REVIEW: Kellogg’s Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal

Kellogg's Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal

Frankly, I blame adults.

They are, after all, the ones leading cereal companies. They’re the ones trying to come up with ways to stop sliding cereal sales, but when they’re not too busy putting quinoa and Sprouted Grains into my breakfast bowl, they’re forgetting what it’s like to be a kid.

How else can we explain the fact that no one has made peanut butter and jelly cereal before? If they would have only asked us kids (ok, slightly balding upper twenty-somethings, too) then we could have told them the next great cereal flavor was right under their noses the whole time.

Any kid with a crowded cereal pantry, taste buds, and a bit of imagination probably already knew it was a good combination. I’m probably not the only person to combine Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch and Whoops All Berries in the same bowl, so I’m guessing many of you expected as much. But in case any anxious food company executives still needed convincing, Jif’s PB&J Strawberry Cereal should put fears to rest.

I was a bit skeptical, too. A year and a half ago I wrote that Jif’s cereal was good, but it wasn’t as peanut buttery as other peanut butter cereals. To a certain extent this is still true; the brown sugar and molasses flavor gives each square an almost kettle corn quality, while the squares aren’t quite as roasted or developed in flavor as Peanut Butter Crunch. But the peanut butter flavor is better than it used to be, and works especially well when mixed with the small spheres of strawberry cereal.

Kellogg's Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal 2

I’m glad Jif lived up to its slogan and was choosy with their choice of jelly for the cereal: whether you like strawberry or grape jelly doesn’t matter so much, because you’re going to like the fact that the red corn spheres taste more than just vaguely fruity. They’re much better than Crunch Berries in that they have a distinct strawberry flavor that is both ultra-sweet but also slightly tart; in other words, the perfect foil to the salty, molasses and brown sugar flavor of the peanut butter squares.

It’s when these two flavors come together that the unmistakable synergy that is PB&J takes over. As you crunch down on a spoonful (or, as I prefer, a dry handful) the two flavors mix and mingle with the utmost of equality. Just like in a real PB&J sandwich, the jelly flavor takes center stage first, but it quickly gives way to a salty peanut flavor.

Kellogg's Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal 3

There’s a kettle corn type aftertaste in milk that’s a bit unconventional, and the tartness of the strawberry pieces takes a little getting used to, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the cereal just works. It is, in so many ways, absolutely everything you’ve ever wanted from a PB&J sandwich, right on down to the sticky mush that sticks to the room of your mouth and the absence of those stupid bitter crusts that always end up getting thrown away.

When you think about it, a PB&J cereal sounds weird. I mean, you probably wouldn’t stick a PB&J sandwich in milk, unless, of course, you are weird. What I’m trying to say is I forgive all those adults out there for not wanting us to eat weird things. But in the case of Jif PB&J Strawberry cereal, it works, and is something both kids and big kids are sure to enjoy.

(Nutrition Facts – 26 grams – 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 150 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 10 grams of sugars, and 1 grams of protein.)

Item: Kellogg’s Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal
Purchased Price: $2.98
Size: 10 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Great sweet and salty balance captures the taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Strawberry pieces actually have a distinct sweet-tart strawberry flavor. Sticks to the roof of your mouth in milk. No crusts. Just straight up works.
Cons: A slightly distracting corn aftertaste. No unctuous and fatty peanut butter depth. The unfortunate state of the cereal industry.

7 thoughts to “REVIEW: Kellogg’s Jif PB&J Strawberry Cereal”

  1. Well technically the legendary PB&J cereal WAS a thing in the ’80s, but few people ever got the chance to try it.

    But I can forgive this since you liked the cereal almost as much as I did!

  2. I picked up a box of these last week. I’d give them a 6/10, due to my inability to detect any real hint of strawberry. The straight Jif cereal is ridiculously good, though; 9/10, easily. Those little pink excuses for jelly docked you a solid 3 points, Jif. Get it together.

  3. Adam! You’re mean! ^^
    Though i HATE strawberry (as fruit and flavor) and therefore i never really like PB & (strawberry) Jelly, i really hope kellogg’s will release a grape version of Jif’s PB&J cereal and i will be able to get my hands on it, after reading your and Dan’s review

    xD

    1. PB&J cereal makes a lot of sense to me.

      As a child when I PB&J sandwiches I always had a glass of milk with it.

  4. A Critical Review Of Jif Pb and J Cereal

    I’m sorry Grandma!

    I’m sorry all those years ago I told you that PB and Jelly’s were boring lunches!

    You kept throwing in those nasty sandwiches and never once did I eat them. But you did make up for them by adding in those Twinkies, so that’s pretty good.

    So I apologize for disrespecting the PB and J. So hopefully I may get closure by eating new Jif PB and J cereal. This is the very first cereal to be flavored as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Lets see if they truly captured the taste so many kiddos have spent the first two decades of their life enjoying. (First because they loved it, second cause their only other choice is Raman.)

    Upon tasting sans milk, the Peanut butter taste shocked me. Not because of authentic peanut butter taste, but because it tasted like kettle corn. The jelly ones were alright, but tasted quite artificial. When I drowned it in milk, the peanut butter puffs tasted slightly more like PB, and the jelly tasted more or less the same, but much sweeter which I loved. When eaten together, I was not reminded of sandwiches, maybe because of the missing bread taste. However, it did taste pretty freaking good. The ratio was perfect, and the sweetness was perfectly balanced.

    Overall, these were pretty good. However, they don’t taste like authentic sandwiches. I have failed you, Grandma.

    Product: Jif PB and j cereal

    Price: $1.99

    Rating: 7 out of 10

    Pros: Nice peanut butter taste. Pretty good jelly flavor. PB and j sandwiches. Twinkies. Balanced sweetness.

    Cons: Distracting corn taste. Artificial jelly. Disappointing Grandma. Nasty sandwiches.

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