Smucker's Builds New Factory Just For Uncrustables. Because America.

Who'd have ever thought that frozen premade peanut butter and jelly pockets would test Smucker's manufacturing capabilities? The Ohio-based foodstuffs giant is opening a new factory in Longmont, Colorado, just to keep up with the demand for these ridiculous snacks. Growing from approximately $10 million in sales in 2000 to $200 million today, the Uncrustables line has steadily become one of Smucker's flagship products. While it's not hard to understand the convenience of an aesthetically pleasing little white pouch of kids' favorite sandwich ingredients, the question must be asked: Come on. Okay, that's not a question. Come on, though.

Your average homemade PB&J contains about 350 calories, 13 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and 16 grams of sugar. While a strawberry Uncrustable contains less of everything (protein and fiber included), it packs a ton of the kind of unpronounceable ingredients we've all been told to steer clear of. Besides enriched white flour, you'll get things like artificial dough conditioners, refined sugar, preservatives, hydrogenated vegetable oil, regular and high fructose corn syrups AND dextrose.

Considering that making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using whole wheat bread and all-natural ingredients only takes about 30 seconds longer than hauling an Uncrustable out of the freezer and unwrapping it, the only argument left is whether trimming the crust off is inconvenience enough to forgo the wholesomeness of the real deal.