The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is still a popular food item among American children. It is estimated that by the time a child has graduated high school, they will have eaten 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The traditional sandwich consists of two slices of bread, with two tablespoons of peanut butter and jelly or jam of the person's choosing. Over time, other recipes have built off of the basic sandwich by adding bananas or bacon. The first reference to the sandwiches came in 1901 from the Boston Cooking-School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics. However, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches did not become a popular food item until the 1920s and 1930s when the peanut butter price was lowered and it became available to the masses.
More about popular food items in America:
- Beef has always been a popular food choice in America. Around the mid-1970s, it reached it's peak of availability at 100 pounds (45.35 kg) per person.
- From 1909 to 2012, the availability of chicken has risen from roughly 15 pounds (6.8 kg) per person to almost 60 pounds (27.2 kg) per person.
- In 2012, orange juice was the most popular fruit product in the US followed by apple juice.