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Good Eats: Puff the Magic Mallow
The marsh mallow plant has a long history in human civilization. Originally a medicinal plant, it then came to use in fine confectionaries. That candy later went on to mass production blandness. Alton intends to to recapture the goodness of marshmallow candy with Homemade Marshmallows. Like the modern factory version, his candy uses gelatin and not the marshmallow root, but it still outperforms the factory version. And it works much better in a homemade version of a particular sort of southern treat, and in Ambrosia, a re-creation of the legendary “food of the gods.”
| 5.7/10 (3 Votes cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 11x12 Production Number: EA1113 Airdate: Monday December 03rd, 2007 Writer: Alton Brown
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Recap
Modern food culture, Alton says, is replete with delicacies once highly regarded and now relegated to culinary obscurity. One example is the marshmallow. Marshmallows were once hand made one at a time in fine shops and possessed fine, subtle flavors and a range of textures. But no more. Years of mediocrity have left palettes jaded. And that’s NOT all right with Alton. He thinks it’s time for true marshmallow lovers to take back the candy that, perhaps more than any other, qualifies as... Good Eats!..Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- Corn is planted on about 75 million US acres annually. Over half of the crop ends up as livestock feed.
- In Ghostbusters the Stay-Puft marshmallow man was 112 feet 6 inches tall before the beams were crossed.
- Another popular marshmallow treat, the s’more, was introduced in the 1927 Girl Scout Handbook.
Episode Quotes
Alton: Our food culture is full of delicacies that for one reason or another have fallen from the apex of gourmet delicacy to the nadir of poly-bagged pabulum.
Alton: You know, we’ve become so separated from our traditional food ways that folks don’t remember that once upon a time, marshmallows grew on bushes.
Alton: Okay. Candy making. With the possible exception of chocolate, it’s all about controlling the concentration of sugar syrups. Doesn’t matter if you’re making nougats or lollipops, taffy, toffee, fudge, caramel sauce or marshmallows, it’s all about how much sugar is in that solution.
Alton: Now at sea level, water boils at 212º Farenheit, but, as the water boils out of a solution and that solution becomes more concentrated, the boiling point goes up.
Alton: What was once kind of a flat little puddle of goo is now a big, fluffy, white ball of goodness. And of course, the reason is air. This is pretty much like making a meringue, only, the candy version.
Alton: Just imagine: in no time you’ll have your own little bunny army, ready to do your bidding!
"Colonel Bob Boatwright”: Everybody knows that Zeus and his cronies up on Mount Olympus frolicked about all the live long day, sipping on nectar (bring that here, sugar) and snacking on a succulent sustenance called ambrosia. My, but that does look nice! Problem is, none of the citizens of this fair lofty land bothered to write down the recipe, so, about a hundred years ago, we southerners decided to suss it out our own selves! Let’s go on in the kitchen – I’ll show you how!
Alton: Patience is almost always rewarded on Good Eats, and never more so than when you take a little time to make your very own marshmallows.
Cultural References
Puff the Magic Mallow comes from the hit song Puff the Magic Dragon written by Peter Yarrow and released in 1963. It tells the story of Jackie Paper and Puff, a dragon, and how Jackie grows up and eventually loses interest in Puff, who is immortal. The song became a counterculture anthem because another interpretation suggests the lyrics discuss marijuana usage, although Yarrow has denied this. This episode name is the second reference to this song; the previous was season four’s “Puff the Magic Pastry.”
A scene card refers to the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man’s immense size. In 1984’s Ghostbusters the main antagonist, a Babylonian god named Gozer the Destroyer, invited the Ghostbusters to choose the form of their destruction. One of them, believing it harmless, concentrated on the friendly mascot of the Stay-Puft marshmallow company. Alas, at over a hundred feet tall, the giant marshmallow monster was anything but harmless.
This episode includes a scene with “Colonel Bob Boatwright,” an Alton Brown alter-ego who is clearly based on Harlan Sanders’ physical appearance, and more generally on the physical appearance and mannerisms of a “southern gentleman.” Like Sanders in his later (and iconic) years, Boatwright sports white hair, mustache and beard, a white suit, and has a classic southern accent.
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