Easily Give PB&J Sandwiches An Adult Upgrade With This Ingredient

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A peanut butter and jelly sandwich should be simple and quick, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for basic flavors. By swapping out the standard grape with some wine jelly you get a seriously adult upgrade with an even more serious flavor.

Wine jelly is exactly what it sounds like; it's wine simmered with pectin and additional ingredients, like lemon peel and fruit juice, to create a jelly. It's typically served alongside high-end cheese boards and charcuterie plates, letting diners experience mouthfuls of complex, fermented booziness with their bites. However, when added to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you get a rush of complex aromas and nuanced flavors with no more effort than smearing some across bread. Plus, wine jelly comes in a wide variety, from champagne to pinot noir, so just like standard fruit varieties you have plenty of tasty options.

A basic rule of thumb is that the worst wines for a reduction sauce are the best for jellies because they're already packed with tons of sugar. Riesling, shiraz, and rosé are all prime options thanks to their natural fruitiness, though you might find a rare port jelly that's worth experimenting with. Of course, you can always make some at home, and even the cheapest, most mass-produced wines at the store will still impart a greater depth of flavor than many small-batch jams and jellies.

While there's nothing wrong with a couple pieces of white bread and a big old jar of Jif, why not spoil yourself and upgrade the remaining two elements in your sandwich? Picking a bread with a rich aroma and a nut butter with a complementary flavor profile can further enhance the meal until you end up with something that tastes like what a Michelin chef whips up when they're feeling lazy.

While you should avoid a crusty bread with a standard PB&J because it can overwhelm the other ingredients, it might be exactly what you want to pair with these upgrades. The intensity of wine jelly alone means you'll need something with a bolder taste unless you're just looking for an edible way to hold the filling together. To complement the richness of wine jelly, shoot for something with a sweet aroma, like honey wheat black bread. The dark grain is earthy and rough but the touch of sugar sweetens the lot to pair nicely with wine jelly.

Peanut butter is anything but subtle and will inevitably overwhelm both the jelly and the bread. Instead, try its refined cousin, pistachio butter. While not quite as intense, it has a subtle sweetness and softer flavor profile that pairs with a wide variety of ingredients. It also tends to be more creamy than sticky, delivering a rich texture that works perfectly with the slight roughness of brown bread.