SC - Mallows and crocodiles

[Patrick Hood]

snip...
> Dunno about OUR period, in europe, but as I recall, Pliny the Elder
>mentioned them as being an upper class Egyptian sweetmeat. It was
originally
>honey, flavored with an extract from the root of the marsh mallow (Athaea
>officinalis) and then boiled & hardened.

Does anyone have a source for this marsh mallow extract?  I have got to try
this for my high school foods class.  And while we are on the subject of
things egyptian does anyone have any sources for the use of gator or
crocodile in period.  We have an A&S "dragon" theme and i thought a reptile
dish is something rarely seen.  Ill probably go with a "mock dragon soup"
kind of thing.