Fluff

About ten years ago my husband told me, “I used to eat fluff sandwiches when I was a kid.” I don’t know how it came up. We had been dating for a few years at the time. I laughed heartily. We had a weird exchange that I’m going to recreate for you below:

Girlfriend Q:  “That’s funny.”
Boyfriend Q with a blank stare ::pause::  “No, I ate fluff sandwiches. For real.”
Girlfriend Q at a loss, “What is fluff?”
Boyfriend Q: “You don’t know what Fluff is?”
Girlfriend Q: “No, never heard of it. What is it?”

Boyfriend Q pauses, “I’m not sure. My mom would make fluff sandwiches for us when we got home from school. You never had fluff sandwiches?”
Girlfriend Q: “No, not that I’m aware of….”
One of the next grocery trips I made a point of seeking out this “Fluff.” And I found it. I stared at the jar perplexed. Not what I expected to be used as a sandwich filling. Being the devoted girlfriend I was, I bought a big jar for him and brought it home.
Girlfriend Q triumphant: “I found ‘Fluff’ at the grocery store.”
Boyfriend Q confirms, “Yep, that’s it.”
Girlfriend Q: “I can’t believe you ate this as a kid. I’ll make you a fluff sandwich if you want one?”
Boyfriend Q uninterested: “Maybe later.”

That jar of Fluff sat for a long time. He never opened it. It got pushed to the back of the cabinet and I found it when we were packing up for a move. The contents had separated and it was opened for the first time only so that the contents could be tipped into the garbage and the glass jar recycled. My first and last experience with Fluff. I think of it as a regional food.

Do you know what Fluff is? Do you eat it? Any guesses on where my husband grew up?

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164 thoughts on “Fluff

  1. DUDE, THAT'S FOR SURE A SOUTHERN THING. Here, we LOVE Fluff. PB & Fluff sandwiches .. also called Fluffernutters here .. were a delicacy. This is also the kind of crap you could see Elvis inhaling, am I right?

  2. It should be a SIN to throw out Fluff! I'm guessing he comes from the New York region, possibly one of the 5 boroughs. Where I come, it was Fluff n Nutter sandwiches. (Fluff & Peanut Butter) Even now, being a healthy eater, I find it irresistible.

  3. I grew up in Michigan without Fluff. Just had the stuff about about 4 years ago for the first time on the East coast. Maybe if I was a kid again I could really get into it. Sticky sweet!

  4. I had it in the great lakes area as a treat growing up…delicious with peanut butter.

  5. It's also a Northeastern thing. Fluff, which is a marshmallow…spread, for lack of a better word, was invented in lovely Somerville, Massachusetts – so he could have grown up in New England. I live in the area and for the past few years there's been a big festival called "What the Fluff?" celebrating its invention. I liked peanut butter and fluff as a kid, but now I just use the stuff for making fudge – the "Never-Fail" recipe on the back is totally true!

  6. I'm a midwesterner (southern IL, so we had southern influences), and we definitely had Fluffernutters here. Deeelicious. A special treat (usually when we were sick and refusing to eat) was coke with a spoonful of fluff stirred in. Basically just a vanilla coke, but the fluff made it foam like crazy!

  7. I most certainly do know what Fluff is … and my Mom never, ever let us eat it. Just for the record, we live in NYC. Here they not only have the plain Fluff, but strawberry Fluff as well. My ex-husband was a huge Fluff fiend and ate things called Fluffernutters, which are Fluff and banana sandwiches. I never had a taste for it, preferring banana and peanut butter sandwiches, or cream cheese and jelly.

    I think Mom's aversion to it is its lack of nutritional value … and expense. We didn't have much money growing up and Mom made her dollars stretch. We never had these novelty "food" items, and I wouldn't eat them now.

  8. New England? We did Fluffernutter sandwiches in new England growing up. I still use it occasionally. It's very, very tasty with peanut butter. You should try it at least once. Or, you can make your own Fluff! I made fluff & marshmallows for my blog not too long ago and it was lots of fun. 🙂

  9. Grew up in Germany on a military base…but we knew what Fluff was 🙂 with Peanut Butter its the best 🙂

  10. I guess I grew up in a hole! I never knew! And I think Elvis ate fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches!

  11. Apparently its not just a regional thing after all! Posters from around the country seem to have eaten fluffernutter sandwiches too! For the record I never did but my dad ate them as a child (we're from the South/Mid-Atlantic). And we always used fluff for making fudge or quickie s'mores growing up. Oh and my mom and I eat mayonnaise and banana sandwiches- that I think is definitely a regional thing. We put mayo on everything in the South!

  12. I don't think it's a regional thing. Marshmallow Fluff is everywhere. I think it's an indulgent thing.

    Fluffernutters are a thing of myth and legend in my mind. We never had the Peanut Butter & Fluff concoction. I heard of others enjoying it when I was a kid, but never witnessed it.

    Fluff was used a time or two in my house for Rice Krispies Treats. I also remember a relative making Fudge with it at one point.

    Fluff is essentially commercial processed Meringue: Sugar/Corn Starch & Egg Whites.

  13. I knew of Fluff but never ate it. My family put it in the same category as Goobers (PB&J in the same jar) – kind of odd and a little useless. I still don't really know what to think of it… why not just get marshmellows?

  14. I'm from New England and I grew up on the stuff. I use it now as an emergency sandwich when I have nothing else for my boyfriend's lunches. It's AWESOME!!!

  15. My Dad used to love Fluffernutter sandwiches. I thought they were yucky (don't like peanut butter except on apples). But I love Fluff on wheat bread!

    I baby sat a kid whose mom regularly made him this sandwich: processed white bread, fluff, powdered sugar, marshmellow. She said the bread was fortified, so this was the only way to get him to eat it. The kid was a nightmare. Can't imagine why.

  16. I thought Fluff was a Northern thing, until I saw it down here in VA! My mom used to make us Fluffernutter sandwiches regularly. They were awesome … or so I thought when I was a kid. I bought some thinking I could share the Fluffernutter-ness with my son. He's 8 and wasn't that impressed with it. He says it's too sweet to eat for lunch (if you need an instant sugar laden energy rush and have time for a nap within the hour after eating it, ENJOY a scoop)and gives him a stomach ache. Truth be told, it was too sweet for me now as a sandwich filling. However we love using it in hot chocolate instead of marshmallows!

  17. I grew up in Ohio and never heard of Fluff until I moved to New England when I was 10. I never liked it (I was that weird kid who didn't like sweet things…preferred my junk food to be salty and savory) but my little brother was OBSESSED with PB and Fluff sandwiches – he would have one as an afterschool snack every day!

  18. We grew up in NE Ohio, and my sister learned about fluffernutter sandwiches from a friend at school. She used to make them, but I don't think that I ever tried them… too sweet for me.

  19. Marshmallow fluff, invented in Somerville, Massachusetts. We have a Fluff Festival every year in my own neighborhood, complete with peanut-butter-and-fluff sandwiches ("raw" or toasted), the Girl Scouts selling rice krispie treats presumably made with Fluff, and our local burlesque troupe dressing up as The Flufferettes. Not for every day consumption, but as an occasional –and shame-free! indulgence, yum!

  20. I never ate Fluff sandwiches, but I did grow up with it in the house. Put it in hot chocolate or on top of ice cream. My husband speaks very highly of "Fluffernutter" sandwiches, though.

  21. We used to eat it once in a while in sandwiches. Pretty good stuff. I would probably not like it now but It's great to use when making fudge!

  22. Fluff and peanut butter, fluff and banana, fluff and peanut butter and banana. I grew up in Pittsburgh. Fluff is masrshmallow creme. Kraft also makes marshmallow creme and for the longest time had a recipe for "Million Dollar Fudge" on the back. I will have to go to the grocery store to see if the recipe is still there. My mom taught Home-ec and used that recipe with her classes.

  23. Oh goodness! Fluffernutters!

    I grew up in South-Central Pennsylvania and went through about a jar a week of my beloved "fluff"

    To this day, I still love it. Though, I have recently switched to Ricemallow Fluff instead 🙂

  24. I was going to guess he's from New England, and I was going to say MA specifically. I think I recall my elementary school sometimes serving fluffernutters for lunch on occasion.

  25. arizona here, and i remember swapping food items in my lunch box for fluffernutter sandwiches on wonder bread, which were PB/fluff. because my parents would have NEVER purchased such a thing, lol.

    ice cream parlors use it as their marshmallow topping, and if you mix it with cream cheese it makes a super yummy dip for strawberries… yum!

  26. I guessing the North East as well. I grew up in Northern NY (my mom was originally from Long Island) and we ate "Fluffernutter" sandwiches all the time. Okay, well, technically my twin was the Fluffernutter freak while I preferred regular PB&J. It amazes me when people don't know about this stuff. Then again, I was oblivious to the existence of Nutella until college, so…

  27. I honestly don't think its a regional thing. I grew up with them (they were a fun treat in my house) and I'm from PA. My dad grew up with them (he's from NY) and I have a boat load of friends from college that had a Fluffernutter party at school and they hailed from California, Florida, and Ohio. My husband knew what they were too and he's from MD and his step-mom knew them too (from WV).

    Also, PB & banana sandwiches probably never crossed Elvis's lips. Much to healthy. He ate PB, banana, and BACON sandwiches fried in bacon grease. THAT's why it was a heart stopper.

  28. My mother wouldn't let Fluff in the house. Her mother made marshmallows from scratch and thought Fluff was a travesty (which it is).

    As an adult I've only bought it once and that was for a fruit dip recipe. It was way too sugary and I attribute that to the fluff.

