Marshmallow (UK: , US: ) is a confection made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicinal confection made from Althaea officinalis, the marsh-mallow plant.
History
The word "marshmallow" comes from the mallow plant species (Althaea officinalis), a wetland weed native to parts of Europe, North Africa, and Asia that grows in marshes and other damp areas. The plant's stem and leaves are fleshy, and its white flower has five petals. It is not known exactly when marshmallows were invented, but their history goes back as early as 2000 BCE. Ancient Egyptians were said to be the first to make and use the root of the plant to soothe coughs and sore throats and to heal wounds. The first marshmallows were prepared by boiling pieces of root pulp with honey until thick. Once thickened, the mixture was strained, cooled, then used as intended. Whether used for candy or medicine, the manufacture of marshmallows was limited to a small scale. In the early to mid-19th century, the marshmallow had made its way to France, where confectioners augmented the plant's traditional medicinal value. Owners of small confectionery stores would whip the sap from the mallow root into a fluffy candy mold. This candy, called Pâte de Guimauve, was a spongy-soft dessert made from whipping dried marshmallow roots with sugar, water, and egg whites. It was sold in bar form as a lozenge. Drying and preparation of the marshmallow took one to two days before the final product was produced. In the late 19th century, candy makers started looking for a new process and discovered the starch mogul system, in which trays of modified corn starch had a mold firmly pushed down in them to create cavities within the starch. The cavities were then filled with the whipped marshmallow sap mixture and allowed to cool or harden. At the same time, candy makers began to replace the mallow root with gelatin, which created a stable form of marshmallow. By the early 20th century, thanks to the starch mogul system, marshmallows were available for mass consumption. In the United States, they were sold in tins as penny candy and used in a variety of food recipes like banana fluff, lime mallow sponge, and tutti frutti. In 1956, Alex Doumak patented the extrusion process that involved running marshmallow ingredients through tubes. The tubes created a long rope of marshmallow mixture and were then set out to cool. The ingredients were then cut into equal pieces and packaged. Modern marshmallow manufacturing is highly automated and has been since the early 1950s, when the extrusion process was first developed. Numerous improvements and advancements allow for the production of thousands of pounds of marshmallow a day. Today, the marshmallow typically consists of four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent.
Ingredients Marshmallows consist of four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent/aerator (usually a protein). The types of sugar and whipping agent vary depending on the desired characteristics. Each ingredient plays a specific role in the final product. The marshmallow is a foam, consisting of an aqueous continuous phase and a gaseous dispersed phase; in other words, a liquid with gas bubbles spread throughout. Marshmallows are an "aerated" confection because the material is made up of 50% air. The goal of an aerated confection like a marshmallow is to incorporate gas into a sugar mixture and stabilize the aerated product before the gas can escape.
Protein In marshmallows, proteins are the main surface-active agents responsible for the formation and stabilization of the dispersed air. Due to their structure, surface-active molecules gather at the surface area of a portion of (water-based) liquid. A portion of each protein molecule is hydrophilic, with a polar charge, and another portion is hydrophobic and non-polar. The non-polar section has little or no affinity for water, and so this section orients as far away from the water as possible. However, the polar section is attracted to the water and has little or no affinity for the air. Therefore, the molecule orients with the polar section in the water, with the non-polar section in the air. Two primary proteins that are commonly used as aerators in marshmallows are albumen (egg whites) and gelatin.
Albumen (egg whites) Albumen is a mixture of proteins found in egg whites and is utilized for its capacity to create foams. In a commercialized setting, dried albumen is used as opposed to fresh egg whites. In addition to convenience, the advantages of using dried albumen are an increase in food safety and the reduction of water content in the marshmallow. Fresh egg whites carry a higher risk of Salmonella, and are approximately 90 percent water. This is undesirable for the shelf life and firmness of the product. For artisan-type marshmallows, prepared by a candy maker, fresh egg whites are usually used. Albumen is rarely used on its own when incorporated into modern marshmallows, and instead is used in conjunction with gelatin.
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