What are Marshmallows made of?

And now it’s time for Who’s Smarted. Psst, howdy smarty panthers. Grab a seat by the campfire and join me for some treats. Now, if you listen to our episode on camping, you might remember my good friend Robert Maroon told us all about camping and then ate all the marshmallows.

Luckily, Maroon is busy surfing with alligators today. So he’s not around to eat all my food. Instead, I get to miss him while I snack on lots of marshmallows. Oh yeah. Smarty Pants, what’s your favorite marshmallow treat?

Is it hot chocolate with marshmallows? Peeps, Rice Krispie Treats, Fluffer Nutters, or maybe you love the old campfire classic, the s’more. I have my chocolate, my graham cracker, and of course, my marshmallows.

To make a s’more, you first grab a marshmallow and you put it at the end of a stick, like this.

Hee hee hee! That ta-

Uh, did my marshmallow say something? It sure did. I’m Marsha. Uh, hi, Marsha the Marshmallow. I’m Trusty the Narrator. Nice to meet you. Yeah, of course. Now that you’re talking to me, I don’t know if I want to eat you.

Well, while you make up your mind, let me just say, I’m just full of surprises. You don’t say? Did you know that I was once used as medicine? Marsh medicine? Really? And I was once a treat that only the very rich and powerful could enjoy.

Really? When was that? Come with me on a journey of discovery, and I’ll show you all the wonders of the magical marshmallow.

Uh, now? I was kind of hoping to eat some s’mores. Nope! Magical journey-

of discovery! Ta -da! Isn’t this place beautiful? Here are my roots! Literally! Hee hee hee!

Uh, great! There are bugs and tall grass everywhere. And now my feet are all wet and muddy. Yuck! Where are we? And what happened to my bag of marshmallows?

Hmm, you must have left it behind when we traveled through time and space.

Great! Of all the marshmallows I could have picked, I chose the one who can teleport. Smarty Pants, can you guess where we are?

It has to do with my name! Hee hee hee!

Right, smarty pants, what’s the deal with marshmallows? What are they actually made of? How did they go from being a royal treat to a favorite squishy snack? And where the heck am I? It’s time for another whiff of science and history on…

The Smarted.

Who’s smarted? Who’s smart? Is it you? Is it me?

is it science or history? Listen up! Everyone, we make smarting! Lots of fun on WhoSmarted! This message is sponsored by Greenlight. As a WhoSmarted fan, you know how much I love helping kids build independence and learn crucial life skills.

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That’s greenlight .com backslash smarted to try Greenlight for free. Okay, smarty pants, first things first. Let’s figure out where Marsha the Marshmallow has transported us. Any guesses? Yeah, I have no idea either.

But there sure are a lot of bugs. Gotcha, giant mosquito. Okay, Marsha Marshmallow, I give up. Where on earth did you bring?

Well, before I tell you where I brought you, first I’ll answer when I brought you. And that is… four thousand years ago!

4 ,000 years ago, you brought me back 4 ,000 years just so I could stand in in Where am I? It looks and feels like a swan

No, no, it’s not a swamp, it’s a marsh.

Marsh?

Yep, it’s an entirely different kind of wetland. It’s also where my name comes from.

Ah, that makes sense, but smarty pants, why do you think marshmallows are named after marshes? Is it A, they’re white like the swans that live in marshes, B, they come from a marsh -based plant, or C, marshes are pretty mellow.

What do you say, Marsha?

The answer is B. Marshmallows come from a marsh -based plant, and that plant is a type of mallow plant. Look, there’s one right there.

This one with the pink flowers.

Yup, but the original marshmallow did not come from the marshmallow plants’ flowers. Thanks for watching!

Hmm, smarty pants, can you guess what part of the plant is used to make marshmallows? Is it the roots, the stem, or the leaves?

I may have given you a hint earlier. It’s the roots. Ah. Sap from the roots of a marshmallow plant was mixed with nuts and honey to make the first marshmallow. Wow.

But I can’t imagine that tasting like the marshmallows me and the smarty pants are used to. Ow! I think an ancient winged creature just stung me! Marsha, where exactly is this marsh?

Hehehe. Oh, I’m sure you can figure it out. Here’s a hint.

Oh, I now find myself inside a room with massive columns, statues, and artwork covered in what looks like hieroglyphics. Smarty Pants, can you guess what country we’re in? Did you say Egypt? Nice job if you got that.

We’re in an ancient Egyptian palace, to be precise. Egyptian palaces are where you’ll find the first marshmallows. In ancient times, marshmallows were only made for royalty, such as the ruling pharaohs.

Ancient Egyptians also believed the gods they worshipped enjoyed marshmallows too. Think about that the next time you poke a stick into a marshmallow and roast it in a fire. Hey, who did that?

Dares disturb the palace. Oh, hi, Palace Guard. It’s just me, the trusty narrator, with a marshmallow. That’s no marshmallow!

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Marshmallows in ancient times looked nothing like the ones you’re used to. In fact, nobody knows what they looked like back then. Guards, cease!

Take them to the dungeon! Uh, Marsha? We should probably be marsh -making our way out of here.

Good idea. Hee hee hee. Okay, next stop.

Oh, hello. This won’t hurt a bit. Huh? What? What are you putting on my arm? I’m, uh, covering your bee sting. Oh, right. I forgot about that. Wait, where am I? Hey, why’d you put that on my head?

for your amnesia. We are in ancient Greece, more than a thousand years after the Egyptians first used the marshmallow. Do you have a-

toothache? Uh, no. Sword throat? No. Sword wounds? Well, we were being chased by Egyptian guards, but I don’t think any of them struck me. Hey! Better cover you up just in case. Marsha, who is this guy?

