Marco Sumayao of Chowhound writes about the peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich:
“The origins of the sandwich itself are difficult to trace. Author Matthew Dicks claims he’s the inventor, but others online have recollections of the sandwich being made by their mothers and their grandmothers. It’s unclear exactly how the sandwich came to be, but food traditions elsewhere suggest that this particular mix of flavors isn’t as unusual as we might assume.”
I don’t like this “Author Matthew Dicks claims he’s the inventor” one bit.
Claims?
Perhaps the peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich was a simultaneous invention, meaning two or more people develop the same idea or create the same invention independent of one another, similar to how both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace both independently developed the theory of natural selection around the same time, but Darwin published first and gets the lion’s share of the credit.
However, I certainly didn’t steal the idea, especially since I invented the sandwich in 1981, when the internet didn’t exist and my ability to learn anything about anything was limited and often nonexistent.
I definitely invented this sandwich, even if others also invented the sandwich.
I invented the peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich out of necessity.
As a kid, my mother occasionally served us tuna fish sandwiches for lunch. Rightfully despising mayonnaise more than almost any other food product on the planet, my sandwiches consisted of tuna on white bread.
Nothing more.
Lacking any binding agent, the tuna in my sandwich would fall out whenever I lifted it off the plate, making it difficult and annoying to eat.
One day, as my mother was making our lunch, I saw a can of tuna fish sitting beside a jar of peanut butter, and I had an inspiration. I took a dollop of peanut butter and popped it into the microwave for a few seconds, just long enough to soften it a bit, then I mixed it with tuna fish before placing it on my bread.
The peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich was born.
And it was good.
Years later, the sandwich became a pop culture curiosity thanks in part to movies like Mr. Deeds (2002), where Adam Sandler’s character claims it as his favorite sandwich.
I’m not saying Sandler stole the idea from me, either, but it was most definitely my idea first.
The typical reaction when I mention this sandwich is disgust, which annoys me for two reasons:
- People have told me I should try more foods and give them a chance. Yet when I suggest that they might find this sandwich tasty, people refuse to even consider the possibility.
- People eat raw fish on a regular basis. Bull testicles. Olive loaf. Jello salad. Chitlins. Many of these foods probably seemed disgusting to you at some point (and some might still sound disgusting), but they are all regularly eaten in this country. You’re almost certainly eating food today that you once thought would be awful. Is a peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich really all that different?
For the record, I’ve served friends peanut butter and tuna fish. Years ago, I designed and operated a race for my friends, modeled after the television show The Amazing Race. Teams of two raced around town, completing tasks and taking on challenges. It was great fun and even better when Elysha became involved after the first year.
Each one of my races had a theme. One year, the theme was me:
Tasks and challenges related to my life.
One of my tasks was to eat a peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich. At least two people participating in that race admitted to liking the sandwich, and I have served it to several others since then.
As far as I know, at least two people still eat peanut butter and tuna fish sandwiches regularly.
I’m not saying you will like peanut butter and tuna fish sandwiches. I am merely suggesting that you have an open mind about the thing. If you’re willing to try raw squid or partake in ice cream that tastes like leftover cereal milk or pretend that green bean casserole is little more than a disgusting Trojan horse for Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, maybe you could give my creation a chance.
Or at least not mock it until you’ve tried it.
As for Marco Sumayao of Chowhound, yes, it’s true. I claim to have invented the peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich because I did.
More than 40 years ago.
Independent of anyone else.
Don’t you dare steal my thunder.
