Peeps

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Peeps

Peeps are small marshmallow

Marshmallow

The Marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar or corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, and flavorings, whipped to a spongy consistency....
candies, sold in the US and Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, 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".

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Encyclopedia

Peeps are small marshmallow

Marshmallow

Canada

Marshmallow

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, gelatin

Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
, and carnauba wax

Carnauba wax

Carnauba is a wax derived from the leaves of the carnauba palm, Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazil states of Piau?, Cear?, and Rio Grande do Norte....
.

Peeps are produced by Just Born

Just Born

Just Born is a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States.They produce Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales, ZOURS, Teenee Beanee Gourmet Jelly Beans, and Marshmallow Peeps....
, a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
. Peeps were introduced nationally in 1958 by Pravin Pant Sr., a Nepali immigrant. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process (originally the chicks were formed by hand) and mass-produced them. 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 are now produced.

Just Born has expanded its product line to include bats, cats, pumpkins, and ghosts for Halloween

Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic mythology of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a Secularity celebration, but some Christians and Paganism have expressed strong feelings about its religious overtones....
; hearts for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending greeting card, Valentine's Day flowers, or offering confectionery....
; eggs for Easter; trees, gingerbread men, snowmen, and stars for Christmas

Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of 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.

Peeps are not vegetarian as they contain gelatin

Gelatin

Peeps in cooking

While many people eat marshmallow Peeps straight out of the package, they can also be used in a variety of recipes. Peeps can be used as ingredients in such desserts as marshmallow crispy treats, fondue, and s’mores. Peeps are also put into mugs of hot cocoa; the chicks will float upright until the increasing warmth causes them to dissolve. Although they are made of marshmallow, it is difficult to toast Peeps over a campfire, as the sugar coating tends to burn and become unpalatable.

Contests and competitions

An annual "Peep Off" is held in Maryland on the first Saturday after Easter, when Peeps are greatly discounted. The first such event was arranged by Shawn Sparks in 1994, and had only six participants. Dave Smith started Sacramento

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the Capital of the United States U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County, California. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive California Central Valley, it is the seventh-largest city in California.....
'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. Peeps are often added into non-traditional menu items. Brian Beecher and Crystal Carlsberg incorporated peeps into their award winning dessert grilled cheese sandwich, the "Cake and Mivens," which won the 2008 Grilled Cheese Invitational in Los Angeles.

The Seattle Times has an annual contest of Peeps used in photos. The St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, and Washington County, Minnesota counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota...
was the first newspaper to hold an annual Peeps diorama contest and receives hundreds of entries every year. The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune

"The Trib" redirects here. For other newspapers with similar names, see Tribune The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company....
and other newspapers also hold a Peeps diorama contest every Easter

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
.

Indestructibility

Peeps are sometimes jokingly described as "indestructible". In 1999, scientists at Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private university located in the metropolitan area of the city of Atlanta, Georgia in western unincorporated area DeKalb County, Georgia, Georgia , United States....
performed experiments on batches of Peeps to see how easily they could be dissolved, burned or otherwise disintegrated, using such methods as cigarette smoke, boiling water and liquid nitrogen. They claimed that the eyes of the confectionery "wouldn't dissolve in anything".

External links

(Audio slideshow, featuring Peeps, from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory)