Peeps Totally Explained

Everything about Peeps totally explained

Peeps (branded as PEEPS) are small marshmallow candies, sold in the US and Canada, that are shaped into chicks, bunnies, and other animals. There are also different shapes used for various holidays. Peeps are primarily used to fill Easter baskets, though recent ad campaigns tout the candy as "Peeps - Always in Season". They are made from marshmallow, sugar, gelatin, and carnauba wax.
   Peeps are produced by Just Born, a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Peeps were introduced in 1952 by Russian immigrant, Sam Born. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process (originally the chicks were formed by hand) and mass-produced them. Back in 1952, when the peeps were made by hand it took 28 hours to make one marshmallow peep. The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad shapes in which they're now produced.
   Just Born has expanded its product line to include bats, cats, pumpkins, and ghosts for Halloween; hearts for Valentine's Day; eggs for Easter; trees, gingerbread men, snowmen, and stars for Christmas; and red, white, and blue chicks and stars for the 4th of July.
   Although the original Peeps were standard marshmallow flavor, some of the newer flavors include strawberry and vanilla (hearts for Valentine's Day), cocoa (cats and bats for Halloween), gingerbread cookie (gingerbread people for Christmas), and orange (eggs for Easter). In 2007, the "Spooky Friends", mouth-sized Peeps in holiday-themed shapes, were introduced, as were peppermint flavored stars for the holiday season. Red Peep chicks are exclusively available at Canadian stores.

Peep jousting

The messy and largely self-entertaining game, "Peeps Jousting" is played with a microwave oven. One takes two Peeps, and licks the right-hand side of each until sticky. A toothpick is thereby adhered to each Peep, pointing forward like a jousting lance. The Peeps are then set in a microwave, squared off against one another, and heated up. As they expand, the toothpick lances thrust toward each opponent, and the winner is the one that doesn't pop and deflate (or fizzle and die). Both usually are eaten after the competition, however, regardless who the victor was, calling into question the nature of "winning" in such a privilege. This folkloric tradition has been noted by the Washington Post. Peeps jousting has also been called such names as "mortal peep fight."

Indestructible Peeps

Rumors of Peeps' purported indestructibility have evolved into a myth that has come to define the product's place in the lore of pop-culture ephemera. In an effort to establish this legend as fact or fiction, scientists at Emory University performed experiments on batches of Peeps to see whether they could be dissolved. They concluded that the candy is indeed difficult to destroy.

Using Peeps in cooking

Though they're made of marshmallow, it's difficult to toast a Peep over a campfire, as the sugar coating tends to burn and become unpalatable. However, Peeps can be used as ingredients in such desserts as marshmallow cookie treats (to substitute as marshmallows as well as being used as decorative objects on top), fondue, and s'mores. Peeps are also excellent in a cup of hot cocoa, especially as the chicks will float upright until the increasing warmth causes them to dissolve.

Peep eating contest

The first Peep Off was held in Maryland, by Shawn Sparks, in 1994, and had only 6 participants. It is held the first Saturday after Easter, when Peeps are greatly discounted. Dave Smith started Sacramento's record holding annual Peep Off after contacting Jack Eidsness, a participant in the first Peep Off, with a question about it, through Mr. Eidsness' Peep-themed website.
The Sacramento version was first held in 1997 and is known as "The Dennis Gross Memorial Sacramento Peep Off."
The basic rules: Contestants get 30 minutes of Peep-eatery, and then there's a five minute "cooling off" period where they're disqualified if they vomit. At the start of the five minutes, they can shove as many more Peeps into their mouths in an attempt to chew and swallow during the period. The puke rule is, if you throw up, you can eat your puke and not be disqualified (which has happened). The all-time record is 102 Peeps eaten by Dennis Gross in 2003 which led to the Peep Off being known as, "The Dennis Gross Memorial Peep Off." Most news sources put Dennis at 82 which is incorrect.

Photo and videos

There is a whole genre of Peeps videos on video sites such as YouTube ranging from parodies of movies such as Star Wars, Pink Floyd's The Wall, and PT 109. There are also Peeps put on grills, placed in microwave ovens, expanded in a vacuum, run over by cars, and used in political commentary. The Seattle Times has an annual contest of Peeps used in photos. The St. Paul Pioneer Press was the first newspaper to hold an annual Peeps diorama contest and receives hundreds of entries every year. The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and other newspapers also hold a Peeps diorama contest every Easter.
Peeps feature in an Easter themed episode of South Park. A bag of Peeps (original peeps, the yellow chicks) is placed in a microwave oven and heated on high power, resulting in a big mess.

Peep slaughters

The Smith College Science Fiction and Fantasy Society has been holding an annual spring Peep slaughter since 1981. Peeps are "massacred" in ways ranging from being flushed down the toilet to be given WLA Viking funerals on the campus pond. The practice reportedly began among students at the University of Massachusetts and was brought to Smith at a Passover seder.

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