Fluffernutter

{{Short description|Sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Fluffernutter sandwich

| image = Fluffernutter before (white background).jpg

| image_size = 200px

| caption =

| alternate_name = Liberty Sandwich

| country = {{flagicon|US}} United States

| region = {{flagicon|New England}} New England
Massachusetts

| creator = Emma Curtis

| course =

| served =

| main_ingredient = Peanut butter, marshmallow creme

| variations =

| calories = 352

| other =

| no_recipes = 1

}}

A fluffernutter (also called a "peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich", "peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich", or "peanut butter and marshmallow stuff sandwich") is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme usually served on white bread. Variations of the sandwich include the substitution of wheat bread and the addition of various sweet, salty, and savory ingredients. The term fluffernutter can also be used to describe other food items, primarily desserts, that incorporate peanut butter and marshmallow creme.

The sandwich was first created in the early 20th century after marshmallow creme, a sweet marshmallow-like spread, was invented in Massachusetts. During World War I, a recipe for a peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwich, the earliest known example of the sandwich, was published. The term "fluffernutter" was created by an advertising agency in 1960 as a more effective way to market the sandwich.

The sandwich is particularly popular in New England and has been proposed as the official state sandwich of Massachusetts. The traditional Fluffernutter can be grilled for a popular variation.{{cite web |title=The Grilled Fluffernutter Sandwich (Fun with Fluffernutters) |website=newengland.com |date=4 January 2022 |url=https://newengland.com/yankee/history/grilled-fluffernutter-sandwich/}}

Recipe and variations

A fluffernutter is made by spreading peanut butter on a slice of bread, then spreading an equal amount of marshmallow creme on another slice and finally combining them to form a sandwich.Chmelynski, Carol. "Fluff Worth Fighting For." American School Board Journal 193.9 (2006): 10. Variations of the recipe include wheat bread instead of white,{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Michelle|title=Be Thankful That Tastes Change|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=25 November 2010}} Nutella hazelnut spread instead of, or in addition to, peanut butter,{{cite book|last=Schwartz|first=Justin|title=The Marshmallow Fluff Cookbook|year=2004|publisher=Durkee-Mower|pages=122|isbn=9780762418336|url=}} and the addition of sweet ingredients like bananas{{cite web|title=History of Fluffernutter Sandwich|url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/FluffernutterSandwich.htm|work=What's Cooking in America|access-date=3 March 2012}} or savory and salty ingredients like bacon.{{cite news|last=Bruning|first=Fred|title=Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Bacon|newspaper=Newsday|url=http://long-island.newsday.com/search/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-bacon-1.3465063|date=21 January 2012|access-date=2 March 2012|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093101/http://long-island.newsday.com/search/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-bacon-1.3465063|url-status=dead}} The Fluffernutter itself is often seen as a variation on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Though often seen as a food for children,{{cite news |date=23 September 2009 |title=Fluffernutter sandwich is good, but is it the state sandwich? |url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2009/09/fluffernutter_sandwich_is_good.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092227/https://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2009/09/fluffernutter_sandwich_is_good.html |archive-date=7 April 2014 |access-date=4 March 2012 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}} the Fluffernutter recipe has been adapted to appeal to adult tastes. For example, a New York caterer serves a fluffernutter hors d'oeuvre in a toasted ice cream cone with a spoon of peanut butter and torched marshmallow creme on top.{{cite news|last=Fitzgerald|first=Maureen|title=Bite-size foods cherished from childhood are served by a New York caterer at the most swellegant holiday parties|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=1 December 2011}}

