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
Sugar plum Sugar plum A sugar plum is a piece of dragée or hard candy made of hardened sugar in a small round or oval shape. "Plum" in the name of this confection does not mean plum in the sense of the fruit of the same name, but referred to small size and spherical or oval shape. Traditional sugar plums contained no fruit, but were instead hardened sugar balls. These hardened sugar balls were comfits, and often surrounded a seed, nut, or spice. The term sugar plum came into general usage in the 17th century. At that time, adding layers of sweet