History
Many late 19th century "marshmallow paste" recipes produced solid foods. The earliest mention of marshmallow creme in an American cookbook is from Fannie Farmer's Boston School Cook Book, printed in 1896. However, the author does not give a recipe for marshmallow cream in this book, instead giving a recipe for marshmallow paste in the cake filling section. In 1902, Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book by Sarah Tyson Rorer describes her recipe for "marshmallow filling".
Around the beginning of the 20th century, Somerville, Massachusetts resident and inventor of the product Archibald Query started selling his version door-to-door. He soon afterward sold the recipe to two candy makers in Lynn, Massachusetts, H. Allen Durkee and Fred Mower, for $500. The product first hit supermarket shelves in cans as Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff in 1917. The first two words were dropped soon after the packaging changed to a glass jar in the 1940s. Today, the Durkee-Mower company is one of only three companies in North America to produce marshmallow creme, the others being Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme and Solo Marshmallow Creme.
"Fluff" continues as a regional tradition in the Northeast United States. One popular use is in the Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter sandwich (Fluffernutter).
Since at least 2006, the city of Somerville has celebrated Query's original creation of Fluff with an annual festival in Union Square titled What the Fluff?. Typical activities at the festival have included a science fair, gallery show, cooking contests, and carnival games such as a bean-bag toss, all themed around Marshmallow Fluff. In 2011, actress Susan Olsen, most famous for portraying Cindy Brady on the Brady Bunch attended the festival, where she sold her marshmallow fluff-inspired art.
According to a 2006 Boston Globe article, Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett Barrios proposed a restriction on the number of weekly servings of Marshmallow Fluff (Fluffernutter) sandwiches in the form of an amendment to a bill that will limit junk food in schools. The proposal was later dropped. Also in 2006 State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein planned to file a bill that would make the Fluffernutter the official sandwich of Massachusetts. The incident is locally referred to as "The Great 2006 Kerfluffle."
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