The term fluffernutter has also been used to describe other foods that feature peanut butter and marshmallow creme, including fluffernutter cookies, bars, and cupcakes.{{cite web|title=Fluffernutter Cookies Recipe|url=http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/fluffernutter-cookies/b2d150e3-9005-495c-b3e9-c2d1a5ce3a6f|work=BettyCrocker.com|publisher=Betty Crocker|access-date=29 February 2012}}{{cite book|last=Bilderback|first=Leslie|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Snack Cakes|year=2008|publisher=Alpha|isbn=978-1-59257-737-8|pages=256|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gp2HpmCmL1sC&q=fluffernutter&pg=PT92}} Durkee-Mower, the company that produces Marshmallow Fluff, a brand of marshmallow creme, produces a cookbook that features recipes for fluffernutter bars, frosting, pie, and a shake.{{cite web|title=The Online Yummy Book|url=http://www.marshmallowfluff.com/pages/recipe_favorites.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326115939/http://www.marshmallowfluff.com/pages/recipe_favorites.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 March 2006|work=marshmallowfluff.com|publisher=Durkee-Mower|access-date=3 March 2012}} In 2006, Brigham's Ice Cream and Durkee-Mower introduced a fluffernutter flavor, which featured peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff in vanilla ice cream.{{cite web|title=Brigham's, Durkee-Mower team up for Fluffernutter ice cream|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/04/03/daily68.html|work=Boston Business Journal|access-date=3 March 2012}} Fluffernutter was also the name of a candy briefly produced by the Boyer Brothers candy company beginning in 1969.{{cite web|title=The Boyer Story|url=https://boyercandies.com/history.php|publisher=Boyer Brothers|access-date=8 March 2012|archive-date=3 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503084222/https://boyercandies.com/history.php|url-status=dead}}

History

File:Fluffernutter sandwich half.jpg

Marshmallow creme was invented in the early 20th century. In 1917, Archibald Query invented what he called Marshmallow Creme in Somerville, Massachusetts. Amory and Emma Curtis of Melrose, Massachusetts, invented Snowflake Marshmallow Creme in 1913. During World War I, Emma Curtis published a recipe for the Liberty Sandwich, which consisted of peanut butter and Snowflake Marshmallow Creme on oat or barley bread. The recipe was published in a promotional booklet sent to Curtis' customers in 1918 and may be the origin of the fluffernutter sandwich. Earlier labels and booklets published by the Curtises suggested combining Snow Flake Marshmallow Creme with peanut butter or eating it on sandwiches with chopped nuts or olives.{{cite web|last=Alverson|first=Brigid|title=Fluff? Smac? Marshmallows, made in Melrose?|url=http://melrosemirror.media.mit.edu/servlet/pluto?state=303034706167653030375765625061676530303269643030353133343838|work=Melrose Mirror|access-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102063239/http://melrosemirror.media.mit.edu/servlet/pluto?state=303034706167653030375765625061676530303269643030353133343838|archive-date=2 November 2017|url-status=dead}}

Meanwhile, sugar shortages during World War I hurt sales of Archibald Query's Marshmallow Creme, so Query sold his recipe in 1920 to two men from Swampscott, Massachusetts, H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower, who began distributing the product through their company, Durkee-Mower Inc. The pair renamed the product Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff, and Durkee-Mower continues to sell the product under the name Marshmallow Fluff.{{cite web|title=Inventor of the Week: Archibald Query|url=http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/query.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714170218/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/query.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2007|work=Lemelson-MIT|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|access-date=7 March 2012}} The sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme continued to be eaten, but was not called a fluffernutter until 1960, when an advertising firm Durkee-Mower hired created the term as a more effective way to market the sandwich.{{cite book|last=Stern|first=Jane|title=The Lexicon of Real American Food|year=2011|publisher=Lyons press|pages=110|isbn=9780762760947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHBVnMl3nMkC&q=fluffernutter&pg=PT116}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Fluffernutter is a registered trademark of Durkee-Mower, although the company's U.S. trademark registrations for the term cover only ice cream and printed recipes. In 2006, Durkee-Mower sued Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. infringed on its trademark by selling a marshmallow and peanut butter chocolate-covered candy under the Fluffernutter name.{{cite news |title= Williams-Sonoma sued over 'Fluffernutter' |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11728918 |work= NBC News |date= March 8, 2006 |access-date= September 14, 2011}}

