Category: Reviews

The home made uncrustable. Why pay $4 a box (about 1$ a sandwich) when you can just make it yourself. Reality is: it tastes the same, and you can do so much more. I personally like whole wheat, and avoid white bread when possible. You gotta have the fiber!

Dont want colon cancer one day (or hemorrhoids or constipation for that matter). Eitherway; I scoured the internet for a while looking for other “sandwich sealing” and “decrusting” devices. I came across one device from the Pampered Chef. From my earlier post I linked to a page the showed you how to make your own uncrustable as well [http://jonandlaura.blogspot.com/2009/04/im-in-love-with-cut-n-seal.html]

I really didnt want to fork over $10.00 (not including shipping) for this contraption. Let alone my biggest issue with this device… IT WASTES SO MUCH BREAD! Being circular… and most bread loafs are… well not.

I wanted something that was lest wasteful. With a lengthy google search I finally came across this one from Japan. I purchased it on amazon.com for about $3 and some, with free shipping. I actually later found it at my local Japanese Grocery Store to be about a dollar less, but after you add tax, meh. evens out.

Wonderbread made one too, but I didnt like the way it looked. I tried to find one that would make a shape of a penguin, but didnt really find anything.

Looking at the back of the package, there were some instructions in Japanese with pictures. You dont really need instructions to figure out how to stick some bread inbetween this device and press, but the pictures did give me some great ideas about making some ham and egg sandwiches (like you find at the Asian bakeries- at least the ones in Asia). For the purpose of this post, I am just going to stick with PB&J.

That said, I will do my step by step instruction for making my own uncrustables.

Here I like to get a little wild (though it is now demonstrated in the photo) and get the PB and J all the way to the edge. I figure that once I cut the crust off, I dont want to waste it, so I am going to eat it anyway. Might as well have some PB&J on it already.

What I did the first day I tried it was I used a whole loaf of whole wheat bread. Made some uncrustables, placed them in a baggies and threw them in the freezer. For one thing, this will keep my bread from going stale. I usually eat a whole bunch, then forget about the bread. Then the bread goes bad.

At least this way it will be preserved better. Just like the Smukers Uncrustabels, when you want to eat it, take it out of the freezer, let it sit for about 30-4o min. Then voila. Chomp down as one would on the left. I figure when ViviBear goes to school in about 5 years from now, I can have her take PB&J with her. I wont have to wake up extra early just to make her lunch. What a great money saving time saving idea!!! I also figured each time I make the sandwiches from a whole loaf, I’d be able to just eat the crust as my lunch or what not. I’d hate to waste all that crust. I never understood why people hated the crust so much. I actually like the crust.

So with my stash of PB&J without crust sandwiches, I had some snacks premade for the next few days. I noticed each time I checked them out, my stash was slowly disappearing. Turned out MommyMD was taking them to work to eat. Well someone is eating it.

Overall review of the Pan Pita: Cheap. Easy to clean. easy to use. Some bread (if smashed a bit) will not fit perfectly, and you may have some residual crust. I’d rather have that than waste too much bread as you would with the Pampered Chef CutNSeal. Buy one if you want to be lazy like me and premake the PB&J. When I showed this to my mother her response was: why are you so lazy? Just make the sandwich when you want it. meh…