With harvest season winding down, it’s time for dessert. How about some candy, real candy, from the garden?
Marshmallows, anyone?
Of course you can’t just pluck a squishy marshmallow from a marshmallow bush or tree. But marshmallows — real marshmallows — were originally made from the candied roots of a plant. And that plant is aptly called “marsh mallow.”
DIGGING FOR
MARSHMALLOWS
You can grow marsh mallow, and if you do, now would be a good time to dig up a few pieces of root, candy them, and compare them with the fluffy product sold under the same name in plastic bags.
Those bagged marshmallows, incidentally, are no longer made from marsh mallow roots. They are made from a mixture of sugars, egg whites and gelatin beaten together.
As you scratch into the soil at the base of a marsh mallow plant, the resemblance of marsh mallow roots to marshmallow candy becomes immediately apparent. It doesn’t take long for a plant to develop fat white roots. Even after only a couple of years, roots radiate out just below the soil surface.
You can chop off a couple of these roots, bring them into the kitchen, scrape them clean, then slice them into marshmallow-size rounds ... well, miniature marshmallow-size rounds. Back in the garden, the plant hardly knows it’s had a few roots removed.
CANDY TIME
The candying process, which is described in various old cookbooks for things such as citron peels and angelica roots, works well for marsh mallow roots. The process begins with boiling the root pieces to soften them. This step takes about 1/2 hour.
The next step is to pour off the water and cover the marshmallows-to-be with a syrup made by heating a mixture of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. If nothing else, homemade marshmallows rival the commercial ones for sweetness.
Finally, root pieces are boiled in the syrup until almost all the liquid evaporates. Once everything cools and hardens a bit, why not assemble a taste panel to see how these old-fashioned, real marshmallows sit on modern palates?
Besides being supersweet, these old-fashioned marshmallows will probably be a bit tough. But they should have a squishiness that bears a vague resemblance to the store-bought product.
TRIAL BY FIRE
You might also want to subject your home-made marshmallows to the fire test. Stick one on the end of an awl and singe it with a blowtorch, if that’s most convenient for a quick test, or go the whole route, with stick and an outdoor fire. You’ll find that the home-made marshmallow will brown and give off an odor similar to commercial marshmallows. Home-made marshmallows will not collapse into goo, though.
MARSH MALLOW FLOWERS
Even if you don’t become enthusiastic for home-made marshmallow candy, you might still want to grow marsh mallow plants for their flowers. They are as pretty as you would expect from a plant related to such beauties as hibiscus, rose-of-Sharon and hollyhock.
Marsh mallow makes a sprawling mound about 4 feet high and wide, its stems clothed all summer long in velvety green leaves and blossoms looking like pink hoop skirts.
Although native to coastal marshes from New York down to Florida, marsh mallow will thrive without salt or boggy soil.
Among the native fauna that enjoy this plant are deer, which eat the stems. I wonder if they would like the roots, candied?
Garden
Plant some candy: the pretty marsh mallow
- Garden
-
-
Try tropicals in your garden this spring
When the tomatoes are finally planted, any old daffodil foliage is cut back and the beds are weeded and mulched, it’s time to add the final touch of perfection — tropicals that give your porches and patios a little island mystique.
-
Edmond Beautiful plans Spring Garden Tour
Edmond Beautiful Inc. will have a Spring Garden Tour of the 2011 “Yard of the Week” winners May 26-27. The “Yard of the Week” program recognizes yards and gardens during the summer months for outstanding flowers and landscaping.
-
Garden party to feature plants, tour of Touchmark Prairieview Memory Residences
All green thumbs and garden admirers are invited to a Garden Party and Open House at Touchmark at Coffee Creek on May 20.
-
2012 Yard of the Week contest kicks off
Edmond is noted for its nice additions, beautiful homes and yards. It’s time to take a few moments and recognize those residents who put in the extra work and effort on their yards to truly make Edmond beautiful.
-
Identify springtime wildlife with state field book
As the weather continues to warm up, you may get a chance to see one of Oklahoma’s unique frogs, snakes, turtles or salamanders on your outdoor adventures.
-
City part of new Tree Bank project
In an effort to combat the risk of skin cancer, the Oklahoma Tree Bank and partners are bringing their Shade Trees on Playgrounds (STOP) program to the City of Edmond. According to the Tree Bank, the unique program intends to lower the risk of melanoma by providing “large, quality shade trees to playgrounds, parks, ball fields and other places children play in the sun.”
-
Hintergardts take last Yard of the Week
The final Yard of the Week for 2011 goes to Hadley and Mary Hintergardt, 4104 Eaton Place in the Clayton Pond addition.
-
Urban Forestry offers new tree options
Between the drought and the recent wind storm, many people have lost trees this summer. With fall quickly approaching (finally!), the Urban Forestry Department has some replanting opportunities on the calendar that you may be eligible for.
-
Jennings Taylor takes Yard of the Week
The Yard of the Week award goes to Keri L. Jennings Taylor, 5924 Great Hampden Rd. in the Hampden Hollow Addition.
-
Easy ways to get top dollar for your home
For many Oklahoma home sellers, spring and summer is the time to put their homes on the market to get top dollar.
- More Garden Headlines
-
Try tropicals in your garden this spring
