Marshmallows are one of our most versatile sweets but have you ever wondered where they come from and why are they called marshmallows? Do flocks of small pink and white marshmallows flutter about the reeds of some exotic bog somewhere, like the proverbial Haggis roaming free the hills of Scotland? Do they grow on an shrubs cultivated in marsh -mallow paddy fields? Nice thoughts and, although today's 'marshmallows' – which actually contain no real  'Althaea officinalis' are churned out in busy factories, not entirely remote from from the truth!

The original sweet was actually made from the root of the bush (Althaea officinalis) also known as 'mortification root'.  This 5ft tall bush originated from brackish wildernesses or salty marshes in southern Europe but has now spread as far as Australia and America. Pounded with honey, the marshmallow sap's natural emulsifying properties produced sweetmeats for the Ancient Egyptians some 2000 years ago but would have been a slightly glutinous soft thing, totally dissimilar to the yielding foamy pillow we love today. Reserved for the Pharaohs and their gods this truly was an upmarket sweetmeat. Indeed marshmallow is mentioned in the Bible whilst the Arabs and Chinese historically regarded it as a valuable food during times of famine. In ancient times it was also valued for it's digestive properties and even today root extracts of the plant are used medicinally for digestion and on the skin. The Greek etymological root of the marshmallow's formal name – Althaea officinalis – is  actually 'altho', meaning to heal reflecting its long and valued pedigree. Even Pliny rated the plant, stating 'whosoever shall take a spoonful of the Mallows shall that day be free from all diseases that may come to him'. The leaves are now used for pulmonary and urinary problems - in rural France for example, the young tops and leaves of the marshmallow are eaten in salads for their kidney-stimulating effects.

It was indeed the French makers of marshmallow confectionery who decided, some 150 years ago, that mixing natural plants sap with corn syrup then whisking up with egg white (whilst the mix cooled) would make a more palatable sweet – the first modern Marshmallows were invented with the light, foamy but resilient  texture that springs to mind when we think of them today. They named their confection 'pate de guimauve' and would flavour it with rose water – perhaps this is why the classic marshmallow available today is sold in mixes of pink and white.  This was, as were so many sweets of the time, very much a luxury product.  This labour intensive proto-type marshmallow would be hand made and either hand shaped or hand poured into corn starch lined moulds.

As happened with the old fashioned sweets some years before, mechanism finally hit the industry with machines pouring the foamy mix into multiple moulds speeding up the whole process and making marshmallows a much more affordable confectionery A further leap forward came in 1947 when an American invented a machine for extruding the mixture through a die, then cutting the length into the now familiar square pillow shape.  In a way this was almost a retro step as the traditional form of the French marshmallow was a rope like length, sometimes still seen in tall glass jars in up-market French confectioners and indeed in a very up market restaurant you may have the waiter snip a cushion of the marshmallow rope at your table to finish of your meal and, presumably, historically to aid your digestion.

Since then the marshmallow sap has been replaced with various other setting agents, some but not all suitable for vegetarians. Egg whites can also be replaced to make Vegan marshmallows or to suit a particular manufacturer's texture requirement but it would be most surprising to find any natural mallow sap in your sweet!

In Britain, we tend to consume the marshmallow unadorned, pop it on cup cakes or we might  scatter some mini marshmallows over the top of hot chocolate.  Younger members of a barbecue party are often detailed off to heat marshmallows on the ends of skewers over the embers – this process being first recorded in 1927 in the immortally titled 'Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts'. The pleasure of a part melted, slightly caramelised marshmallow has to be balanced against the danger of dripping searing hot melted sugar and corn syrup down one's chin! The marshmallow also appears in other guises,  not always the soft pink or white soft cushions we expect! The marshmallow's ability to be formed in moulds is reflected in the Toadstools,  Ice-cream Cones and  Twists that appear in sweet shops throughout the land. The ability to manipulate the texture of a marshmallow by altering the balance of ingredients in the  mix also allows for the use of  marshmallow between biscuits,  in pieces in breakfast cereals and even in cakes!

Even keener on marshmallows than the French, the Americans apparently consume 90 million pounds of marshmallows annually – as a nation, not as individuals one hopes!  They also actually cook with marshmallows – not just as a flavouring or for garnishing puddings either.  Slightly bizarrely (to the English sensibility) marshmallows are added to salads and has even colonised the bastion of America that is the Thanksgiving Table.  A dish of Yams baked with a topping of marshmallows is now a traditional accompaniment to Thanksgiving Dinner – sounds to me like the American version of a deep fried mars bar!

As for the 'real' marshmallow, it still has a role: herbalists use the extract for various treatments: powdered, capsules, tinctures. Persian carpet makers use the root sap for cleaning their carpets, believing marshmallow works best with the vegetable dies they use! Indeed cosmetic marshmallow soap promotes it's 'smooth, emollient slip upon the skin, rather than a thick, skin-stripping lather' and boasts of it's 'ability to draw moisture to the skin'.  If nothing else the Mallow's  pretty pink flowers and coral stamen are an attractive addition to the garden – as a child I remember they  used to be some planted by the few remaining out door toilets that remained in our road, and called 'bog mallow'!