American Sandwich

Alabama

Approximately half the peanuts produced in the United States are grown within a hundred-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama, which bills itself as the “Peanut Capital of the World.” Located in the southeastern part of the state, known as the Wiregrass area, the region”s 1,200 peanut farmers have been honored every November since 1938 at the National Peanut Festival. Visitors to Dothan are greeted by a giant gold peanut sculpture at the Visitor Information Center, and scattered throughout the city, one encounters five-foot-high fiberglass peanut sculptures, each whimsically decorated to represent a special theme or character. A series of spectacular murals in historic downtown Dothan commemorate area events, people, and places, including one dedicated to the National Peanut Festival and Dr. George Washington Carver, who developed over three hundred uses for the peanut.

Although the creation of peanut butter dates to 1890, it wasn”t produced commercially until 1922 when a revolutionary new churning process was introduced, delivering a smoother, stabilized product with a longer shelf life. The increasing popularity of peanut butter dovetailed with the broad distribution of presliced bread in the early 1930s, but it wasn”t until World War II that peanut butter was combined with jelly in sandwiches. It”s believed that American soldiers first combined the two ingredients, commonly found in their ration kits, because the jelly made it easier to eat the sticky peanut butter. By the end of the war, peanut butter was a kitchen staple, and with the end of sugar rationing, Welch”s Grape Jelly became its choice companion.

Dothan, AL 36301