The water in preserves can make the bread soggy, especially when the sandwich is prepared ahead of time as part of a bag lunch.

[citation needed] Peanut butter was originally paired with a diverse set of savory foods, such as pimento, cheese, celery, Worcestershire sauce, watercress, saltines and toasted crackers.

[3] In a Good Housekeeping article published in May 1896, a recipe "urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread."

[4][5] The first known reference for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich appeared in the Boston Cooking School Magazine in 1901;[6] it called for "three very thin layers of bread and two of filling, one of peanut paste, whatever brand you prefer, and currant or crabapple jelly for the other", and called it as "so far as I know original".

[8] Since World War II, both peanut butter and jelly have been found on US soldiers' military ration list.