We LOVE the 50 nifty United States of this awesome country and believe each state is special. Every Monday we feature a sandwich unique to its state as part of our “50 Sandwiches, 50 States, 50 Weeks” series beginning with Alabama and ending with Wyoming.
Take two pieces of bread, spread peanut butter on one piece and marshmallow fluff or cream on the other and you have the simple Fluffernutter sandwich- a sandwich particularly popular in New England. While New York isn’t part of New England, it’s geographically close and in the near decade that I’ve lived in New York, I’d never heard of a Fluffernutter sandwich until now. I must be living under a rock because not only are there variations of the sandwich there are several Fluffernutter spin-offs like pies, cookies, bars, and shakes.
So how did the Fluffernutter come to be? I’ll do my best to explain.
Marshmallow cream became popular in the early 20th century as a dessert topping. In 1913 a brother-sister duo, Amory and Emma Curtis, from Melrose, MA invented Snowflake Marshmallow Cream (SMAC), the first commercially shelf-stable marshmallow cream popularizing its home use. Emma put together recipe booklets she mailed to customers suggesting ways the cream could be used. One of her recipes was the Liberty Sandwich consisting of peanut butter and SMAC on oat or barley bread which is said to be the original source of the Fluffernutter sandwich.
The Curtis’s were not the only ones making the creme- or fluff. In 1913 a man by the name of Archibald Query of Sommerville, MA made Solo Marshmallow Creme and sold it door to door. In 1920 he sold the recipe to Lynn, MA candy makers, H. Allen Durkee and Fred Mower, for $500. They formed the Durkee-Mower Company and sold the creme in retail stores in 1927. Today the same creme is sold in supermarkets as Marshmallow Fluff and is only one of three companies in North America to produce marshmallow creme. Throughout the years the Liberty Sandwich continued to be eaten and was named the Fluffernutter Sandwich by Durkee-Mower in 1960 as a more effective way to market their marshmallow fluff sandwich.
Unfortunately, not everyone is excited about the sandwich. Let’s face it, it isn’t exactly healthy and the sugary, high calorie fluff should be consumed in moderation. In 2006 a State Senator proposed legislation that would restrict the sweet sandwich to being served in Massachusetts schools to once a week as an effort to combat childhood obesity. This created quite a stir and a State Representative fired back proposing to make the Fluffernutter the official state sandwich of Massachusetts. After about a week of arguing, both parties dropped their proposals and the town of Sommerville began an annual tribute festival called “What the Fluff.”
One thing’s for sure- this sandwich belongs to the great state of Massachusetts! Now that I’ve experienced my first Fluffernutter and even made the fluff homemade myself, I can only imagine how any adult that grew up eating this sandwich must get flooded with nostalgic childhood memories at every bite. What a great treat to pass on to children! I really enjoyed it and felt like a kid myself- especially when Gary told me I had fluff stuck on the side of my face. And the homemade marshmallow creme is easy- especially if you have a stand mixer- and doesn’t require a candy thermometer, which is good, since I don’t have one. So if you’ve never had a Fluffernutter sandwich, I’d say it’s ’bout time you did!
- 8 slices of your favorite bread
- Your favorite peanut butter
- Marshmallow fluff (store bought or homemade)
- 1 egg white at room temperature
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1⅓ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp.vanilla extract
- Add egg white, corn syrup and salt to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes.
- Add sugar and mix on low speed until combined then add vanilla and mix until combined.
- Spread marshmallow fluff on a piece of bread and peanut butter on another.
- Sandwich the two pieces together.
The fluff makes a lot and there are many other recipes on the internet you could use the fluff in.
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