the name of both a plant and a confection. The former, Althaea officinalis, a common plant of Europe and Asia, is related to the common mallow but looks more like the hollyhock. Although its leaves are edible, the chief use of the plant lies in its roots, which yield a mucilaginous substance which is the traditional basis for the sweet confections known as marshmallow but has now been almost entirely replaced by gum arabic.
The sweet confection is made from syrup cooked to the hard ball stage (see sugar boiling), then combined with a gelatin or gum arabic solution, often with colouring and flavouring (mint, strawberry, orange flower water, etc.), and whisked into beaten egg whites. The mixture, dusted with icing sugar, is left to set, then cut into cubes or rounds.
A marshmallow has a distinctively chewy texture. It is a versatile substance, which displayed its versatility to maximum (some would say excessive) extent in the USA in the 1930s to 1960s, when it occurred surprisingly often in recipe books, for example as an ingredient for salads, in fillings and toppings for cakes and desserts, and as toasted marshmallows, crisp outside and melting soft within.
A similar product, pâte de guimauve (flavoured with rose or vanilla), is made in France.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
