Rod won't eat them until until they have a carcinogenic layer from holding them on a stick over a camp fire.

Also common practice among US'ns. We also drop them alive into steaming cups of hot chocolate, but only the immature ones before they grow too large.

had to giggle at that, faldage. and also had to state the obvious (at least to US'n's): A camping prerequisite is roasting marshm-A-llows over the campfire by spearing them with straightened hangers, then placing them atop squares of sweetened chocolate while they're still piping hot, then squashing the mixture between two graham cracker halves, producing "s'mores".

it's rather foul to me, since i'm not a fan of brown chocolate, but everyone else seems to like it =)

marshmallows They are made from sugar syrup whipped with gelatine.

And egg whites--to make a meringue that is stiffened by gelatin-- and i have read that the plant ( a marsh mallow) produces an effect like gelatin-- just as some sea weeds do, and was used in the past to make a meringue confections --marshmallow candys -- which have degenerated into current day marshmallows-- as well as having other uses. No mention yet of mallomars--(I can't stand them-- but are there any fanatics out there?)

Nougat is an other form of meringue only it is cooked to stiffen it. (and some say, properly made with honey)

My daughter was able to convince her "Food Policeman" father that Fluff was healthier food than grape jelly because of trace amounts of "protein" found in Fluff.( I was rather impressed with that!)

Si, Emanuela, there is a plant called marshmallow. It's commonly used to treat kidney and bladder problems, and its mucilaginous qualities make it useful in treating internal inflammations and healing mucous membranes.

Did I mention I take an active interest in herbal medicine?

My only contribution to such a sweet thread must be to point out that the Spanish form of marshmallow (longer, tube-like sweets instead of roundish) is referred to as "nube" (cloud). There is no traditional roasting of marshmallows in Spain, except by those who have heard that they are roasted over campfires in the US.

If you have a "sweet tooth" and are not allowed chocolate (sigh) marshmallows cure the dis-ease!
Please note that US marshmallows contain no fat ... a sweet dodge for those counting fat grams and not calories!
How about that phrase : sweet tooth meaning a craving for something sweet. Does it translate?
wow

I once got interested in the word mushroom (I'm an amateur mycologist) and discovered that it is related to mousse, moss and marsh (and marshmallow) -- all things that are kind of foamy and spongy and damp. I can't think of any other common words in this family....

And speaking of terms for foamy, spongy, and damp, while on a walk yesterday, my son decided to take a "short cut" which went through a marshy area. He ended up marooned in the middle of a swamp, clutching a dead tree trunk, until he was rescued.

He summarized the lesson learned by saying that "some ponds have glue water."

and its the season for my favorite marshmallows-- peeps-- little marshmallow birds covered in yellow sugar (think of it, a sugar foam candy, covered with cyrstal sugar! sugar on the outside and on the inside!)

I can usually pass on most marshmallows-- but peeps-- i could inhale! My kids used to wonder why they never got them in there easter baskets-- i could pass on chocolate (yes, i know i sound less than human when i say that) but no matter how many peeps i bought-- i manage to eat them all before the holiday-- and then bought all the left over ones at 50%, and devoured them!

Oh yes! Peeps ... those little yellow, marshmallow, baby chick shaped, mouthsfull of sugar overload yummyness!

Race you, Helen!
wow

re: and its mucilaginous qualities make it useful in treating internal inflammations and healing mucous membranes.

In the post above this (the one above the quoted one!--flat mode) i suggested that Marshmallow plants formed a sort of gelatin... and Fiberbabe uses the word based on mucilage--which is a gelatinous substance from plants-- (which some how differes from pectin, an other jelly like plant substance... )

Do these words reflect a basic chemical difference or some difference in texture that i am not aware of?

are marshmallows "Gummy" like okra? or is there a whole world of words for the vicousness in food-- (point here is not the food, but the words to describe it.)

and are there other words?
Gelatin
mucilage
pectin
????

is gelatin animal based? and what about the gelatin from "birds nest soup"-- the gelatin that lines the nest of certain sea swallows, is this a gelatin

"is gelatin animal based?" Yes, it is made by boiling skin, bones, horn, hooves. My father would not have Jello on the table, as he had heard of its being made from horse and cow hooves.

mucilage,pectin, and carrageenan are all plant products.

As to peeps, those odd little confections - I have heard of a rather unorthodox activity carried out with the little beasts - peep jousting.

Apparently, peeps swell hugely and wildly when subject to microwave radiation. So, some stalwart soul selected a brace of peeps, armed them with toothpicks (by poking them into the peeps), placed them facing each other, but at a respectful distance, inside a microwave oven, and fired it up. The peeps are said to bob and weave as they swell up, giving the appearance of doing combat with each other.

The Peeps corporate representatives, when asked about such behavior, had little to say on the matter, but did suggest that if it contributed to the sales of peeps, they were all for it. I think they recognize that, aside from the lovely Ms. of troy and a handful of other folks deficient in the evolutionary traits which allow an appreciation (nay, a madness) for chocolate, nobody really eats peeps - they're just for decoration in an easter basket.

And with that, my 200th post, I move from member (which makes me feel like I belong here, and have achieved some sort of recognized status) to enthusiast (which seems somehow a demotion).

"decoration in an easter basket."

Easter Baskets can be fun for the kids, but do any of you remember when kids "hung" May Baskets as a surprise for their mothers? I haven't heard of it for a long time.

I think they recognize that, aside from the lovely Ms. of troy and a handful of other folks deficient in the evolutionary traits which allow an appreciation (nay, a madness) for chocolate

i believe what Hyla meant to say was that only a select handful of us have evolved beyond the primal craving for chocolate.

nobody really eats peeps - they're just for decoration in an easter basket.

i beg to differ ~ peeps rock. yum, yum. the wonderful thing about peeps, too, is that even though they get all hard when they're stale, if you wait long enough they get mooshy again. ditto for lucky charms.

in case anyone feels the urge to know the preferred method for enjoying a peep, i found this gem:

Q: What's the correct way to eat a Peep? My husband insists it's bite the head off, then the butt, then stuff the middle in your mouth.

A: There's not really a correct way, but there is a preferred way. According 1998 surveys by MSI International and International Communications Research (ICR), 60 percent of consumers eat Peeps head first. And if that's not grizzly enough, 40 percent stretch the neck out before the fatal chomp. No statistics on butt and belly biting, but 10 percent admit, actually admit, they stuff more than one whole Peep in their mouth at once.