who invented marshmallows
Marshmallows do not have a single, clear “inventor”; they evolved over thousands of years from an ancient medicinal plant preparation into the fluffy candy known today. Ancient Egyptians first made a honey-sweetened confection from the marshmallow plant as early as 2000 BCE, and French confectioners in the 1800s created the modern-style marshmallow by whipping mallow sap (later, gelatin) with sugar and egg whites.
Origins in ancient Egypt
- Around 2000 BCE, Egyptians used the root of the marshmallow plant (Althaea officinalis) mixed with honey as a soothing remedy for coughs and sore throats.
- This early marshmallow was a special treat reserved for gods and royalty, not an everyday sweet.
From medicine to confection
- The plant and its preparations were long viewed as medicinal in the ancient Mediterranean world, including by Greeks and later Europeans, before becoming a dessert.
- In the 19th century, French candy makers began whipping mallow sap with sugar and egg whites to make a soft, chewy confection that is a direct ancestor of today’s marshmallows.
Modern marshmallow invention
- Late 1800s confectioners replaced the plant’s sap with gelatin and adopted starch-mold techniques, which made production faster and more consistent.
- In 1956, Alex Doumak patented an extrusion process that pushed marshmallow mixture through tubes and cut it into pieces, enabling mass-market bagged marshmallows in the familiar cylindrical form.
So who “invented” marshmallows?
- Historically speaking, credit goes collectively to:
- Ancient Egyptians for the first marshmallow-like sweet from the plant.
2. **French confectioners** of the 1800s for transforming it into a true candy by whipping it with sugar and egg whites.
3. **Modern industrial candy makers** , especially Alex Doumak, for the processes that created the shape and texture common in stores today.
- Because of this long evolution, historians generally say marshmallows “developed over time” rather than being invented by one person.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.