SC - Marshmallows

[mermayde at juno.com]

On Wed, 03 Feb 1999 04:03:46 -0500 Marilyn Traber <margali at 99main.com>
writes:
>about 12 years ago down in marinus/atlantia as a project i made some, 
>they are more like gummies, not pouffy and roastable at all. i missed 
>the program...are they going to epeat it again? what channel?
>margali

The show was called "Our Favorite Foods", and was done in conjunction
with another show called "Our Favorite Toys".  They were both Discovery
Channel Productions.  I have no idea when they will show it again, but
I'm willing to bet they will. 

>I would think the marshmallow cream stuff you get in the jar would be
closer to period-ish than the puffed marshmallows in the bag.  The
>jet-puffing thing was added after 1700.  My 7 year old actually told me
about the mallow root thing.  She got it from an episode of "Magic School
>Bus":-)
>gwyneth  

The show stated that the Jet Puffed process was developed in Canada in
the 1920's.  

>I think I saw that. Actual marshmallow "sap" is a sweet, mucilaginous
gum, somewhat translucent, but not the creamy white stuff you're
>thinking of. If eaten in period it was presumably taken for medicinal
purposes.

>Adamantius

>Are you absolutely sure and are they absolutely sure that these were
even for *eating*? The description you give sounds quite a
>bit like a paste that was used to treat pain. Gerard has tons of recipes
for plasters, ointments, unguents, and balms that involved
>these same ingredients. The chapter on Marsh-mallow in his "Herbal or
General History of Plants" describes the addition of the plants
>musilage to all oils, ointments, and plasters. And the last two of those
items were often made with flours of varying kinds.

>jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com

The show covered the history of the plant from the Egyptians, including a
sample held up on a leaf, looking like lumps of beige/cream colored
dough.  They also showed tomb paintings depicting the same food being
offered up to royalty as a food stuff (the show said as a sweet treat, I 
don't know if you can get THAT out of a painting, but hey, it was TV!),
but definately as a food, not as a medicine.  They went on to say that it
was considered a medicinal during the Middle Ages and beyond, and that
the popularity of the medicine and later of the confectioner's in
France's sweets, the plant became quite scarce, leading to the
developement of a substitute.  

So, if we've got just out of period documents regarding chocolate as a
sweet (1620's Spanish reciepts from Mexico) and marshmallows, all we have
to do is document graham crackers and we've got it made!  S'MORES!
Christianna

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