Althaea (plant) often added to salads or are boiled and fried. The roots and stem also secrete mucilage, which is used to soften the skin, and is used in cosmetic treatments. The Roman poet Horace refers to his own diet in his Odes, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance." The root has been used since Egyptian antiquity in a honey-sweetened confection useful in the treatment of sore throat. The later French version of the recipe, called "pâte de guimauve" (or "guimauve" for short), included an eggwhite meringue and was often flavored with
Sweet potato suburban and rural areas. Fried sweet potatoes coated with caramelized sugar and served in skewers ("camote cue") are popular afternoon snacks. Sweet potatoes are also used in a variant of "halo-halo" called "ginatan", where they are cooked in coconut milk and sugar and mixed with a variety of rootcrops, sago, jackfruit, and "bilu-bilo" (glutinous rice balls). Bread made from sweet potato flour is also gaining popularity. Sweet potato is relatively easy to propagate, and in rural areas that can be seen abundantly at canals and dikes. The uncultivated plant is usually fed to pigs. In Indonesia, sweet potatoes are locally