All About the Marshmallow Plant

Did you know that marshmallow comes from a plant?

I didn’t either.   Of course when I heard this, I immediately had visions of strolling through a marshmallow orchard.  I’d occassionally reach up, pick a ripe marshmallow right off the tree, and bite into it.  It was beautiful, really.  Unfortunately, that’s not really what it’s like.

The marshmallow plant (Althaea officinalis) is native northern Africa, but is common in southern Europe and western Asia.  It grows 3 to 4 feet high.  The marshmallow plant was brought to the US for medicinal reasons, and now grows in a few states (mostly on the east coast).   Mallow is commonly used as a gargle to treat mouth and throat ulcers.  It is also used as a cough suppressant.

The marshmallow plant is famous throughout history.  It has been mentioned by Theophrastus, Hippocrates, Dioscorides, and Pliny the Elder.  In the Renaissance period, it was a common cure for gonorrhea.  In the book of Job, people ate them during a time of famine.  And the Roman poet Horace used it when he was constipated.

What’s interesting is that the marshmallow root is rarely used to make marshmallows any more.  It was mostly used as a thickening agent, but has been replaced by gelatin.  Thus, modern marshmallows are not vegetarian, because gelatin often contains animal hide or bones.  Because marshmallow root is rare in the US, old fashioned marshmallows can be expensive and hard to find.

So, although it is rarely used any more, we can thank Althaea officinalis for inspiring many cool things:

• Rice Krispie squares
• S’mores
• the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
• frozen Peeps
• the only part of candied yams worth eating
• Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food
• the Fluffernutter sandwich