The innocent-sounding concoction involves marshmallow fluff (the stuff that comes in a jar), which is spread, spackle-like, around the inside of a glass. The rest of the “recipe” is simple — add some ice, and pour in a serving of Coke. That’s it. Most people sharing videos employ a straw to drink it, often scraping the implement along the sides of the vessel to better slurp up bits of the coating.
The idea that this is a fun combination is built on lies, which I suspected just by watching several videos, and then proved by making one for myself. To be fair, the process is as foolproof as it looks (I found an offset spatula particularly helpful in applying an even smear of fluff). Upon sampling it, though, I found that my hunches about how I expected the ingredients to perform were proved correct: The marshmallow, of course, doesn’t mix with the soda for that dairy-fizzy interplay that the people oohing about it online seem to imply. Instead, when the sugary fluff comes in contact with the icy soda, it seizes up into a hardened goo, like tile mastic drying on a wall.
And when you run a straw down the side of the glass in an to attempt to capture the flavors in tandem, you instead get a gob of taffy-textured paste delivered to your mouth along with the soda. My verdict: This TikTok trend is a fail.
I say this with apologies to the charming Memama, the star of one of the more popular videos pushing this mishmash onto the TikTok populace. She’s the grandmother of TikToker Emma Grace Burke, and in their video, Memama seems to genuinely enjoy it, exclaiming in her syrupy Southern drawl about how much she loves “fluuuuf” and “co’cola.” And so I would tell Memama that if she enjoys it, good for her.
I can understand the theoretical appeal of the viral drink. Plenty of kids, particularly in the Northeast, grew up on fluffernutter sandwiches, which combine peanut butter with swirls of the soft marshmallow. So there’s the nostalgia factor, which should never be discounted. It’s easy to make, and it has the kind of visual stunt (smear that fluff!) that typifies TikTok food.
But to anyone else thinking about trying out a fluffy Coke, I would say that you could do better! If you’re looking for a soda with a melty, creamy element, options abound. You might try an ice cream float, truly one of summertime’s greatest pleasures, using any soda flavor you please. There’s also an ice cream soda, which is apparently different (in a float, the soda goes in first), but I think the difference between the two really just comes down to semantics — and the delightful end result is the same.
You can even simply add a splash of milk to your soda, channeling the iconic Laverne DeFazio of the TV duo Laverne & Shirley, whose signature drink was a Pepsi and milk (root beer would work well here, too). Or take inspiration from the Mormon mommies who are obsessed with “dirty sodas,” including a relatively classic version that incorporates Coke, coconut syrup, half and half, and lime (refreshing in small quantities but sweet).
I did find that eventually, after I had left my fluffy Coke on the counter long enough, the marshmallow paste finally melted a bit, oozing into the soda, giving me the effect I was hoping for. But by then, the drink was watery from all the melted ice, sweaty from the wait and just not cold enough to be refreshing.
