Ancient Egyptians were the
first to enjoy a gooey treat now called marshmallow as early as 2000 BC.
The treat was considered very special and it was reserved for gods and
royalty.
Marshmallow was made from
the mallow plant (Athaea officinalis) that grows wild in marshes. The
term marshmallow was derived both from the native home of the plant and
the plant name. Mallow is native to Asia and Europe and has been
naturalized in America. The Egyptians squeezed sap from the mallow plant
and mixed it with nuts and honey. However, no one knows what the candy
looked like in those times.
The French were introduced
to marshmallow in the early to mid-1800s. Owners of small candy stores
whipped sap from the mallow root into a fluffy candy mold. This
time-consuming process was typically done by hand. Candy stores had a
hard time keeping up with the demand. Candy makers started looking for a
new process to make marshmallows and found the starch mogul system in
the late 1800s. It allowed candy makers to create marshmallow molds made
of modified cornstarch. At this same time, candy makers replaced the
mallow root with gelatin and this created the marshmallow stable form.
Marshmallows were
introduced and popularized in the United States in the early 1900s,
after the new manufacturing process was developed.
In 1948, Alex Doumak
revolutionized the process for manufacturing marshmallows. He created
and patented the extrusion process. This process involves taking the
marshmallow ingredients and running it through tubes. Afterwards,
ingredients are cut into equal pieces and packaged. In the 1950s,
marshmallows became extremely popular in the United States and were used
in a variety of food recipes.
Today, Americans are the
main consumers of marshmallows. According to experts, Americans buy more
than 90 million pounds annually. Marshmallow is considered a year-round
snack even though the majority is sold during October and December.
