Sweet as Sin "She is obviously passionate about her mission to place candy in an historical and cultural context." "Portland Book Review" wrote: "The book is full of research and black and white photos, but lacks much in true substance." Sweet as Sin Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Pleasure is a 2016 nonfiction book written by Susan Benjamin. It focuses on the history of candy and its importance in American culture. The book details the history of the birth of sweets from the harvesting of the marshmallow plant in ancient Egypt to the mass-produced candy innovations of
Althaea (plant) treated in the genus "Alcea" (hollyhocks). Accepted species according to Plants of the World online are:<br> "Althaea angulata" Freyn<br> "Althaea armeniaca" Ten.<br> "Althaea bertramii" Post & Beauverd<br> "Althaea cannabina" L.<br> "Althaea chrysantha" Sam.<br> "Althaea damascena" Mouterde<br> "Althaea hiri" Parsa<br> "Althaea octaviae" Evenari<br> "Althaea officinalis" L.<br> "Althaea oppenheimii" Ulbr.<br> "Althaea villosa" Blatt.<br> The root contains starch (37%), mucilage (11%), pectin (11%), flavonoids, phenolic acids, sucrose, and asparagine. The traditional medicinal uses of the plant are reflected in the name of the genus, which comes from the Greek "althainein", meaning "to heal". The flowers and young leaves can be eaten, and are