That the world’s first marshmallows were made in the year 2000 B.C.? They were made from honey and the root sap of the mallow plant.
I found this information on page 6 in the book Sweet! by Ann Love and Jane Drake. It also tells about some of the different kinds of candy and ingredients used in candy making throughout history and around the world.
Marshmallows by Tim Kinnaird and Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Sever are two really good marshmallow cookbooks. They look a lot easier to make than I had thought, and they have flavor ideas I wouldn’t have ever thought of! I can’t wait to try a few of these recipes myself.
But, why stop at making marshmallows? In the DVD Candymaking Sharyn Pak shows you how to make all kinds of different candies: dipped, drizzled, and molded chocolates, peanut brittle and lollipops too! It is an excellent show to see if you plan to make candy because she shows the proper way to heat sugars, use a candy thermometer, dipping the chocolates and much more. All this same information is available in the book The Complete Photo Guide to Candy Making by Autumn Carpenter as well as printed recipes for many yummy goodies.
According to the book Death Makes A Holiday by David J. Skal, the history of giving out candy on Halloween began as a way to buy off the kids to prevent them from being tricksters. The first known packaging of Halloween candy was in 1920 for Ze Jumbo Jelly Beans out of Portland Oregon with the prominent message “Stop Halloween Pranksters”.
On page 12 of Sweet it says that Americans spend more than $125 million dollars a year on Marshmallows, and half of all marshmallows sold in the summer are toasted over campfires!
Campout the Ultimate Kids Guide by Lynn Brunelle teaches all that you need to know to begin your camping fun and has the directions for making s’mores so you can start enjoying your toasted marshmallows right away.
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