And why does he keep putting this…

First question first. This is an ancient Greek doctor. And the reason he keeps is because back then, and for hundreds of years after, marshmallow was used as medicine.

Ha, smarty pants, you just heard this ancient Greek doctor suggest using marshmallow to treat bee stings, toothaches, sore throats, and sword injuries. Ow! But what else did ancient doctors believe marshmallow could help with?

A, stomach aches. B, the sniffles. C, sleeping. Or D, pooping. The answer is all of them. Whoa. Whoa is right. Who knew marshmallow was such a cure -all? The question is, does it work? But of course.

Well, some people think so, including some today, but there’s very little scientific evidence to prove it. Even so, do not expect a cure from the marshmallows you and the smarty -pants eat. Why not? Because modern marshmallows are very, very, very different.

Let me show you.

Where are we now? Mmm, smells so good.

Smells like candy. We’re in a French candy factory in the 1800s. Marshmallow was mostly used as medicine until the French created a marshmallow candy just like the Egyptians did. The French version is a lot closer to modern marshmallows.

Candy makers whipped dried marshmallow roots with sugar, water, and egg whites to create a dessert that was both spongy and soft. Ooh! But there was a problem with it.

Smarty Pants, can you guess what the problem was? Is it A, the dessert didn’t taste good, B, the dessert became too popular, or C, the dessert became illegal.

The answer is B, marshmallow candies became way too popular. So, the French developed a way to make a whole bunch of them at once using molds made out of modified cornstarch. It’s how gummy bears and jelly beans are made today.

But not marshmallows. Nope, marshmallows went through a few more changes, including a big one.

Hmm, I wonder what it could be, smarty pants. Let me guess, they used to be bigger or a different color. Don’t tell me they used to be harder to bite into.

No, it’s not that. It’s that marshmallows are no longer made from plants!

Wait, you mean there’s no more marshmallow in marshmallows? How? Why? I can show and tell you. Great. I can’t wait to see and hear it. But first, a quick break. Hey, parents. Trusty here. I love making it easy for people to learn new things.

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Trust me, it’s a game changer. And now back to who’s smarted. Okay, smarty pants, to recap. We just learned that the marshmallows of today are nothing like the marshmallows of the past. In fact, they’re no longer made from malo plants found in marshes.

And to show us what today’s marshmallows are made of, Marsha, the marshmallow, has brought us to…

Where exactly? We’re in the country with the largest number of marshmallow fans.

Mmm smarty pants. Any guess what country that is? Is it A. Egypt B. Switzerland C. The United States or D. China? Why it’s the

good ol’ U .S. of A, where more than 90 million pounds of marshmallows are purchased each year. That’s about the weight of 190 train engines.

Or better yet, choo -choo. Nom -nom -nom -nom -nom. But where and when exactly are we right now?

We’re in Los Angeles in the 1950s, where the modern marshmallow was born, thanks to this device. Wait.

Where’d you get that thing? Also, what is it? It looks like a bunch of tubes.

Uh -huh. Now I want everyone listening to the sound of my voice to close your eyes and think about a marshmallow. You know, the kind you roast in a fire or use to make s’mores. Are you thinking of it?

Good. Now what shape is it?

Smarty Pants, what shape is your average marshmallow? Is it A, a cylinder, like a can, B, a cube, like a box, or C, a pyramid, like, well, a pyramid? Well, I don’t know about you, but my marshmallows tend to be cylindrical, like a little can.

Right! And you have marshmallow maker Alex Dumac to thank for that. He created what’s called the extrusion process, which pushes the marshmallow mixture through tubes like the one I’m holding and pumps it with air, creating long, soft marshmallow snakes.

Cut those snakes up into equal pieces and tada! You have cylindrical shaped marshmallows.

Gotcha. Of course, it’s weird to think of marshmallows as snakes or any animal, except maybe peeps.

Actually, you should, because most marshmallows are made from animals. Mm, they are? Yep. The change happened back in the 1800s, when marshmallows became a candy tree. It was taking way too long to dry and prepare the mallow plant, so candy makers got rid of the marshy plant and, instead, used an ingredient made from animal bones, cartilage, and skin.

Mm, it’s an ingredient also in many gummy candies, as well as soups, sauces, and, of course, food.

Jello. Smarty Pants, do you know what this ingredient is called? Is it A, jelly, B, gelatin, C, gelato, or D, bacon?

Most modern marshmallows contain sugar, corn syrup, starch, water, and bee, gelatin. With gelatin, candy makers can make more marshmallows faster, but because these marshmallows contain animal products, they’re not vegetarian.

Fortunately, some candy makers have found ways to make marshmallows without gelatin, so everyone can enjoy a marshmallow tree. Like smoothies.

And speaking of spores, can we head back to my campsite? Ah, it’s good to be back. But, hey! All my marshmallows are gone! Who ate them all?

I don’t know. Hey, is that a note? Oh

It is! Hey trusty, I finished alligator surfing early and stopped by. Sorry I missed you mate, but thanks for leaving me all those marshmallows. Love Maroon! Ahhh, Maroon ate all my food again! He couldn’t leave me one marshmallow?

All I want is one little marshmallow! Wait!

Hey, gotta go. Bye.

A big shout out to smarty fan Natalie in Rochester, New York, who said, and I quote, I love Who Smarted, because it has facts about a lot of interesting topics, and I like the characters because they’re funny.

Aw, thanks for that. We’re so glad you love smarting with us, Natalie. This episode, Marshmallows, was written by Dave Smores -Bodry, and voiced by Chia Jelliton Davis, Max Mini -Marshmallow Kamaski, Adam Sweets Davis, and Jerry Colbert.

Technical Direction and Sound Design by Josh Graham Crackers -Hahn. Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Peeps Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.

Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.

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