The Marshmallow

Have you ever wondered where the idea of the marshmallow came from? Or did you know that it was actually based off a plant? While today’s marshmallow may share the name with the Marsh mallow plant that it was also based off of, the Marshmallow has little in common with the plant other than that. The plant by itself, is a sweet tasting plant, and long ago was used as food and even medicine! The roots are mostly used, but other parts of the plant are edible too, including the flower and stem. When people first started to make the marshmallow, they would use juices of the root whipped with sugar and eggs, resulting in a delicious desert. Over time the plant extracts were replaced with gelatin, and the sugar was replaced with corn syrup. Eventually, all traces that the marshmallow was connected to the plant was gone. And therefore, today’s white, puffy desert is hardly more than a sugar overdose. Marsh mallow plants are still sold today, and you can grow them. They have beautiful flowers that are a range of colors from purple to white. However, there is a plant that looks extremely similar to the marshmallow plant that is poisonous, so please do not go forage things in the wild uninformed.