When it comes to peanut butter and jelly, there’s one group whose opinions really matter: kids. Except for a few regressive adults, children are peanut butter’s most devoted fans. And they are the primary market for grape jelly.
How popular is peanut butter? Recent figures show annual per capita consumption at more than 3 pounds per year per person, enough for 12 billion peanut butter sandwiches–almost one a week for every man, woman and child in the U.S.
Do kids sense differences among the top brands and between the regular and low-fat versions? You bet they do.
We assembled a panel of nine youngsters ages 8 to 15 to rate several leading brands of peanut butter and jelly; their opinions are in the story below.
The results–in which reduced-fat Peter Pan achieved third place–indicate that it may be possible to improve the nutrition profile of young America’s favorite spread.
Regular peanut butter, with about 16 grams of fat and 150 milligrams of sodium in 2 tablespoons, won’t win any health food contests, but it is full of protein and lacks the preservatives and additives found in other supermarket products directed at young appetites.
Combine the protein in peanut butter with that in bread and you have a full range of amino acids. Furthermore, the peanut oil plus a little hydrogenated vegetable oil is mostly unsaturated and has no cholesterol. The reduced-fat formulations have only 11 or 12 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons.
The first peanut butter was made in 1890 by a St. Louis physician who wanted a source of concentrated, digestible protein for patients who had trouble chewing. Later Dr. John H. Kellogg, the cereal magnate, prescribed peanut butter for his patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan.
But it was after peanut butter was featured as a health food at the 1904 St. Louis world’s fair that it gained national recognition–not as a protein source but as a great-tasting snack.
Early peanut butter often would separate into peanut oil and the not-so-spreadable solids. But a California food packer in the 1920s discovered that a little hydrogenated oil could homogenize the butter into a stable, spreadable mixture, which he called Skippy Churned Peanut Butter.
That innovation prompted manufacturers to start adding other substances and resulted in the government standards requiring all peanut butters to contain at least 90 percent peanuts.
Besides the hydrogenated fat (usually soybean, canola or cottonseed oil), most brands now have added sweeteners and salt. Lower-fat versions replace a portion of the fat with soy protein and sugar.
Grape jelly, the second ingredient in the popular sandwich, probably is as old as grapes themselves. It is made by boiling down pectin-rich grape juice and adding sugar.
Modern versions still are pretty basic, though they add fruit pectin, citric acid and a lot of sugar to the mix.
Let’s say you packed Junior a lunch containing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple and an 8-ounce carton of skim milk. He would be getting 541 calories, about 31 percent of them from fat,16 percent of his proteinrequirement, a respectable 6.4 grams of fiber and 23 percent of the daily value for sodium. If you used reduced-fat peanut butter, the fat count would be only 23 percent.
That’s a pretty healthful meal for an active child, says Sandra Nissenberg, a registered dietitian and author of “How Should I Feed My Child: From Pregnancy to Preschool” (Chronimed, $12.95) and other books on children’s nutrition.
“You don’t always have to use jelly,” she says. “You can use shredded carrots, mashed bananas, shredded zucchini,” which children are more likely to eat when teamed with their familiar favorite, peanut butter. “And you don’t have to use white bread.” Nissenberg suggests substituting whole wheat, pita or even tortillas.
A PB&J sandwich is better than tuna with mayo (which can have twice the fat and calories), she says. It can be stored it in a hot locker all morning, something you shouldn’t do with meat or mayo. It’s also better for you than fries.
With young children she sometimes even makes peanut butter play dough (see above recipe) that kids can handle before they eat it. (Hint: Have them wash their hands first.)
She also suggests using cookie cutters to turn sandwiches into interesting shapes as an added attraction.
If your children go for reduced-fat peanut butter, so much the better. But if they don’t, don’t sweat it. Get the regular stuff. It’s still a lot more nutritious than many other kid-directed products.
Steven Pratt’s e-mail address is SMPratt@aol.com
THE EXPERTS SPEAK
When we let nine kids tear into nine kinds of peanut butter and three popular brands of grape jelly, we got a very good taste of their preferences.
They liked regular Jif and Peter Pan and reduced-fat Peter Pan. But they said Smucker’s Natural peanut butter, which is nothing but pure ground peanuts, was the pits. Smucker’s natural reduced-fat peanut butter–also made from almost nothing but peanuts–fared not much better.
Of the three jellies, Kraft was clearly the favorite; Smucker’s and Welch’s tied for second.
The tasting shelf included Jif, Peter Pan and Skippy–the three leading brands–in their regular and reduced-fat versions. Smucker’s in both styles was selected because it contained no added sugar or hydrogenated oil.
A ninth butter tasted was Peanut Wonder peanut spread, made mostly from malt syrup, peanut butter, defatted peanut flour and molasses. It has less than a fourth the fat of regular peanut butter, but the tasters put it among the least flavorful.
Participating on the tasting panel:
Matthew Cleaves, 8, of Chicago; Christine and David Fusaro, both 11, of Wilmette; Amanda Joyce, 14, and Jonathan Joyce, 11, of Hinsdale; Garrett Lodewyck, 15, of Clarendon Hills; Jennifer Timson, 15, and Jennifer Traut, 14, of Hinsdale; and Richard Tsay, 8, of Chicago.
“Smooth,” “sticky,” “creamy” and “just sweet enough” were typical words used to describe Jif, the top-rated peanut butter. Tasters seemed to think that second-place Peter Pan was even stickier but “high on peanut flavor” and “smooth.” And they loved the stickiness, creaminess and real peanut taste of the reduced-fat version of Peter Pan.
For some tasters, regular Skippy was too sticky and lacking in flavor. Reduced-fat Skippy seemed dry, and reduced-fat Jif was “dry,” “low on flavor” and, to one youngster, tasted like celery.
The young panel saved its most cutting comments for the natural peanut butters: “terrible,” “off taste,” “yuk!” “bitter,” and “gritty.”
How different can grape jellies be? Not very, our tasters reported about Welch’s and Smucker’s, which they found “too sweet,” “runny” and, in one case, slimy. Kraft grape jelly was prized for its “good taste” and “balance of sweet.”
Although the kids favored peanut butters with added salt and sugar, the winning Kraft grape jelly contained a third less sugar than the other two. Go to school on that.
Peanut Butter/Jelly tasting results
Scores are out of 81 possible points (9 points from each of 9 testers):
1. Jif Creamy …………….. 58
2. Peter Pan Creamy ……….. 57
3. Peter Pan Smart Choice ….. 54
4. Jif Reduced Fat ………… 47
5. Skippy Reduced Fat ……… 46
6. Skippy Creamy ………….. 40
7. Peanut Wonder ………….. 25
8. Smucker’s Natural Reduced Fat 22
9. Smucker’s Natural Creamy … 14
1. Kraft Grape Jelly ………. 58
2. Smucker’s Grape Jelly …… 48
2. Welch’s Grape Jelly …….. 48
PEANUT BUTTER DOUGH
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: about 1/2 cup
If your kids like to play with their food, try this recipe. When they tire of making shapes with it, they can eat it.
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup dry milk powder
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly. If batter is too sticky, add more milk powder. If it is too dry, add more honey.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
Calories ………. 105 Sodium ………. 90 mg Fat …….. 8 g
Carbohydrates ….. 5 g Cholesterol …… 0 mg Protein …. 5 g
