It is admittedly a simple concept. Two pieces of bread. Peanut butter. Jelly. But the work that goes into the production of every Smucker’s^® Uncrustables^® sandwich reflects the passion our teams have for using only the highest quality ingredients and leveraging extensive expertise to deliver a consistently delicious product.

Here is a look at how Uncrustables go from the grape vine to your freezer.

Many may not realize it, but we receive  the strawberries and grapes that go into our products and process them ourselves. Our experts, who offer more than 150 years of combined experience, are in the fields monitoring the safe processing and quality of every piece of fruit. We have established this process through our long-standing relationships with fruit farmers (some over generations).  

Our teams are on hand during harvest to monitor the quality and wholesomeness of the fruit to ensure a consistent, high-quality product.  This diligent process identifies pieces of fruit with any issues  that would potentially impact the ability to deliver the jams, jellies and preserves consumers trust.

Fruit meeting our specific quality standards comes in for processing and is reviewed again, this time against specific regulatory guidance. From there strawberries are then washed, cut, packaged and frozen before they are moved along to production in our jams, jellies and preserves.

As the largest purchaser of the commodity in the U.S., our facilities can go through one million pounds of peanuts per day.

The process of bringing these peanuts to consumers’ is much more complex than the simplicity of the most popular lunch sandwich. Peanuts are harvested up to 200 days after they are planted. From there they go through a drying process. Once dried, the peanuts are transported to buying stations where they undergo a thorough inspection. Those peanuts deemed to meet expectations are sent out for shelling packing and transport. 

Only the highest quality peanuts are used for our peanut butter – selected based on flavor and to ensure a uniform kernel size to roast evenly.

Along with the best ingredients, we also ensure freshness. Peanuts are delivered and typically roasted and sealed in eight hours or less.

The taste and smooth texture consumers have come to expect is achieved through our commitment to delivering consistency in every batch. Our teams coordinate a range of measurements to ensure of this and adjust as needed to make sure every jar is as delicious as the last. Gas-fired hot air roasters are used to get the peanuts to right flavor.

Many Uncrustables fans will note that the uniquely soft bread is what makes the sandwich truly special. We don’t want to enter the debate, but we will say that the bread baking process is incredibly intricate and certainly worthy of admiration.

As with all products, our bread recipe begins with the highest-quality ingredients, including a specialized flour.

The development of our bread truly is a balance of science (with our recipe/formula) and art (the baking process). Because of this our work is continuous rather than batch-based to maintain consistency in each slice of bread.  

We do not use any preservatives or mold inhibitors because we are focused on freshness – our fresh baked bread is used for sandwiches which are frozen immediately. As one might assume, time is critical throughout this process. Our formulations and baking processes are designed based on the transitional freeze-thaw each product goes through to ensure consistent quality from the time the sandwiches leave our facility to the moment an excited consumer takes their first bite.

Ensuring consistency from bread baking, to depositing our fruit spreads and peanut butter through packaging and freezing is the charge of the talented teams at our manufacturing facilities – and one they take very seriously.

The facilities leverage state-of-the-art equipment to ensure safety and quality while process innovations, such as a practice wherein every sandwich is photographed to confirm it is constructed perfectly, guarantee an efficient flow to help in delivering this incredible number of sandwiches each day.

This background on what goes into every single Uncrustables sandwich is also reflective of the standard we set for every product we make for people and pets. We have always been passionate about delivering the very best quality for every consumer every day and that is how we have retained their trust for more than 120 years.