Celebrating 100 Years: A Love Affair with Mallomars

Donna Eberhart – Contributing Writer

It has been exactly 100 years since the invention of the most delicious delicacy hit thousands of stores. These amazing cookies have been a trademark since 1913, when they were sold from a small Jersey factory to a grocery store in West Hoboken. Since then, people have lavished and hoarded the Mallomar. For those of you who don’t know what they are, I feel sorry for you. You haven’t lived unless you’ve eaten this one-of-a-kind treat; the Mallomar consists of a marshmallow atop a circular disk of the softest graham cookie you’ve ever tasted, and   the best part: it’s covered in chocolate. Maybe I’m being biased, though, because there’s a corner of my heart saved just for the love of a box of Mallomars. In fact, we New Yorkers are lucky to have the privilege of eating this snack; 70 percent of the production is shipped to New York.
Toronto, the largest city in Canada, is where such delectable nourishments are currently manufactured and packaged, ready to be sent out at the beginning of September to not just the Empire State, but to other parts of the country as well. Actually, one of the reasons this snack is so popular is because they only come out during the fall, winter and early spring. This is a good business tactic for Nabisco, the company, because once they hit the stores, devotees rush in and stock up before having to wait the rest of the spring and summer  for them to come back out.

This demand gives Nabisco more money than the business would have made had the chocolate morsels been around throughout the entire year. Mallomars aren’t available when the warmer weather comes because they would melt during the shipping process. According to the company, these mouthwatering goodies are made with pure dark chocolate, which melts at a much lower temperature than regular chocolate. This is one of the more critical, concerns for Mallomar addicts.
The other issue is the price. Although the taste of the Mallomar and its shape and size have been constant for the past one hundred years, the one thing that has changed is how expensive the box is. Did you know that in 1919, a box of Mallomars was sold for 19 cents? As the years went on, the price steadily increased, and now a box is at least 3 dollars (if you’re lucky and it’s on sale.) The price won’t diverge fans, however; thousands of people  pile these up every year. Enthusiasts will always have this treat in the pit of their stomach and in the depth of their heart.