# Marshmallows **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453 "2003-05-06T17:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SchlitzGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@SchlitzGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SchlitzGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/1 "2003-05-06T17:44:52Z")
Hey, troops, I have an interesting question: How do they make marshmallows? I’ve always taken advantage of the fact that they were just…there, you know, and I never gave much thought to their creation. I saw a recipe for them once but it didn’t really do much for me. I’m curious about the mass production of the little fellas, though I’d rather picture them growing en masse on great groves of marshmallow bushes. I’m not a fanatic of them - I like 'em, and I can thank my wife for introducing me to s’mores (yeah, I didn’t camp much as a kid), but I’m far from being obsessed with them. Just curious for information - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/2 "2003-05-06T17:53:02Z")
[Here ya go](http://www.howstuffworks.com/question128.htm)! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/3 "2003-05-06T17:56:14Z")
And here’s some more info from an ancient thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=9655](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=9655) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/4 "2003-05-07T07:08:34Z")
So has anyone here ever tasted marshmallows made from the marsh mallow plant? I once read an essay by Steven Jay Gould in which he lamented that marshmallows had been reduced from an interesting and unique candy to bland fluff, and I’ve been curious ever since. ---
**Author:** ![SchlitzGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@SchlitzGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SchlitzGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/5 "2003-05-07T17:35:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker \* > \*\*And here’s some more info from an ancient thread: > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=9655](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=9655) \*\* Snake-Hips, you’re a life-saver. Oh wait, that’s a “hole” other treat altogether, isn’t it? And as long as we’re in a “mallow” mood, what’s up with Marshmallow Peeps around Easter? Do people really enjoy those things? I hear they’re best enjoyed slightly stale. I never had much of a sweet tooth - too many dental problems as a wee one - so I can’t be counted as a fan of them. I’m sure there’s an underground cult following for Peeps, perhaps in the league of Circus Peanut fans, but I’m not aware of any. Talk it up, Peep Freaks! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/6 "2003-05-07T17:40:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I hear they’re best enjoyed slightly stale. Which is only to be expected, since they only have two possible states. If they’re not slightly stale, then they’re completely stale. Personally, I find they make pretty good decorations, and they’re re-usable year after year! ---
**Author:** ![Amfet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Amfet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amfet)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/7 "2003-05-07T17:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SchlitzGuy \* > \*\*I’m sure there’s an underground cult following for Peeps, perhaps in the league of Circus Peanut fans, but I’m not aware of any. Talk it up, Peep Freaks! \*\* These guys seem to qualify… [www.peepsresearch.org](http://www.peepsresearch.org) ---
**Author:** ![SchlitzGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@SchlitzGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SchlitzGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallows/173453/8 "2003-05-09T17:26:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Which is only to be expected, since they only have two possible states. If they’re not slightly stale, then they’re completely stale. > > Personally, I find they make pretty good decorations, and they’re re-usable year after year! \*\* True, you never really see fresh ones, do you? Hell, you could buy a box fresh off the truck soon as they come out for the season and already they have the consistency of a gum eraser. They always seem to be the last thing eaten from the Easter basket, and by that time they’re almost a safety hazard. Be sure to wear steel-toed shoes in case you drop one. Lately I’ve seen the bunny ones, so whatever bizarre ways you eat chocolate bunnies, you can now apply them to the marshmallow ones.