To make them, liquid, whipped marshmallow is extruded from tubes in long pipe shapes, and allowed to set. The long shapes are then dusted with a dusting starch to reduce sticking when being cut. The long shapes are then cut into individual-sized marshmallows, tumbled to get excess dusting starch off, then packaged.
Marshmallows have been a traditional American topping for sweet potatoes since the 1920s.
Substitutes
Marshmallow Cream Spread
Equivalents
10 large Marshmallows = 3 oz = 85g
20 large Marshmallows = 6 oz = 170g
30 large Marshmallows = 9 oz = 250g
40 large Marshmallows = 12 oz = 350g
1 large Marshmallow = 10 miniature Marshmallows
10 large Marshmallows = 1 cup miniature Marshmallows
1 10oz bag miniature Marshmallows = 2 cups miniature Marshmallows
1 large Marshmallow = 1 tablespoon Marshmallow Cream
32 large Marshmallows = 7.5 oz (200g) Marshmallow Cream
5 1/2 dozen large Marshmallows=16 oz (450g) Marshmallow Cream
To make approx 2 cups of Marshmallow Cream, melt 8 oz (250g) of Marshmallows with 2 tbsp light corn syrup
Storage Hints
Marshmallows can dry out. For long-term storage, freeze in a sealed plastic bag.
History Notes
Marshmallows were originally made as a “medicine” that incorporated juice from the roots of mallow plants for the medicinal factors it was believed to have in folk medicine.
Even though we now think of Marshmallows as American, it was actually the French and British who made them first. The French still make something closer to the original (though without the root) called Pâte de Guimauve. The English whipped the juice from the root, which is viscous or “mucilaginous”, and turned it into more of a candy in the mid 1800s. By the end of the 1800s, commercial gelatin was available, and they switched to using that instead for the candy.
Today, mallow juice is no longer believed to have any medicinal purpose, and gelatin is used instead to thicken Marshmallows.
The typical cylindrical shape of Marshmallows is owing to an extrusion process developed by a man named Alex Doumakes in 1948. His family had started a marshmallow making business called Doumak, Inc., in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, in 1917. The company today makes the Campfire brand of marshmallows. Doumakes’ invention allowed liquid marshmallow to be extruded in long pipe shapes through tubes, and then later cut into equal pieces.
Sources
The Manufacturer US. Doumak, Inc., How sweet it is. Retrieved August 2011 from http://www.themanufacturer.com/us/profile/5279/Doumak,_Inc.