Peanut Butter and Jelly Biscuits: Genocide Edition
How a simple snack became a symbol of scarcity in Gaza
Nisreen, a food blogger and Palestinian living in Gaza, has uploaded a video showcasing herself making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of aid that managed to reach Gaza. The biscuits are “high-energy biscuits” fortified with vitamins and minerals to promote health during times of scarcity.
Many netizens ex, such as anat_international, pressed sadness due to the lack of bread and fresh ingredients in Gaza. In a stitch with the original video, she made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Graham crackers hoping to get the snack to become a pro-Palestine trend. While Anat was dismayed at the lack of fresh ingredients, she felt relief that Nisreen was able to eat something sweet after 100 days of genocide.
So far, nothing has come of the effort to get peanut butter and jelly biscuits trending for Palestine. However, in a later video, Nisreen showed a video of herself making bread with za’atar, an oregano-based spice mix used in many Palestinian foods. Traditionally made with Syrian oregano (Origanum syriacum), za’atar usually consists of thyme, oregano, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt. Other variations of the spice include marjoram, but this is not common.
As more and more people learn about Palestine’s plight, they become curious about Palestinian culture and what it was like before October 7. This has led to more people trying and falling in love with Palestinian foods. However, even non-traditional foods, such as peanut butter and jelly biscuits, hold significance in Palestine due to scarcity.
