Althaea officinalis the English common name "mallow". Most of the mallows have been used as food, and are mentioned by early classic writers with this connection. Mallow was an edible vegetable among the Romans; a dish of marsh mallow was one of their delicacies. Prospero Alpini stated in 1592 that a plant of the mallow kind was eaten by the Egyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria subsisted for weeks on herbs, of which marshmallow is one of the most common. When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish, and in
Palm sugar sold in bottles or tins and tends to thicken and crystallize over time. The boiled sap can also be solidified and sold in the form of bricks or cakes. It can range in color from golden brown to dark brown or almost black, like Indonesian "gula aren". Palm sugar is an ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes used throughout Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Palm sugar is known in many names and many variants, depends on its ingredient, production method, or the region. It is known as "gula jawa" (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia, and "gula melaka" in