Olivier Poels 5:40 p.m., October 25, 2021
Like Coca-Cola, marshmallow is probably derived from a drug.
During Antiquity, it was made from the mucilage (swelling on contact with water of plant materials which then take on a viscous consistency) from the root of wild marshmallow.
It is prepared with honey.
Marshmallows are used to treat coughs, but also as a confectionery. This is how we will consume marshmallows until the 19th century. The French confectioners will then modify the recipe: replacing honey with sugar, first, then replacing the marshmallow root with egg white and gelatin. This will be the start of the "industrial" manufacturing process. It was then the prerogative of a few confectioners like the Oudard house in Paris.
However, it was not until 1948 and the invention of the extrusion process, by a certain Alex Doumak, that the marshmallow really entered the industrial era: the dough was continuously expelled from a cylindrical container, then cut into sections.
As for the marshmallow, it was born in the early 1970s, in the Zan factory in Uzès, from the desire of one of its directors to produce this marshmallow which is a hit in the United States.
It will take almost 10 years to finalize the recipe.
The marshmallow paste recipe:
Ingredients:
- 6 gelatin sheets
- 150g of sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp.
to s.
of honey
- 5 cl of water
- extract of rose water
- ½ lemon juice
- 3 tbsp.
to s.
icing sugar
- 3 tbsp.
to s.
cornstarch
1. Soften the gelatin in water
2. Make a sugar syrup with the sugar, honey and water (go up to 130 °)
3. Whip the egg whites with the lemon juice
4. Pour the syrup over the egg whites, add the squeezed gelatin, rose water and mix well
5. Pour into a mold lined with icing sugar and cornstarch.