Creamy & Crunchy

An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food

Jon Krampner

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780231162326
• eBook ISBN: 9780231530934
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Industrie alimentaire

"A delightful book about America's most popular nut butter and sandwich spread . . . well-written, fast-paced, surprising."—Andrew F. Smith, editor in chief,  The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
 
Americans spoon it out of the jar, eat it in sandwiches by itself or with its bread-fellow jelly, and devour it with foods ranging from celery and raisins ("ants on a log") to a grilled sandwich with bacon and bananas (the classic "Elvis"). Peanut butter is used to flavor candy, ice cream, cookies, cereal, and other foods. It is a deeply ingrained staple of American childhood. Along with cheeseburgers, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookies (and apple pie), peanut butter is a consummate comfort food. 
In  Creamy and Crunchy are the stories of Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan; the plight of black peanut farmers; the resurgence of natural or old-fashioned peanut butter; the reasons why Americans like peanut butter better than (almost) anyone else; the five ways that today's product is different from the original; the role of peanut butter in fighting Third World hunger; and the Salmonella outbreaks of 2007 and 2009, which threatened peanut butter's sacred place in the American cupboard. To a surprising extent, the story of peanut butter is the story of twentieth-century America, and Jon Krampner writes its first popular history, rich with anecdotes and facts culled from interviews, research, travels in the peanut-growing regions of the South, personal stories, and recipes.
 
"A witty, encyclopedic history of one of America's most iconic processed foods. It is chock-full of fun facts and surprising insights into the way we eat today."—Aaron Bobrow-Strain, author of  White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents 
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Peanuts 101
• 2.The Social Rise of the Peanut
• 3. The Birth of Peanut Butter
• 4. Peter Pan: “Improved by Hydrogenation”
• 5. How Peter Pan Lost Its Groove
• 6. Skippy: “He Made His First Jar of Peanut Butter in His Garage”
• 7. Skippy on Top
• 8. Jif: “But Is It Still Peanut Butter?”
• 9. “Choosy Mothers Choose …”
• 10. Peanut Butter Goes International
• 11. The Music of Peanut Butter
• 12. Deaf Smith: What’s Old-Fashioned Is New Again
• 13. The Rise and Fall of the Florunner
• 14. The Peanut Butter Crisis of 1980
• 15. “You Mean It’s Not Good for Me?”
• 16. The Short, Happy Life of Sorrells Pickard
• 17. Peanut Corporation of America: “There Was No Red Flag”
• 18. Peanut Butter Saves the World
• 19. Where Are the Peanut Butters of Yesteryear?
• Appendix 1. Author’s Recommendations
• Appendix 2. Peanut Butter Time Line
• Notes
• Index
• Series List