Spreading Power

A Postcolonial Reading of Peanut Butter & Jelly in Relation to Tahin–Pekmez

Abstract

This article offers a postcolonial critique of the Peanut Butter & Jelly (PB&J) pairing by situating it within histories of global trade, cultural standardization, and epistemic dominance. Through a comparative reading with Tahin–Pekmez, a food pairing rooted in Eastern Mediterranean traditions, the study argues that PB&J functions as a normalized culinary form that obscures its colonial entanglements, while Tahin–Pekmez remains positioned as “local,” “ethnic,” or “traditional.” The article demonstrates how everyday food practices reproduce asymmetries of cultural legitimacy.

1. Introduction

Postcolonial theory has long emphasized that domination is not sustained solely through political or economic means but also through culture, habit, and the everyday. Food, as one of the most intimate and repetitive practices of daily life, offers a particularly fertile ground for examining these dynamics.

This article reads Peanut Butter & Jelly not as an innocent childhood staple but as a culinary artifact shaped by colonial histories, industrial capitalism, and cultural universalization. By contrasting it with Tahin–Pekmez, the study foregrounds how some food practices become global norms while others are relegated to the margins.

2. Peanut Butter & Jelly as a Normalized Global Form

PB&J presents itself as neutral, universal, and apolitical. Its ingredients are mass-produced, shelf-stable, and standardized, enabling wide circulation across borders. This apparent neutrality is precisely what renders it ideologically powerful.

The global visibility of PB&J is inseparable from histories of agricultural extraction, monocrop economies, and the industrial processing of food. Yet these histories are rarely acknowledged; instead, PB&J is framed as comfort food, simplicity, and childhood nostalgia.

3. Tahin–Pekmez and the Politics of “Tradition”

In contrast, Tahin–Pekmez is persistently described through the language of tradition, authenticity, and locality. While often praised for being “natural” or “ancestral,” it is simultaneously excluded from claims of universality.

This positioning mirrors a broader postcolonial pattern in which non-Western food practices are celebrated symbolically but denied epistemic authority. Tahin–Pekmez becomes a cultural curiosity rather than a globally legible standard.

4. Colonial Taste Hierarchies

The contrast between PB&J and Tahin–Pekmez reveals an implicit hierarchy of taste. PB&J is allowed to be ordinary; Tahin–Pekmez must be explained. PB&J is assumed familiar; Tahin–Pekmez is introduced as exotic or regional.

This asymmetry reflects what postcolonial scholars describe as the “unmarked center” versus the “marked periphery.” The center does not name itself; the periphery is endlessly named.

5. Discussion: Everyday Consumption as Soft Power

By circulating as a normalized food form, PB&J operates as a mode of soft power. It teaches palates, habits, and expectations without appearing ideological. Tahin–Pekmez, despite fulfilling similar nutritional and functional roles, remains culturally bounded and symbolically contained.

The comparison illustrates how colonial power persists not through overt domination but through the quiet repetition of everyday practices.

6. Conclusion

This article has argued that Peanut Butter & Jelly should be understood as a postcolonial object embedded in histories of global inequality and cultural standardization. Through its contrast with Tahin–Pekmez, the study demonstrates how food practices participate in the production of cultural hierarchies.

Recognizing these dynamics invites a more critical engagement with what is consumed, normalized, and rendered invisible in daily life.

References (All Made Up)

• Ahmed, R. (2018). Unmarked Spreads: Food, Power, and Culinary Normalization. Journal of Postcolonial Consumption Studies, 11(2), 67–83.

• Demir, A. & Karataş, Z. (2020). Local but Not Universal: The Epistemic Limits of Traditional Foods. Cultural Critique of Nutrition (Fictional), 6(1), 22–39.

• Hallington, P. (2016). Soft Power on Bread: Sandwiches and Empire. Global Food & Empire Review, 4(3), 101–118.

• Öztürk, N. (2019). Tahin, Pekmez, and the Politics of Authenticity. Journal of Imagined Culinary Anthropology, 9(4), 55–71.

• Singh, M. (2021). Everyday Empire: How Taste Learns to Obey. Postcolonial Theory Quarterly, 14(1), 1–19.