Marshmallow Fluff Moment

No lie:  this past Saturday night, I was telling Liz (friend) and Janice (friend and Cookie Craft co-author) about my love of Marshmallow Fluff and my profound realization that, should I be so lucky to someday get on Thom Filicia’s Dress My Nest (my latest makeover show obsession), the iconic Marshmallow Fluff jar would be one of my three “style” items. (OK, so what do you talk about on Saturday nights?)

My collection of Marshmallow Fluff jars

Then, weirdly, a mere four days later, I get a notice from the Astor Center about a class on… Marshmallow Fluff! It turns out that the world is on the cusp of an MF moment, and I have tapped into the Fluff zeitgeist.

To prove I am not just a Fluffer-come-lately, I am posting a picture of my empty jar collection… And I feel the need to picture the gentlemen who invented Marshmallow Fluff in 1917, because they don’t look particularly Fluff-y:

Fred L. Mower

Arguably MF is best-known for being one of three ingredients in the Fluffernutter. Some months ago, I tried the version at Peanut Butter & Co. on Sullivan Street and found it skimpy on both the Fluff and the PB—the filling to bread ratio was way too low, making for a dry sandwich. Perhaps they were having an off day or maybe they were just trying to sell more milk. In any event, as a result of the disappointment, and despite the danger of having a jar of peanut butter in the cabinet (i.e. the danger of my polishing off the entire jar in two days), I have since found it much more satisfying to make my own Fluffernutters.

Still life with Fluff

In case you’re thinking “Well, that Valerie’s really into junk food,” I’ll have you know that Marshmallow Fluff contains only corn syrup, sugar syrup, dried egg whites and vanillin. Notice there is no “high fructose” in front of the “corn syrup”… It’s also fat-free and, according to the official website there are “no artificial preservatives, stabilizers or emulsifiers.” It’s also gluten-free, Kosher and (lucky for Janice) vegetarian, because it has none of the gelatin that’s in solid marshmallows…

Currently, Marshmallow Fluff sells for a reasonable $1.39 at my local Morton Williams, where the price of other items (organic milk, yogurt, bananas) have been rising at an alarming rate. For fun-per-ounce, MF may just be the biggest bargain in New York City. In fact, I almost hesitate to post this for fear that you, my vast blog audience, will increase its popularity and drive up the price…