Marshmallow Root and Gelatin

When Val came from California, she brought me herbal supplements to help the stomach situation. They're "Dr. Schulze's Original Clinical Formulae (spelled like that) Since 1979."

These happen to be packets of "Formula #2".

I got to thinking that maybe "Formula #1" killed too many people, so I read the ingredients.

They include things like Activated Willow Charcoal (so you can have gas or use charcoal), Pharmaceutical Grade Bentonite Clay (so you can make a mold of your intestines?), Slippery Elm bark (laxative?), and Cayenne pepper blend (because nothing settles a stomach like peppers).

There were a few other ingredients, like flax seed and apple pectin, but the one that really threw me off was Marshmallow root.

I didn't think marshmallows were from plants. I thought they were your usual combination of sugar and corn syrup (from plants, yes...but still)

So I checked the ingredients of marshmallows and it turns out I was right. And one of the other ingredients is gelatin.

"So what is this Marshmallow root", I asked myself.

Googled it. Asked Jeeves. Wikipedia.

Althaea is a genus of 6-12 species of perennial herbs, including the marshmallow plant whence the fluffy sweet confection got its name...found on the banks of rivers and salt marshes (marsh...mallow?). The genus formerly included a number of additional species now treated in the genus Alcea (Hollyhocks).

One of the chemical constituents of the marshmallow plant is phenolic acids.
(Yes, please add acid to the Cayenne pepper blend. Great for acid reflux.)

According to the site on Wikipedia, the uses of the marshmallow plant vary - from treating mouth and throat ulcers by gargling, to using the flowers and leaves used in salads or for cosmetic treatment of the skin, to being used in the Middle East for cleaning Persian Carpets.

The marshmallow as we know it is named for a confection dating back to Egyptian antiquity.
It was a honey-sweetened, eggwhite meringue often flavored with rose water.
However, the contemporary commercially available marshmallows no longer contain any actual marshmallow. (Which is a pity, because there's a Hemp Leaved Marshmallow plant as well as a Hairy Marshmallow. They would have made for some interesting s'mores.)

Like I said earlier, they do contain gelatin. The first two ingredients were the sugar and corn syrup, so they do have plant properties, but gelatin is derived mainly from pork, cattle, and horses. "Contrary to popular belief, horns and hooves are not used." So if you feel like snacking on a horse hoof you'll have to find something other than gummy worms, jello, or marshmallows.

Besides the food uses, Wikipedia lists gelatin's uses as the glossy stuff on playing cards, the glue that's used as a binder on match heads and sandpaper, the agent that makes soft drinks containing beta-carotene turn yellow, the outside capsule of prescription pills and paintballs, and so on. Professional lighting equipment uses color gels to change the beam color, and virtually all photographic films and photographic papers use gelatin. Gelatin, like the marshmallow plant, has cosmetic uses.

Wow. All that and you can "watch it wiggle, see it jiggle".

But I think the most useful thing I learned in researching gelatin and marshmallow root was from a side article on marshmallow root, which said something about it being useful in exorcisms after sprinkling powdered marshmallow root over tarot cards. I don't know if tarot cards have a glossy gelatin coating or not, and I don't have any anyway. But if I ever come home and find my kids scurrying across the ceiling, I'll be better prepared!