t buy that weird combined thing. Get some peanut butter you like and some jelly you like and put them on separately.
Splodz
I have definitely learnt that the combined stuff is not very nice! Okay, I will try this again, and properly…
Pamela Arabian
I am SO sorry that you were subjected to Goober Grape! I am American and have never purchased it! Gross!! Not sure if you have found your perfect PB&J yet, but if you haven’t…give it one more try! Get the softest white bread you can find, spread it with a nice layer of creamy peanut butter (JIF is best!) and my favorite “jelly” is red raspberry preserves. Stay away from Jelly! It is just fruit juice, sugar and pectin. No good!
Splodz
Ha ha several people have told me this. I will definitely be trying it “properly”… 🙂 🙂
johnesh
As a Brit who lived among Americans for several years as a child, I can attest to the the splendour of the PB&J sandwich, but you really have to go for the best ingredients. Try Whole Earth crunchy peanut butter and Bonne Maman strawberry jam on a still-warm, lightly toasted wholemeal pitta, with a glass of cold milk. You’ll thank me.