How Massachusetts Put Its Own Sweet Spin On The Classic Peanut Butter Sandwich

Nearly as iconic as the PB&J, fluffernutters are a childhood classic for millions of people across the U.S. This indulgent combination of sweet marshmallow créme and peanut butter on white bread is not only Massachusetts' official state sandwich, it's also beloved throughout the South. Though peanut butter was made famous by the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, this dynamic duo wouldn't solidify an iconic partnership until 1918.

Fluff came on the scene for the first time in Melrose, Massachusetts in 1913, and again in nearby Somerville in 1917. That's right — in just four short years and less than eight miles apart, two confectioners invented the same product. The original marshmallow fluff recipe — marketed as Snowflake Marshmallow Créme — was invented by couple Amory and Emma Curtis. Archibald Query concocted the second formula, but it was Emma Curtis who penned the 1918 recipe for the first fluffernutter, which she called a Liberty Sandwich. The sandwich consisted of peanut butter and dense barley-oat bread with a layer of marshmallow fluff to make the other two ingredients more palatable during a time of strict WWI food rationing guidelines.

It wasn't until the 1960s, when the makers behind Marshmallow Fluff began marketing their product to busy housewives as a convenience food, that the Liberty Sandwich took off. The fluffernutter we know and love today was born from those efforts.

As convenience foods became increasingly more popular during the 1960s, the Marshmallow Fluff creators saw a chance to make their product a household staple. They updated Emma Curtis's original Liberty Sandwich recipe, swapping dense whole-grain bread for soft white bread. The recipe was a hit and it's been a Massachusetts favorite ever since, even making its way onto lunch menus in public schools.

Eventually, the recipe migrated to the peanut-loving South, where it became a classic there, too. After all, peanuts and peanut butter are inherently Southern, and many other classic peanut butter-based sweets have their origins in the region — so it makes sense that local folks would fall in love with fluffernutters. They've even invented a number of variations on this sweet treat, from adding a drizzle of chocolate spread to using marshmallow fluff as a way to upgrade an ordinary PB&J.

Today, fluff not only graces the inside of the nostalgic sandwich, but is also an essential ingredient in Rice Krispie treats, simple fudge recipes, and holiday sweet potato casserole. Marshmallow fluff has even been sent to space so that astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) could enjoy fluffernutters while monitoring the cosmos.