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Twisted Candies brings you The history of the marshmallow treats from ancient Egypt through modern times and a few vintage recipes too.

Sitting around the roaring campfire, about the age of 10, my mouth  watered just thinking about toasting marshmallow candy sweets.

Real marshmallows, when I was a kid, came in a little box.  The box had a wax paper layer and the marshmallows were sort of sugar coated. They were the best campfire treat of all.  You had to eat them all the same night that you opened them or they would get stale. Those are "real" marshmallow to me, not todays rubbery bouncy balls.  Candy just isn't the same.

My thing was to let the marshmallow catch on fire, then blow out the flames. Crunchy ashy lumps with  gooey white, melt in your mouth, centers.  Squeezed between graham crackers, add a piece of chocolate candy! Wow, the sweetest burst of sugar, ever!  Ever wonder where marshmallows come from?

Try an Old Fashion Recipe for Apple Snow Take six large apples, four tablespoons of Marshmallow Creme, one tablespoon of lemon juice.  Pare and core the apples.  Put them on the fire with enough water to keep from burning.  Cook until tender.  Strain throught a sleve and allow to cool.  Mix Marshmallow Creme with lemon juice and beat until smooth.  Add the apple sauce and beat until light.  Put on ice intil ready to serve.  Yummy

The first marshmallows came from plants! Grown in salty marshes near larger bodies of water lives the mallow plant. Here the mallow flowers can bask in full sun and finds all the necessary nutrients for it's famous sweet sap. Now, there are many kinds of mallow plants, the rose mallow, the apricot mallow, and the common mallow, but we are only interested in the marsh mallow. The Althaea Officinalia, it's scientific name, is a woody stemmed perennial herb, which grows 2 to 4 feet high and has little delicate pinkish-white petals.  These five petal flowers bloom only in the summer months and their long thick roots are a pale yellow color.

The ancient Egyptians used mallow root for making candied delicacies for their gods, nobility, and Pharaohs, over 2000 years ago.  Since it was a crime for anyone else to eat these sugar like tidbits, children had to look towards honey and figs for curing the candy sweet tooth.  Egyptian marshmallows don't look like the marshmallows we know today. They mixed the mallow sap with honey, grains, and baked this into cakes. Although, first used  in Asia and North Africa, this much enjoyed delight soon found it's way to Europe and across the world

The Romans and Greeks loved the mallow plant too.  They believed that concoctions brewed from the marsh mallow plant would soothe sore throat aches and pains.  They, also, believed it would eliminate mucus.  Makes you wonder what the ancient ones blew their noses on, doesn't it!

The sugary brew was found among Hippocrates' medical treatments.  The Greeks called mallow 'malakà', meaning soft.  Those Greeks were right about marshmallows being soft.  So soft, it could be mixed with honey, among other things creating a sort of drink.  What a sticky messy glob of candied goo that must have been! Europeans loved the sweet treat.  There is even an Italian cook book written in the 15th Century which devotes an entire section on how to season mallows.  Wow!

In Medieval times, marshmallows liquids were given to cure all kinds of illnesses like toothaches, coughs, sore throats, chapped skin, indigestion, and diarrhea. It was used by herbalist of the time, for everything from love potions to scorpion sting protection.  Even Monks, living in the south of France, use to grow the mallow plants, alone with liquorices in monasteries gardens, during the same time period.

The French, who love their sweets, were the first to think of making a candy strictly for adults from the mallow root.  This was around the middle of the 1800's.  Before the French thought of using the sap to satisfy our confectionery passions, this delightful root sap was used mainly for medicinal purposes.  The French shop owners started making their marshmallows by hand.  They discovered cooking and whipping marshmallow sap with egg whites and corn syrup, created a substance that  molded easily. Viva La France!

Thus the marshmallow was born and since it tasted so good, everyone wanted one.  Now the handmade delight took a long time to make, being molded one at a time.  It wasn't long before someone figured out a way to make marshmallows quicker. Early in the 1900, marshmallows were finally being made quick enough that  they were sold  as penny candy in tiny little tins. It was because of the   "starch mogul system" that marshmallows were being made so quick.  The starch mogul is a machine that lets us make foods really really fast. With the invention of the "starch mogul system" the mallow root sap was replaced with gelatin and starch as the main ingredients. And we never looked back.................

Today you can find marshmallows everywhere and in everything!  In our cereals, hot chocolate, Jell-O, candy bars, and puddings.  You will find them in hot foods like carrots, hams, and yams!   There is even furniture, have you ever seen a  marshmallow couch or chair?  Some wines are made with marshmallows!  We use the marshmallow in our most important holidays.  At Halloween we give out candy bars with marshmallow centers.  At Easter, the famous Peeps come to visit.  During Christmas we sip hot chocolate with little marshmallows floating on top. When I was little, the teachers use them for making crafts during Vacation Bible School The list of marshmallow goodies is endless.  Can you think of anymore?

Marshmallows found their way into our movies as monsters, way back in 1984. I remember "Ghost Buster. The Stay-Puff Marshmallow man was a big evil monster, bent on destroying New York City!

