Creamy and CrunchyAn Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food
A biography of sorts for a long time resident of the American kitchen and psyche.
The first popular account of one of America’s most beloved foods (consumed by more than seventy-five percent of the population), Creamy and Crunchy is a comprehensive and entertaining history of peanut butter’s development and integration into the American diet. Richly illustrated and filled with anecdotes and facts culled from unusual and engaging sources, the book is a mix of interviews, research, travels in the peanut-growing regions of the South, personal histories and recipes, focusing on the manufacture of the food from the 1890s to the present, while also covering its cultural, nutritional, and even molecular evolution.
Jon Krampner begins with peanut butter’s creation and the scramble to capitalize on its early success. He provides in-depth looks at Peter Pan, Jif, and Skippy, and why Peter Pan, one of the first big brands to manufacture and market the food, is now a distant third behind market leaders Jif and Skippy. He examines the plight of black peanut farmers; the creation of the “Choosy Moms Choose Jif” campaign; the role of peanut butter in fighting Third-World hunger; and the salmonella outbreaks of 2007 and 2009 that threatened to derail peanut butter’s sacred place in the American cupboard.
Krampner investigates the resurgence of natural, or old-fashioned, peanut butter; the five ways today’s product is different from the original; why Americans love peanut butter so much more than people from most other nations; and the future trajectory of the industry. He also provides tips on peanut butter etiquette (if eating it straight from the jar, use a teaspoon — unless your girlfriend has just brutally dumped you, in which case a tablespoon is considered acceptable) and concludes with a “best of” list featuring top, taste-tested peanut butters and a timeline of key figures and events. A dedicated web site maintained by the author, www.creamyandcrunchy.com, contains additional images and information.
Jon Krampner is the author of The Man in the Shadows: Fred Coe and the Golden Age of Television and Female Brando: The Legend of Kim Stanley. He received an A.B. in English literature from Occidental College and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He lives in Los Angeles.
Jon Krampner’s Creamy and Crunchy is a delightful book about America’s most popular nut butter and sandwich spread. It is action-packed, peopled with medical professionals and corporate giants, captains of industry and hard-hitting advertisers, vegetarians and health-food advocates, and farmers and peanut-butter lovers. It is a well-written, fast-paced, surprising tale about the delicious food we thought we knew. One nibble and you can’t stop reading!”
— Andrew F. Smith, editor in chief, Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
“As a peanut butter aficionado, I found this an excellent, convincing book written in a casual journalistic, almost folksy style which cleverly disguises the real research done for it.”
— Noël Riley Fitch, author of Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child
“Creamy and Crunchy is a witty, encyclopedic history of one of America’s most iconic processed foods. It’s 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
“Creamy and Crunchy is a fast-paced, entertaining, and wonderfully gossipy look at the history of everything about peanut butter, from nutrition to allergies and genetic modification—and with recipes, yet. Everyone who loves peanut butter will want to read this book (personally, I prefer crunchy).”
— Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat
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