Holiday Delight: The Story Behind the Modern Marshmallow
Today’s marshamallow is a candy treat but the original, you’ll probably be surprised to learn, was derived from the root of a marshmallow plant that could grow as high as six feet tall. Ancient Egyptians said the marshmallow root had curative powers. Some preliminary modern studies suggest they were correct.
The mini marshmallows you melt in a cup of hot chocolate this winter and the full size one you roast over a campfire next summer can be defined in three ways: as a plant, as a remedy, and best of all, as a tasty treat.
Most will be surprised to learn a real marshmallow is a plant whose scientific name is Althaea officinalis and which can grow to be six feet tall in marshy areas of Asia and Europe. It belongs to a broad family that includes such diverse cousins as okra, balsa, cacao, hibiscus, and cotton. Its roots yield a sticky substance ancient Egyptians used to make a syrup to treat coughs, aide in digestion, and soothe irritated skin.
As the website Healthline.com spells out in detail, over the past two decades, multiple studies suggest that concoctions of marshmallow root may actually have value in addressing a variety of complaints, beginning with the one the Egyptians nailed: calming the cough that comes with a cold. Next up, there are anti-inflammatory properties that soothe irritated or sunburned skin and anti-bacterial ones that promote wound healing. Taken orally, it may even relieve urinary discomfort or protect us from nasty free radicals that damage cells. But there’s a serious caveat: These studies are preliminary and unproven. They require confirming follow-up which may well be underway somewhere in the world.
Unfortunately, today today’s fluffy white cubes are no longer made from the marshmallow plant of yore. Today, a marshmallow typically consists of four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent.
No such studies required for the palate pleasing marshmallows that might top your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes or those likely to be a Christmas dinner dessert. Originally, marshmallow candies were prepared by boiling root pulp with honey, cooling the mixture, and cutting it into bite-size pieces. Late in the 19th century, professional candy makers invented the “starch mogul,” pressing a mold into trays of corn starch and filling the center with whipped marshmallow sap then cutting the cooled candy into bite-size pieces. At the same time, they began to replace marshmallow pulp with gelatin making it possible to make millions of marshmallow-free “marshmallows” which were sold as penny candy and used in a variety of food recipes such as tutti frutti, the ice cream and other confections packed with chopped fruits. Marshmallows’ popularity exploded around campfires in the mid-1920s when The Girl Scouts of the USA published their innovative guide for S’Mores, the crisp toasted Graham cracker chocolate and marshmallow sandwiches.
Finally, in 1948, Doumakes Inc, today re-branded as the bestselling Campfire Marshmallows, patented a process that involved running marshmallow ingredients through tubes to create long tubes of to be cooled and cut into pieces. Doumakes’ other fast forward was to make marshmallows with no marshmallow at all. As Wikipedia, the source of all human information notes, today’s fluffy white cubes typically consist of the aforementioned four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent.
Even so, modern marshmallows are a very low-fat food with less than a gram per serving defined as four regular cubes or one-half cup of the minis used in hot chocolates. Either one delivers just under 100 calories, most of that is from sugars, adding up to about six grams of carbs, less than half the carbs in one slice of Wonder white bread. As for vitamins and minerals, there’s none of the former and a mere smidgen of phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and sodium, each measuring way less than 1/1000th of the Recommended Daily Allowance for healthy adults. On the downside, marshmallows are a high glycemic food, which means they can affect blood sugar levels, but the serving size is so small that is often ignored.
Naturally, these numbers vary among brand name products. For example, the website VeryWellFit estimates 132 calories in four Marshmallow Peeps.
Looking for marshmallow treats to jazz up your holiday offerings? Check out “30 Best Marshmallow Recipes That’ll Make You Feel Like a Kid,” a yummy picture book of nifty concoctions you can cook up in your very own kitchen at https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/