would you like some toast with that jam?
I would say I’ve always been a thick-jelly guy. Not too much, nothing overboard, but when i jam my own toast, I tend to spead more than the minimum amount of sugary fruit product. I remember in elementary school, there was a brief period of struggle between my mother and me about the peanut-butter-to-jelly ratio on my sandwiches.
I think I won, or we moved on to other, equally important battles. After that, I didn’t question my jelly usage until many years later. A girlfriend (no, if you’re wondering, it wasn’t you) watched in horror as I put jelly on her toast. “I like just a little,” I still remember her saying, and she did it herself. I couldn’t believe her, at first. She would spread the jelly so thin you could see through to the toast, barely enough to cover it. (This technique was difficult for preserves-style jelly, with thick pieces of fruit.) I tried it and was convinced, and converted to the thin-jelly camp.
Some time later, I spent a few wintery days at my friend Tiana’s apartment in Wisconsin. She was living with an assortment of actors from Barcelona, and for breakfast, huddled around the stove for warmth, we had toast & jam. You wouldn’t believe the massive quantities of jam they would spread on their toast: it was half an inch thick, easily, and sometimes they would layer one jam flavor on top of another. I was already enchanted by their accents and general Euro-ness, so it didn’t take much to embrace the gluttonous (or at least hedonistic) thicker jelly.
Today I am not sure. Which is better, thick or thin? Does it depend on the toast, or the flavor of jelly, or the season? I am broken up about this and need your help. Please tell me (use the comment bit below) how much jelly you use, and why.
I think I won, or we moved on to other, equally important battles. After that, I didn’t question my jelly usage until many years later. A girlfriend (no, if you’re wondering, it wasn’t you) watched in horror as I put jelly on her toast. “I like just a little,” I still remember her saying, and she did it herself. I couldn’t believe her, at first. She would spread the jelly so thin you could see through to the toast, barely enough to cover it. (This technique was difficult for preserves-style jelly, with thick pieces of fruit.) I tried it and was convinced, and converted to the thin-jelly camp.
Some time later, I spent a few wintery days at my friend Tiana’s apartment in Wisconsin. She was living with an assortment of actors from Barcelona, and for breakfast, huddled around the stove for warmth, we had toast & jam. You wouldn’t believe the massive quantities of jam they would spread on their toast: it was half an inch thick, easily, and sometimes they would layer one jam flavor on top of another. I was already enchanted by their accents and general Euro-ness, so it didn’t take much to embrace the gluttonous (or at least hedonistic) thicker jelly.
Today I am not sure. Which is better, thick or thin? Does it depend on the toast, or the flavor of jelly, or the season? I am broken up about this and need your help. Please tell me (use the comment bit below) how much jelly you use, and why.
previously there was schoolyard fight
afterwards you have In Patagonia
Marmalade: thin, 'cause the good stuff has rind, of which one must be careful.
Jelly: as thin as you can get it, which usually quite thin, with the exception of the glob that moves about the toast, pushed by the knife. That shit don't spread at all.
Jam: Thick, sure, but don't be a freak-o by loading one flavor atop another. Beware Barcelonians! Keeping the cupboard stocked with them around leads quickly to Mother Hubbardism.
Butter: only enough to ensure thorough melting, esp. on an English muffin. Don't know whether you've got English muffins down in BA. If you do, I'd doubt that the muffins would be anything like what the English, or us Americans, eat with our breakfasts.
RC
ps Lord, how I need to get a life. [submitted on 17 Jan 03]
but I must confess to being a moderate in terms of preferred thickness. thick peanut butter, maybe, but moderate jam. [submitted on 18 Jan 03]
I like how you've differentiated; I've been thinking along the same lines. I have to agree more with Adrienne, however, that the real distinction for me is on the QUALITY of the jam/jelly/whatever. I've been eating orange-peach marmelade (marmelade, incidentally, is the Argentine word for jelly in general), and I spread it thicker than the lower-quality strawberry jelly I've found. This is in sharp contrast with RC, who spreads his marmelade "thin, 'cause the good stuff has rind". Bring on the rind, i say. [submitted on 21 Jan 03]
Fruity breakfasty spreads, however, are known for their (eight parts sugar)/(one part everything else) combinations, of which I am indeed a proponent. Bring on the rind, indeed!
And what of Nutella? Do different rules apply? Or pate?
RC [submitted on 21 Jan 03]