By Diane Forrest
As the summer is winding down, and those camping trips and beach side campfires are coming to a close, we would like to recognize a major ingredient to Summer campfire fun. The Marshmallow. Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day. I don't know about you, but I can't even look at a campfire without wanting to hold a marshmallow or hot dog over it. Of course sitting around the fire telling ghost stories are also a requirement.
When I was younger my brother was in the boy scouts. Since my father was the leader of the group my mother and I would get to go to the camp site to visit. We would take bags of Marshmallows and wire coat hangers. We straightened out the hangers and put a couple of marshmallows on it and hold them over the fire. Of course the boys would inevitably catch them on fire until they turned black. Then they would blow out the fire, slide them off the stick and have throwing wars with them. The insides of the marshmallows would be liquid and sticky, so if you got hit with one, it was a job to clean it off. We even managed to eat a few along the way.
Earlier this month we celebrated S'mores Day. While writing up that article I roasted a few marshmallows, sure did bring back alot of fun memories of my campfire days. If I had known about s'mores back then, I probably would have just moved outside and lived by a campfire!
Toasting marshmallows over a campfire isn't the only way to enjoy this tasty treat. Every Thanksgiving my mother makes sweet potato casseroles and layers the top with marshmallows then places it in the over to brown. While this method is not nearly as fun as holding them over an open flame, the result is still just as delicious.
The largest roasted marshmallow ever can been seen in the movie Ghost Busters, where the gang lights up the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man in the final scent. He, like all my marshmallows also burst into flames.
So, why not toast some marshmallows today and reminisce about your childhood days. You don't have to build a campfire, you can use a gas stove if you have it, or even light a candle.
Did you know that the Marshmallow root was first used as a medicinal remedy for sore throats?
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