File:Rice cracker, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff.jpg

In June 2006, Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett Barrios proposed legislation restricting the serving of fluffernutter sandwiches in public schools after learning that his son was served fluffernutters on a daily basis at his elementary school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Barrios drafted an amendment to the junk food bill which would limit fluffernutters to once a week.{{cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Steve |date=26 June 2006 |title=Fluffernutter Sandwich Angers Mass. Senator |url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Jun20/0,4670,FluffFight,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605051633/https://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Jun20/0,4670,FluffFight,00.html |archive-date=5 June 2016 |access-date=8 March 2012 |newspaper=Fox News}} The proposal was criticized as trivial and overly intrusive legislation, while Barrios' supporters pointed to concerns over childhood obesity.{{cite news |last=McKenna |first=Philip |date=June 19, 2006 |title=Can this spread be stopped? Lawmaker wants schools to put a lid on Fluff |url=http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/06/19/can_this_spread_be_stopped/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622040316/https://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/06/19/can_this_spread_be_stopped/ |archive-date=June 22, 2006 |access-date=September 14, 2011 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}} Among the people who defended the Fluffernutter at the time was Massachusetts State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, whose district in Revere was close to Lynn, where Marshmallow Fluff is made. She claimed she would "fight to the death for Fluff" and supported legislation that would make the Fluffernutter the official state sandwich. The measure failed, and Reinstein tried again unsuccessfully in 2009.{{cite news |last=Nicas |first=Jack |date=23 September 2009 |title=Gooey treat Fluffernutter proposed as official state sandwich |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/09/gooey_treat_flu.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925160514/https://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/09/gooey_treat_flu.html |archive-date=25 September 2009 |access-date=5 March 2012 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}} Supporters of the bill cited the sandwich's close association with childhood and Massachusetts.

In 2021, Merriam-Webster added the word fluffernutter to its dictionary.{{Cite web |title=Fluffernutter is added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/10/27/fluffernutter-addition-merriam-webster-dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027181448/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/10/27/fluffernutter-addition-merriam-webster-dictionary |archive-date=27 October 2021 |access-date=2021-11-05 |website=www.wbur.org |date=27 October 2021 |language=en}}

In popular culture

The term fluffernutter has sometimes been used disparagingly to describe something that lacks substance and has minimal to no cultural value.{{cite news|title=Top Picks: 4th of July on PBS, letters to Harry Potter, jazz masters, and more; PBS presents their annual "A Capitol Fourth" concert, Harry Potter's fan mail, Sony celebrates 40 years of jazz, and more recommendations.|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=30 June 2011}}{{cite web|last=Louderback|first=Jim|title=There, I Said It: Screw Viral Videos|date=30 August 2010 |url=http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/constant-focus-viral-videos-good-ad-industry/145636/|publisher=Ad Age|access-date=2 March 2012}} On the other hand, some writers look on fluffernutters and marshmallow creme as a source of childhood nostalgia and regional pride.{{cite news|title=State Senator Wants Fluff Off School Menus|url=http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/9394199/detail.html|access-date=8 March 2012|newspaper=TheBostonChannel.com|date=19 June 2006}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The sandwich has close ties to New England and Massachusetts, particularly to Somerville, where Archibald Query invented Marshmallow Fluff, and to Lynn, where Durkee-Mower has produced it for decades. Somerville holds an annual festival called What the Fluff? based around celebrating Marshmallow Fluff and Fluffernutter sandwiches. The festival incorporates music, visual art, games, and a cooking contest based around Fluff and Fluffernutters. In 2011, NASA astronaut Richard Michael Linnehan, who was born in Lowell and ate a fluffernutter while aboard the International Space Station, acted as one of the contest judges.{{cite news|last=Twardzik|first=Cathleen|title=It's 'What the Fluff?' time again in Somerville|url=http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/19137|access-date=4 March 2012|newspaper=The Somerville News|date=22 September 2011}}

October 8 is National Fluffernutter Day.{{cite web|title=National Fluffernutter Day|url=http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-fluffernutter-day-october-8/|website=National Day Calendar|access-date=14 April 2016}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20141012053415/https://unionsquaremain.org/fluff-festival/ Union Square Fluff Festival Website]
[http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/blog/2014/09/24/visit-marshmallow-fluff-factory/ "Behind the Marshmallow Curtain: A Look Inside Lynn's Marshmallow Fluff Factory"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317230530/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/blog/2014/09/24/visit-marshmallow-fluff-factory/ |date=2017-03-17 }} - Boston magazine, September 2014

Category:American sandwiches

Category:Brand name confectionery

Category:Brands that became generic

Category:Marshmallows

Category:New England cuisine

Category:Peanut butter sandwiches

Category:Vegetarian sandwiches