Now, what you have been waiting for......Vintage Marshmallow Recipes! These old fashion recipes come from a Pamphlet called Home Desserts and Confections of all Kinds.  Made from Professional Recipes with Hip-O-Lite - A ready to use Marshmallow Crème.  Manufactured by the Hip-O-Lite Company - St. Louis, Mo. Some Recipes from the booklet are as listed below, in case you decide to purchase the booklet, the cost is 19.95 with shipping included.  Just send email to starlina@bright.net  O, yes, the booklet is for sale. On a page titled Simple Desserts that seem Elaborate, they write..... "Fortunately, who has a jar of Hip-O-Lite on hand need worry neither about the cost nor the consistency of modern cream.  To make you simple desserts seem elaborate, serve with marshmallow sauce or some Hip-O-Lite whipped crème.  If you seek something especially gay and festive, serve Creamy Hard Sauce with your favorite steamed or baked pudding -- graham, date, fig, suet, plum or any of the excellent apple puddings -- Brown Betty, Apple Charlotte, or baked apple dumplings, or serve the same puddings with Marshmallow Sauce.  They will be delicious."

Snow Pudding 1/2 package gelatine Juice of 1 lemon 4 tablespoons of Marshmallow Crème Soak the gelatine in 1/2 cup water for five minutes.  Add 1 pint boiling water and stir until dissolved.  Add the lemon juice.  Beat the Marshmallow Crème with 1 table spoon water until dry and stiff (this will take several minutes.)  When the gelatine has begun to set, place it in a pan of cold water, ice, or snow, and beat in the stiff crème a spoonful at a time. Pour in a mold wet with cold water and set on ice.  Serve with Jelly or Maple Cream Sauce

Canned Fruits and Marshmallow Creme All kinds of canned fruits, whether put up at home or bought at the grocery, are vastly improved by the addition of Marshmallow Crème.  A dish of canned peaches is not much of a dessert in itself, but add a spoonful of Hip-O-Lite Whipped Crème or Marshmallow Sauce and you will have a dessert fit for any occasion.

Bavarian Green Cream 1 pint sweet cream Yolks of 2 eggs 1/4 ounce gelatine 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoonful vanilla Put the gelatine to soak in enough water to cover it for about 5 minutes.  Then stir it into half of the cream made boiling hot.  When the gelatine is thoroughly dissolved, pour the cream onto the eggs, which have been beaten smooth with the sugar.  Heat the mixture over the fire until it begins to thicken.  Do not boil it.  Remove from the fir, flavor and add the remainder of the cream beaten to a stiff froth.  Beat this cream in a spoonful at a time until the mixture has the consistency of sponge cake batter.  Pour it into a mold previously wet with cold water and put on the ice to set.  Serve with Marshmallow Sauce colored green and decorate with green maraschino cherries.

Floating Island 1 pint milk 3 eggs 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 tablespoons Hip-O-Lite Marshmallow Crème Beat yolks of eggs with sugar until creamy.  Add the hot milk a little at a time and cook in a double boiler until it thickens and is smooth on the spoon.  (If custard curdles, place in a pan of water and beat smooth with an egg beater.)  Beat the whites of the eggs stiff and add the Marshmallow Crème a little at a time.  Place spoonfuls of this on the custard and top each one with a bit of bright jelly.

Floating Island 1 pint milk 3 eggs 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 tablespoons Hip-O-Lite Marshmallow Crème Beat yolks of eggs with sugar until creamy.  Add the hot milk a little at a time and cook in a double boiler until it thickens and is smooth on the spoon.  (If custard curdles, place in a pan of water and beat smooth with an egg beater.)  Beat the whites of the eggs stiff and add the Marshmallow Crème a little at a time.  Place spoonfuls of this on the custard and top each one with a bit of bright jelly.

Mallow Cake Pudding 2 cups stale cake crumbs 1 egg 1 cup milk Grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt Beat the egg until light.  Add the salt, nutmeg and milk to it and mix thoroughly.  Pour this custard over the cake crumbs and bake in a hot oven.  Serve with Jelly Sauce or any tart Fruit Sauce.

Bread Pudding Follow the directions for Cake Pudding , but add 21/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, if desired.  Serve with Fig, Banana, or Chocolate sauce. Chocolate Pudding Proceed as for Bread Pudding and add 2 squares of melted chocolate.  Serve with Nut Mallow Sauce

Banana Sauce 2 ripe bananas 4 tablespoons Marshmallow Crème 1 tablespoon lemon juice Mash the bananas thoroughly in a dish and add the Marshmallow Crème.  Beat until well blended.  Excellent with gelatin or sponge cake. Creamy Hard Sauce 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar Juice 1 lemon 2 tablespoons Marshmallow Cream Creme the butter, add the sugar and beat together until thoroughly light and creamy.  Add the lemon juice and Marshmallow crème and beat until well mixed.  This can be used with any steamed or baked pudding.  It is especially good with Apple Charlotte. Jelly Sauce 4 tablespoons Marshmallow Cream 1 cup fruit jelly Mix together thoroughly and beat until light.  Add lemon juice if jelly is not tart.

More Marshmallow Sauces and MarshmallowRecipes Now here is my disclaimer - I don't know if any of these recipes work, I am only a collector of vintage recipes, this is what I do, I do not cook, bake, fry, stir, melt, mix, spoon, or anything else related to cooking.  I started collecting recipes when I saw so many getting tossed out at yardsales, auctions, and other places.  All those ladies taking all that time to type and write their little recipes down.  It seemed so sad that their work, love, and memories would be tossed aside.  Well, here they are.  As many of them as I can find.

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