marshmallows.
What is it about marshmallows that immediately take me to some whimsical non-Disney fairytale state of mind a la Willy Wonka? Does this happen to anyone else? Through the years the candy has, for the most part, remained unchanged and is standard fare for feel good occassions such as campfires, hot chocolate, baskets of candy on various holidays. Perhaps it’s the social settings associated with them and the sheer simplicity of the candy itself.
Yesterday while making a sweet potato casserole topped with mini marshmallows I began to wonder about how the marshmallow came to be a beloved confection.
According to Wikipedia it is probable the marshmallow was born in Egypt where the mallow plant was used in a honey sweetened confection to soothe sore throats. At a later point in time the French further developed confection into something more closely resembling the marshmallow of modern times.
The most shocking revelation about marshmallows is that, on average, Americans eat about a pound of them per year. A whole pound?! That’s a lot of marshmallow to consume considering how light and fluffy each full size mass produced marshmallow is. I’m quite fond of the confection yet I don’t regularly or often eat them. Wikipedia notes a citation is need for the one pound average and I tend to agree.
For anyone feeling crafty, here are links on how to make the marshmallow bra above or the sweet potato casserole that got me thinking.
Bra: http://bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-to-make-marshmallow-bra.html
Recipe: http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/holiday-cookbook-reader-favorites-00400000030271/