When I was little my favorite dessert was the Coffee Mallow that my grandmother made. I got the very important job of snipping marshmallows into a bowl, using a pair of big-people scissors. Nana then poured hot brewed coffee over the heap and I stirred until most of the sticky bits were melted but some chunks remained. Then we whipped cream with a rotary whisk, and folded it into the mix. Not haute, but undeniably happy cuisine. (This photo, from Taste of Home, shows the dessert dusted with crushed Oreos, a step my grandmother skipped.)
Last week I attempted to “upgrade” the concoction using artisanal marshmallows instead of Kraft, and Illy Caffe espresso instead of the inexpensive A&P blend my grandmother used.
Handmade marshmallows are the rage these days, with countless recipes on-line and in cookbooks, and dozens of small-batch companies making the cloud-like nuggets. (Plush Puffs is one of the best.)
Unfortunately, my local Whole Foods had only their own brand of Peppy Peppermint Handcrafted Marshmallows in stock, and the idea of a peppermint-espresso marriage didn’t thrill me. So I substituted Ghirardelli hot chocolate for the coffee and snipped, whipped and folded my way straight back to my grandmother’s kitchen.
The result was as luscious as ever. Much sweeter than the original coffee version, but a perfect blend of fluff and lump, and a great catalyst for reminiscing, and sharing those memories with my own kids.
No sooner did I lap and smack the last of the “mallow” in my
bowl than I serendipitously stumbled upon a months-old Wall Street Journal
article about the lowly but “universally loved” marshmallow. Reporter Jennifer
Levitz claims that marshmallow products are found in the pantries of 46 percent
of U.S. households. Her fascinating article focuses on Marshmallow Fluff, the
snowy white marshmallow cream that’s been made in Lynn, Mass. since the 1920s.
I loved the article because I've been a Fluff fan since birth (in Lynn, Mass., by the way). But what really grabbed me was a factoid about the origin of the marshmallow. After 25-plus years as Food Editor and Columnist of the Union-Tribune, I thought I had heard it all. But learning that the marshmallow was originally made in Egypt from the mallow plants that grew in marshes there was a jaw-dropping “You’ve got to be kidding!” moment. Read more here.
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