Do People Really Eat Peanut Butter And Mayo Sandwiches?

Growing up in the South, I occasionally heard talk of peanut butter and mayo sandwiches. At first, I dismissed the concept as something grown-ups had made up to offend children (a category in which I also included coffee ice cream and taxes). Like most kids, I preferred pairing peanut butter with sweet strawberry jam or marshmallow fluff. Mayonnaise? No thank you.

As I got older, I realized that peanut butter and mayo sandwiches are very real. My grandmother, who grew up in North Carolina in the 1950s, always made her peanut butter and banana sandwiches with a thick slick of the tangy, creamy condiment. To me, it seemed like a great way to ruin a perfectly good sandwich, but my grandmother didn't invent this combo and she certainly wasn't alone in enjoying it. Although they aren't as popular as they once were, peanut butter and mayo sandwiches are still very much a thing in the South.

It's generally accepted that peanut butter and mayo sandwiches were first concocted during the Great Depression out of necessity. This makes total sense — they're budget-friendly, filling, and rely on pantry staples. A resourceful chef could stretch a loaf of bread, some mayonnaise, and a jar of peanut butter into a filling lunch for a crowd. However, the PB&M sandwich became so popular in its own right that it continued to be a household staple for decades to come, even with the Great Depression long over.

When a 1960s ad featuring Skippy peanut butter and Hellmann's mayonnaise in various sandwich combinations went slightly viral a few years ago, many people expressed shock and disgust. But others defended the pairing, arguing that it's surprisingly delicious. Though many argued that a peanut butter and mayo sandwich should never be made with Hellmann's –- Southerners know Duke's mayonnaise is the best.

Peanut butter and mayo sandwiches tend to get mixed reviews — some describe them as decent, but kind of sour, while others swear they're delicious and flavor-packed. It's worth noting that most people who dramatically disparage the peanut butter and mayo sandwich as gross or disgusting haven't actually tasted one (and probably never will).

If you decide to give the peanut butter and mayo sandwich a shot, you'll soon realize that if the very idea of the sandwich is divisive, how to make one is even more so. (This is a Southern tradition, after all.) Some people insist the peanut butter must be crunchy, while others say only creamy will do. Some add lettuce for watery crispness, while others favor dill pickles and chopped onions for extra tang. And there's a large contingent in favor of white bread with crunchy peanut butter, banana, and Duke's mayonnaise – just like my grandmother.