Marshmallow: No root word -- Huh?

Factual Questions
1

Where in the Hell did the word for this confection come from?

I’ve never heard of a James T. Marshmallow: Confectioner to the King. And nary has a “mallow” been “marshed” to ever make this candy.

And is it truly a candy?

And “Fluff” is really “non-fluffed” marshmallow. What’s up with that?

::Realizing he’s already hit the submit button after a “Seinfeld-ic troll” rant, ChiefScott hopes someone knows the origin of the word ‘marshmallow’::

2

The confection was originally made from the roots of a mallow plant. The specific variety grows in marshes. Any other questions?

3

Yeah. I have a question. How on earth do they make marshmallows? I’ve never seen a recipe for them in a cookbook so they can’t be too easy…

4

Bullshit, DrFidelius. Now if you’re right, I lose 10 points. :slight_smile:
Peace,
mangeorge

Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! …(Paraphrased)

5

Yeah. I have a question. How on earth do they make marshmallows? I’ve never seen a recipe for them in a cookbook so they can’t be too easy…
—Arken

So, you really don’t watch Martha Stewart?
Peace,
mangeorge

6

The “old” version of “The Joy of Cooking” has a recipe for marshmallows. Maybe I’ll print it here if you beg me.

Leslie Irish Evans
http://leslie.scrappy.net

7

Periot grew mallows in retirement. I can’t quite picture him with his pants rolled up walking around in a marsh…

Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.

8

Was his name listed after the recipe in “Joy of Cooking?” Please print it!

Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.

9

From the Britannica:

marshmallow

aerated candy that originated as a versatile medicinal syrup and ointment; it was made from root sap of the marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis), sugar, and egg white.

The modern marshmallow candy is made from corn syrup, dextrose, gelatine, and egg albumen. A mixture of these ingredients is heated to around 240º F (115º C), whipped to twice or three times its original volume, and flavoured.

Finished marshmallow ranges in consistency from chewy to semi-liquid. The firmer candy is shaped into the traditional bite-sized “pillows” dusted with rice flour or powdered sugar before packaging; these are sometimes used as a garnish in cooking and are popularly toasted on sticks over open fires. More elastic marshmallow is often coated with chocolate. The softest marshmallow is used as a base for icings, fudges, and puddings, and as a topping for ice cream.

The Joy of Cooking ingredients are:
3 T gelatin (“gelatin of 250 bloom” from a professional outlet)
1/2 C cold water
2 C sugar
then
3/4 C light corn sirup (their spelling)
1/2 C water
1/4 t salt
2 T vanilla

Tom~

10

Well, maybe, but would Peroit lie? Fib? Carry small tales?
Ever heard of the BBC spaghetti tree?

Dancing maidens in festive Italian dresses, picking strand after strand off of trees?

I haven’t seen it for years but it looked so real!

Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.

11

BTW:

MM Cream is for cooking
MM Fluff is for sandwiches with peanutbutter.

The problem is you can usually buy the MM Cream anywhere but MM Fluff isn’t sold everywhere across the USA. I used to have it mailed to me; I think, I hope, I’ve outgrown that now.

Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.

12

From [urlhttp://www.dynagel.com/hist_marsh.html

Now THAT’S damn useless information.

13

Yes, Dr Fid, isn’t that mostly what encyclopedias are fore?

Anyway, it confirms your “mallow plant that grows in marshes” statement.

Mangeorge, you’re down ten points.

14

I agree Dr. Fid…I thought your first answere was bs…I humbly appologize…I am once again, very impressed my your knowledge…

15

You all actually made me find a reference to back up my statement. I hope you realize that I don’t normally do such a thing.

I did that as a courtesy for ChiefScott, for whom I have the utmost respect.

16

Mallow: from the ME malwe, from OE mealwe, from L malva.

Meaning - any of a genus (Malva, family Malvaceae) of herbs with palmately lobed or dissected leaves, showy flowers and a fruit in the shape of a disc.

Isn’t a dictionary fun? :slight_smile:

17

Poirot grew vegetable marrows, not mallows. As far as I’ve been able to gather, vegetable marrows are big, tough, tasteless squashes. Given Poirot’s usual fastidiousness about food and wine, I always wondered why he chose that particular hobby. Maybe it was Christie’s joke, referring to Sherlock Holmes’s hobby of keeping bees after his retirement.

18

It sounds to me like, with the original plant extract gone, the modern marshmallow is no different from a merengue, except for the moisture. It’s just beat up egg white and sugar.

19

My recollection is that “vegetable marrows” are British English for what Americans would call “eggplants.”

20

So what does “mallow root extract” taste like? (I know, I know, “chicken”.)