120. Marshmallow Fluff
One of the healthier unhealthy treats
There is, of course, the PB&J, and the more esoteric peanut butter and honey. But neither of these come close to the regional delicacy that is the fluffernutter. Little known outside New England, this peanut-butter-and-Marshmallow-Fluff sandwich is a mystery to the uninitiated. But for millions, it’s the taste of childhood.
Why New England? Boston has a sweet tooth—granulated sugar was invented there, and America’s first commercial chocolate production began there in 1764. Then a Cambridge company invented the hand-cranked eggbeater; before that, cookbooks advised on managing arm fatigue from whipping eggs by hand.
From this fertile ground arose Marshmallow Fluff, the most shelf-stable mass-produced confection in the country. With just four ingredients, no preservatives beyond artificial vanilla flavor, Marshmallow Fluff is, improbably, one of the healthier unhealthy things that Americans love to eat.
It started just after WWI, when two veterans returning from those grim trenches bought the formula for a confection that is pure, joyful pleasure. They were early radio advertisers with the Flufferettes, and successfully fended off hostile competition from Kraft in the 1960s, coining and trademarking the name Fluffernutter. A century on, the company is still privately held, run by the same family, and produces just one product—which is sold globally.
In one Sopranos episode, Christopher comes home to his mother’s kitchen after avenging his father’s murder and asks for a fluffernutter. She can’t make it—she stopped keeping peanut butter around after he left home. But the Fluff is still there. It’s always there.
Special thanks to Jodie Thorne for suggesting Marshmallow Fluff.
Links:
Video: The Sopranos fluffernutter scene (Season 4 Episode 1 “For All Debts Public and Private”)
Behind the Marshmallow Curtain: A Look Inside Lynn’s Marshmallow Fluff Factory – Christopher Hughes, Boston Magazine, September 24, 2014
What the Fluff is Marshmallow Creme? – Gastropod, September 26, 2017
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This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 words on 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. Through December 31, 2026.
I’m looking for ideas for this series — have something you’d like me to consider for inclusion? Please feel free to leave a comment!
Hmmmm.....I appreciate this entry for I didn't know about this and I missed that line in the movie! Thank you...I would have loved it!
Interesting Fluff...