  29. I grew up on the East Coast of Canada and we always had Fluff in the cupboard!

  30. In the Pacific NW we have Marshmallow Creme. It's not called fluff. 🙂 I've never had it much but the times I've had it has been in things like fudge or rice crispy treats. Other than that, I've never heard of it being used much.

  31. We would get peanut butter and fluff sandwiches as treats on occasion. I definitely think of it as more of a Northeastern thing…I grew up in Vermont. I live in the Mid Atlantic now and haven't met anyone who grew up here and ate them.

  32. I love the fudge recipe on the back. It truly is never fail. I also put Fluff in hot chocolate – -better than marshmallows.!

    JJ in KC

  33. It's Everywhere, It's Everywhere!

    Can't imagine eating it or ruining a peanutbutter sandwich with it.

    I may be in the minority though.

  34. Until I moved to New England from the Midwest, I never heard of a food called, "fluff" or sandwiches called "fluffernutters." Then I realized fluff is what we called marshmallow creme when I was growing up in St. Louis. People here in New England go wild over fluffernutters but they hold no appeal for me. Sticky peanut butter and sticky marshmallow goo together on bread? If that doesn't stick to the roof of your mouth, nothing will!

    Marshmallow used to be made from the sap of marshmallow root whipped with sugar but the French devised a way to make a similar candy using egg whites instead of marshmallow and that seems to be the convention for making it today.

  35. Another New Englander here and we had fluff. I even let me kids eat it every few months and they LOVE it of course (I mean really, sugar sugar and more sugar?) I use to really like a BIG spoonful in a cup of hot chocolate.

  36. I grew up in upstate NY and it was always exciting as a kid to open my lunch box and see a fluffernutter sandwich. Not the healthiest thing of course but so good for a treat once in awhile. I agree with theredmenaceeats too, fluff makes very tasty fudge, and the recipe is so easy! And my all time favorite use for fluff… one spoonful on top of a mug of hot chocolate, yum!

  37. I live in the northwest and we had fluff – but we used it in hot cocoa. I knew those that would eat it w/ peanut butter sandwiches, or even preferred it w/ their s'mores. It is definitely not a regional thing.

  38. Texas, and my kids love fluffernutter sandwiches. They are a rare treat. 🙂

  39. OMG Peanut Butter and Fluff on Ritz Crackers! Nice dollop of each on two crackers, smoosh them together, like the sides til it's pressed tight and then eat the cracker…..

    I'm from Connecticut so grew up with PB&Fluff (only on crackers cus I thought it made the bread too crunchy) but my husband and co-workers in California had no clue what I was talking about. I think I had to bring it back with me from a visit to Connecticut. Then I found it in the store as Marshmallow Creme.

    "Oh we've got Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and lots of Peanut Butter, we've got Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and lots of Pea-Nut Butter". That was from a commercial long long ago.

  40. Is he from the South? I've heard of Fluffernutters, but never eaten one…. I've heard of marshmallow fluff used to make fudge, and I've also had a really tasty (but probably not really good for you) dip made with fluff, cream cheese, and caramel dip.

  41. New Jersey here, and yes we ate Fluffernutter sandwiches as a kid (Peanut Butter and Fluff) and yes they still sell it in the stores, but my kids won't touch it.

  42. RLR–Fluffernutters, yes!!! My dad ate these and made them for us occassionally when we were little. I'm in West Virginia. Fluff and peanut butter. Pretty tasty, but I wouldn't recommend making them a regular menu item…

  43. Fluffernutter sandwiches… Back as a kid, they were the greatest. I grew up in the capital district area of NY state and it was a staple. Definitely makes a great fudge. I think they changed the formula for it now because I bought some a few months ago and it just didn't taste or react the way it used to. More plastic tasting now.

  44. I'm a midwesterner (close to Wisconsin) and I LOVE eating Flufferneutters! They were kind of a treat when we were kids. And, when I was in high school, we'd throw some chocolate chips on one and pop it in the microwave for a minute. Soooooo good. Plus, Fluff makes GREAT fudge! Closest thing I can find to REAL marshmallow, not those puffy little things you get in bags.

  45. Another NE Ohioan here – we definately had fluff, a common spread known as Amish wedding spread is made by mixing peanut butter, Marshmellow fluff/cream, and honey. The Amish around here make it for their afterchurch meal. I think it is quite tasty in this mixture. (and as a vegetarian – it is the only way I have access to marshmellows because of its lack of gelatin – in the winter, dollaps in the hot cocoa is common.)

  46. Ah, fluff….I grew up in PA, and we would very occasionally have fluffernutter sandwiches. As an adult, I've moved around quite a lot, mostly to the southern states (GA, SC, NC). I discovered Nutella in my travels, and now I make Fluff and Nutella sandwiches. It's like a cheater s'more, and my kids like when we have the ingredients to make them. It's a special treat for them.

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