Medicinal Marshmallows

& the benefits of marshmallow root

I’m not sure if I can ever return to store bought marshmallows after making my own. For one, its SO easy! Second, with grass fed gelatin and actual marshmallow root these are great for gut health, and third, they’re actually a relatively healthy sweet treat that hits the spot and can be customized in so many ways. Oh wait and fourth- they melt waaay better in a cup of hot chocolate than store bought marshmallows!

Marshmallows supposedly date back to Ancient Egypt, as far as 2000 BCE which is insane. They mixed the sap from the marshmallow plant with honey & nuts, called it a food of the gods and made it for royalty. Fat forward a few thousand years and our modern version is mostly corn syrup and gelatin but the OG version would have been super medicinal.

The Marshmallow plant (Althea officinalis) is such a long used and well respected herb, with so many uses it’s hard to count.

• It is a cooling and moistening plant, with properties including demulcent (relieves inflammation by creating a protective mucous), diuretic (makes you pee/clears extra fluid), emollient (softens/soothes skin), galactagogue (aids milk production), nutritive (providing nourishment/nutrients) & vulnerary (wound healing).

So it clearly has so many uses, from cosmetic to first aid, but one of the main features of the marshmallow plant is its mucilaginous nature. The whole plant is useful from the flowers to the roots and incredibly calming for the body, particularly protective for mucous membranes- think stomach, gut, colon, throat. It has a thick sticky sap and woody roots that when soaked in water/used in an infusion cause liquid to thicken and become gelatinous, creating a mucousy substance. Incredibly soothing for coughs, bronchitis, IBS, colitis, inflamed skin, acid reflux.

You can find marshmallow root easily in bulk sections of many health food stores, or online from Mountain Rose Herbs or Frontier Co-op. It is so easy to use, as you can either cold infuse it to release the mucilage and use for soothing, you can make an infusion/strong tea by bringing a tablespoon to a quick boil on the stove and then reducing to a low simmer for 20 minutes, or even a quick tea by just covering with boiling water and allowing it to steep for a while.

Or, for a gut soothing and nutritious sweet treat- make some marshmallows.

A couple things to note-

• START THE NIGHT BEFORE sorry for shouting but I am alwaaays going to start a recipe that I want/need that day and then realizing it needs to sit overnight or rise or something. Start your marshmallow infusion the night before.

• You’ll want a stand mixer or hand mixer. You could whisk it yourself but you would be insane.

• This recipe uses gelatin in addition to the mallow to ensure that the marshmallows really set well. This also adds to the gut- supportive properties! You don’t have to use grass fed beef gelatin, you can just use regular gelatin packs that you find in the baking section of most stores. The classic Knox packets are Pork gelatin I believe, and while this still has some benefits it will be derived from factory farmed pigs which just isn’t the cleanest animal protein source. However, the grass fed beef version will have more of the beneficial nutrients- Omega 3’s, Vitamin A, E, collagen & fatty acids. I use a Great Lakes Grass Fed beef gelatin, which can be purchased online but I found in the spices/baking section of our local health food store (it comes in a big tub like a protein powder or collagen).

• This recipe is for chocolate peppermint marshmallows that are so SO good in hot chocolate at this time of year but you can totally switch up the flavors easily! It isn’t a very particular recipe so you can add in cocoa powder or mess around with the amounts liquids included (marshmallow infusion, maple syrup) to add different flavors.

• You will need a decent thermometer for this, ideally. When boiling the maple syrup and marshmallow infusion, the mixture must reach 235-240 degrees, otherwise known as the “soft ball” candy stage. You can use a candy thermometer, I used a meat thermometer which was a bit more inconvenient but fine. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test this by using a clean spoon to drip a little bit of the mixture into a bowl of cold water. If it immediately forms a little ball that is soft and squishy and can be easily molded, you’re there!

• On that note, use a larger pot than you think you need (a quart size will probably do it) because as the mixture boils and begins to near soft ball stage, it will start to get SUPER frothy and bubbly and threaten to overflow your pot! My first try I used a slightly too small pot and had to keep taking it off the stove so the bubbles could subside which was annoying.

Ingredients

1/4 c Marshmallow root (I prefer to use shredded/chopped whole root than powder)

1.5 c Filtered Water

1 c Maple Syrup (or Honey)

3 Tbsp Grass Fed Beef Gelatin

Pinch of Salt

Peppermint Extract/Oil (to taste)

1/2 c Arrowroot

For the Topping

1/2 c (or more) Dark Chocolate Chips (use Lily’s for less sugar!)

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

3 Candy Canes/handful of peppermints

1. Add your Marshmallow root to a jar with 1.5 c of filtered water. Put a lid on it, give it a little shake and let it sit out for 12-24 hours, until the water gets a little *thicc*

2. Once your infusion has finished, strain it to remove all the marshmallow root leaving only the liquid.

3. Add 3 Tbsp of gelatin to the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl. To this add 1/2 a cup of your marshmallow infusion, give it a quick stir to incorporate and let that sit while you do the next steps (they call this letting the gelatin *bloom*)

4. Meanwhile, add another 1/2 c of the infusion to a mid sized pot (there will probably be some leftover infusion, just drink it or something.) with the maple syrup and a pinch of salt.

5. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes until it begins to get super frothy, bubbly, and threaten to overflow the pot and the temperature reaches 230-240 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to check the temp as you go, or take a little bit of the mixture on a clean spoon and drip a little drop into a bowl of cold water. If it forms a soft ball that squishes easily, it’s ready.

6. Once your mixture is ready, remove it from the stove and begin to slowly pour it into the bowl with the gelatin as you mix it on a medium-high speed.

7. If making peppermint marshmallows, now is a good time to add just a couple of drops of food grade peppermint essential oil, or a 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract. Add more if you like!

8. Continue mixing for 10 or more minutes maybe, until the mixture doubles (or maybe triples) in size, becomes fluffy and white and holds soft peaks- like marshmallow fluff.

9. Line a 9x9 pan with baking parchment & dust a little arrowroot over it. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smoothing the top. Allow this to harden for a couple of hours, on the counter or in the fridge.

10. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a bain-marie (bring a a couple of inches of water to a boil in a saucepan, put chocolate chips and coconut oil in a glass or metal bowl, sit the bowl on the pot so that the steam warms the bowl without the water touching the bowl.) Don’t mess with them too much, just let them melt and then give a good stir.

11. While the chips are melting, crush your candy canes- I usually just throw them in a zip lock bag and whack them with something.

12. Drizzle melted chocolate over marshmallows and sprinkle with crushed peppermints.

13. One the marshmallows are firm, remove from the pan and cut into squares. You can warm your knife or coat it in coconut oil if it starts to get sticky.

14. Once cut, lightly dip the cut sides of the marshmallows in a bowl of arrowroot to keep them from sticking.

15. Store in an airtight container, no need to refrigerate. They should last a week or more (if you don’t eat them all before then!)