How Marshmallows Work

Marshmallows are an old candy -- they've been around since the 1800s. The name marshmallow comes from the original recipe, which called for sap from the marshmallow plant. Check out this HowStuffWorks to learn more about the history of marshmallows.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Brainstuff from how stuff marks dot com, where
smart happens. Marshmallows are a confection a candy. They've been

(00:30):
around in the form we know them today since the
mid eighteen hundreds. They're called marshmallows because the early recipe
called for sap from the root of a marshmallow plant.
According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a marshmallow is either
one a pink flowered European perennial herb of the mallow

(00:52):
family that is naturalized in the Eastern United States and
has a musilanginus roots, sometimes used in confectionery and in medicine,
or to a confection made from the root of the marshmallow,
or from corn syrup, sugar, albumen, and gelatin beaten into
a light, spongy consistency. That word mucilaginous means jelly like.

(01:19):
Later the roots step was replaced by gelatine, and that's
how modern marshmallows are made today. For more on this
and thousands of other topics because it how stuff works
dot Com