National Fluffernutter Day – October 8, 2022, history significance
National Fluffernutter Day is October 8, when we fondly pay homage to the childhood sandwich of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff squished between two slices of bread. Fluffernutter holds a special place in the childhood memories of many New Englanders and is memorialized by its own special day on the calendar.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL FLUFFERNUTTER DAY
Although marshmallows date back to the Roman Empire, the marshmallow and its culinary cousins, marshmallow cream and fluff, were used as homeopathic remedies in the 1800s.
But the Marshmallow Fluff associated with the world-famous Fluffernutter was first whipped up by Archibald Query of Sommerville, Massachusetts in 1917. Archibald made batches of Fluff in his kitchen and sold it door to door until sugar shortages and rationing during World War I brought Fluff sales to a not-so-sweet halt.
After the war ended, two candlemakers joined Archie as partners in 1920 and renamed the original recipe “Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff.” Archie sold his recipe to partners H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower for $500 on May 14, 1920, who shortened their product’s name to Marshmallow Fluff.
Sales of Fluff under the Durkee-Mower, Inc. brand increased over the next decade. In 1930 the company sponsored a 15-minute radio variety show, “The Flufferettes,” to market their popular confection. As demand for gooey sweet Fluff grew, the company released “The Yummy Book” cookbook in 1940 with recipes using Fluff.
The big break endearing the famous peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff sandwich into hearts and kitchens across New England came in the 1960s when Durkee-Mower, Inc. trademarked “Fluffernutter,” the name of the most famous culinary concoction using Fluff.
2006 was a big year for the Fluffernutter. A proposal was made in the Massachusetts state assembly to make it the official sandwich of Massachusetts. That same year Fluffernutter became a new Brigham’s Ice Cream flavor. The state sandwich proposal failed, but the ice cream was a hit. And the first festival celebrating Marshmallow Fluff was held that summer.
NATIONAL FLUFFERNUTTER DAY TIMELINE
May 14, 1920
Archibald Query sells his original Fluff recipe
Candle makers H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower become business partners of Archibald Query recipe and ultimately buy the recipe rights from Query for $500
1940
“The Yummy Book” cookbook is published
Includes the Fluffernutter recipe
1960s
Trademarked
Durkee-Mower, Inc. trademarks the name “Fluffernutter”
2006
First-ever Fluff Festival
Held in Somerville, Massachusetts, home of original Marshmallow Fluff
November 18, 2012
Fluffernutter orbits Earth aboard the I.S.S.
Commander of the International Space Station, Sunita Williams of NASA, records a video tour of the orbital laboratory, revealing that her favorite treat onboard is Fluffernutter
NATIONAL FLUFFERNUTTER DAY ACTIVITIES
Invite Fluffernutter for dinner
Pass on your love of sweet and nutty traditions to the next generation by surprising the kids with a Fluffernutter dinner. Everyone makes their own Fluffernutter “entrée”. Invite some of the neighborhood kids to join in the delicious nuttiness.
Make a batch of homemade Fluff for your Fluffernutter
The Fluff formula is a well-beaten mixture of corn syrup, sugar syrup, vanilla flavor and egg whites. Search online for “homemade Marshmallow Fluff recipes.”
Spread Fluffernuttiness at the office
Take a tray of Fluffernutters to the office today instead of the usual boring doughnuts.
SWEET FACTS ABOUT THE STICKY WHITE FLUFFY STUFF IN A FLUFFERNUTTER
Global stickiness
Marshmallow Fluff is available in most of the United States and in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, South Africa, Belgium, and even the UAE.
Immortal Fluff
Marshmallow Fluff requires no refrigeration even though it still contains no preservative of any kind — which kind of makes us wonder if it is related to that other 1960s sensation that is rumored to have an eternal shelf life, the Hostess Twinkie.
Snap, crackle, pop
In 1966 a recipe was co-promoted with the Kellogg Company pairing Rice Krispies cereal and Marshmallow Fluff to create Rice Krispies Treats, another childhood favorite of kids around the world.
First batch of Marshmallow Fluff
In 1917, Archibald Query of Sommerville, Massachusetts, whips up the first batch of Marshmallow Fluff in his kitchen and sells it door-to-door
Annual Festival
Every year, Massachusetts holds their “What the Fluff” festival, specifically to celebrate Marshmallow Fluff.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL FLUFFERNUTTER DAY
Sweet childhood memories
We love remembering opening our school lunchbox to discover a gooey sweet Fluffernutter on (gasp!) white Wonder Bread. Talk about trade value! You could trade one Fluffernutter for at least two homemade chocolate chip cookies and a bag of potato chips…if you were willing to trade.
It’s never too late to try something new
If you were not fortunate enough to enjoy a Fluffernutter as a child, today’s the day to see what all the nuttiness was about. Buy a jar of Marshmallow Fluff and give it a try. You may find your new favorite comfort food.
Nostalgia
Just knowing that Fluffernutter survived wars, recessions, depressions, and government eating healthy guidelines makes us smile. It’s comforting to know some things never change.
