With
the late 1800's came the advent of the "starch mogul system", a method
of mass-producing the
French marshmallow. This system involved the use of a machine to
fill trays with starch several inches
thick. The starch was then slightly compressed, before a printing
board was used to stamp an impression
into the compressed starch. The printing board was made of plaster
or wood, and later steel, and used to
create small "cavities" with which to mold larger quantities
of marshmallows. The indentations created
were then filled with the warm marshmallow mixture. This system
was faster, more efficient and required
less labor. The eventual substitution of inexpensive, animal-derived
"gelatin" for Marsh Mallow's root
sap, further catapulted the mass production of marshmallows.
By
the early 1900's, marshmallows were available for mass consumption and began
appearing in Ameri-
can five-and-dime stores. Marshmallows quickly became an integral
part of American desserts and side
dishes, sweet treats (such as S'Mores and Rice Krispies Treats) and, of
course, the American version of
hot chocolate. The immortalized "toasted" marshmallow
(synonymous with American campfires) was
first documented in 1927 with the publication of "Tramping and Trailing
with the Girl Scouts" and
their recipe for "Some More" (later shortened to "S'Mores").
In 1948, Alex Doumakes of the Illinois-
based Doumak, Inc. (makers of Campfire-brand Marshmallows) patented what
is known as the "extru-
sion process". This process, which took marshmallow production
to an unprecedented level, involves
piping the marshmallow mixture through tubes. This mixture is then
squeezed or "extruded" through
a die and cut into the familiar pillow shapes, which are then coated with
cornstarch.
Americans
are believed to be the largest consumers of marshmallows, followed only by the
French. Pâté
de guimauve is traditionally shaped in the form of long thick ropes or
"lanyards". French confectioners
have been known to display these lanyards in beautiful tall glass apothecary
jars. Some of the most ex-
clusive Parisian restaurants are said to offer guimauve as a post-dessert,
finishing touch to a meal. The
lanyards are "snipped with a flourish by the waiter" into small
"pillows" at the patron's table.
This
French confection was created by whipping egg whites and sugar, together with
the root sap of the
Marsh Mallow. This gelatinous sap was the ingredient used to create
the pillowy consistency of pâté
de guimauve. As time progressed, this recipe was revised to combine
the root sap with egg whites, corn
syrup and water. The ingredients were heated, whipped together by
hand, then either hand-molded or
poured into small, individual molds coated with cornstarch. This
process was slow, labor-intensive and
expensive, and did not lend itself to mass production. As a result,
the small batches produced by French
confectioners were originally consumed only by the wealthy.
The earliest recorded "confection" to have utilized the root
sap of the Marsh Mallow was a simple recipe
of nuts and honey prepared by the ancient Egyptians in 2000 B.C. It
is believed that this confection was
reserved solely for the enjoyment of Egyptian pharaohs and the Gods they
worshipped. Reference has
also been made to a recipe of root "pulp" boiled with sugar,
then strained and cooled to create an edible
sweet treat. Aside from this, little evidence in recorded history
points to the use of Marsh Mallow's root
sap in the making of confections. That is, until the mid-1800's
when the French popularized their "pâté
de guimauve" (or "guimauve", for short). Pâté
de guimauve, roughly translated as "mallow paste",
most closely resembled what we refer to today as marshmallows.
The
Marsh Mallow's flowers, leaves and roots are purported to have medicinal properties
and were used
by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Arabs in a multitude of herbal remedies.
Most significant of these
were remedies for the relief of toothaches, sore throats, coughing, chest
pain and lung ailments, cramps,
convulsions, pain and irritation associated with stomach ulcers, skin
inflammations, wounds, and in-
sect stings. It is the Marsh Mallow's roots, however, from which
the "mucilage" (a gelatinous, sap-like
substance) was extracted and used by the French to create what is known
today as "marshmallows".
It was this high mucilage content that provided not only Marsh Mallow's
significant healing properties,
but also the pillowy consistency of the original French marshmallow.
The
Marsh Mallow (Althaea officinalis Malvaceae) is a pink to nearly white flowering
perennial herb,
indigenous to the salt marshes and sea-bordering wetlands of Eastern Europe,
North Africa and Asia.
While not a native to North America, this member of the Hibiscus or Mallow
plant family was eventually
brought to the continent and became naturalized in the eastern portion
of the region. Associated with
the habitat in which it flourishes, this herb came to be called the "Marsh"
Mallow.
