I know old marshmallows get hard and shriveled, but do they grow mold? And if so, what color?
Time for an experiment, headchecked. Take one marshmallow, place it somewhere the whiff of decomposition won’t ruin the taste of all future Oreos, and wait. Time is the scientist’s friend. Please do report back once you’ve found out.
Oh, BTW – welcome to the board.
Maybe I can save headchecked the time. I’ve done this and the project is currently ongoing. I’ve had one large mallow hanging from the ceiling away from ants and bugs for about 5-6 months now. It’s in my kitchen. No reason why… Just wanted to see what would happen.
The result? No mold, no change in color. Just one hard-ass mallow. My bet? It’s still edible. But I’m not going to test that theory yet.
I still don’t know why I put it up there, but at least it came to good use, eh?
SF
Y’know, this is why i love this board. I am both baffled and full of respect for the person who randomly hangs a marshmallow in their kitchen.
Fran
Cool, MM. So, if the marshmallow doesn’t not appear to support colonies of airborne fungus – is the marshmallow in fact organically biodegradable? Or will it be nestled alongside those pesky potato chip bags in the rubbish tips of near infinity, wearing shades and grinning fiendishly, when the sun decides to take one last breath?
Intact it isn’t likely to go mouldy as the a[sub]w[/sub] is too low (too dry). But, it may succumb to a yeast infection if you get the innoculum inside the integument. (yummm, alcoholic, exploding marshmallows!)
The what is too low? Get the what into the what? Oh, man, this is gettin’ WAY too technical for me! And to think – we eat the things … shudder
Disclamer: Non-scientist here. Don’t even play one on TV!
Educated WAGs here, but:
a[sub]w[/sub]= (probably) % of water; oramount of water.
inoculum(correct spelling)= matierial used to inoculate a culture (such as bacteria, mold spores, etc.)
integuement= a natural outer covering of the body or of a plant, including skin, shell, hide, husk, or rind.
[sup]Thank you Webster’s![/sup]
DAMN! Here I am petulantly correcting AKAmame’s spelling and this happens!
M-A-T-E-R-I-A-L
[sup]Again, thank you Webster’s[/sup]
Thanks for the info, Astroboy. I can sleep better at night, now.
So, let’s see if I have this straight – those in the good ol’ US of A not only eat their marshmallows, they also hang them from ceilings and jab 'em full of nasties so they’ll rot. In the cause of science, of course.
Are you guys sure you won the Cold War? 
They’re good for at least a year. Every year at Christmas, my grandma buys a bag of big-ass marshmallows and puts them in the cupboard for a year. Then, at Christmas, she gives the hard, stale, year old bag of marshmallows (which are now tiny and shriveled) to grandpa, who eats them with relish. He LOVES old-ass marshmallows. Whatever, weirdo.
–Tim
I do hope that you mean that he eats them with joy and gusto, rather than he eats them topped with a sauce made from chopped pickles (or other savories) generally used as a condiment for meats. (insert barfing smilie here)
It’s because we do this that we won the cold war.
:urp: Yeah, with joy and gusto. I didn’t even think of that.
–Tim
Getting back to the OP, I don’t know if the things will mold or not, but if they do, I suppose it would be the same color as the mold on sugar that you see every day… (tongue firmly in cheek here)
I was reading an article about the history of marshmallows just the other day – why, I can’t imagine – and though they originally contained an extract from the root of the – drum roll here – marsh mallow, these days they’re something close to being pure sugar.
More information, including instructions for making your own marshmallows, can be had at: