Handmade marshmallow treats from the Candy Manufactory
On the lookout for a great little addition to an Easter basket? Searching for something springy to surprise a sweetheart? A lovely small snack to keep on hand for those moments when you need a quick pick-me-up?
Hop on over to the Candy Store at Zingerman’s Southside (inside the Coffee Company) and score some of the Candy Manufactory’s seasonal release of Bunny Tails! Sweet little bites of housemade marshmallow, seasoned and gently sweetened, alternatively, with either raspberry or coconut!
While our Bunny Tails just showed up for the season last month, appreciation for marshmallow making is anything but new. The tradition goes back thousands of years—ancient Egyptians would boil mallow roots with honey to make them. The earliest records of marshmallows seem to date to the first century, about 1500 years after Moses would have led the ancient Israelites to freedom from Pharaoh’s rule on what became the other big spring holiday here in the U.S., Passover. Marshmallows, in one form or another, have been enjoyed ever since.
One of the most popular modern versions, the one through which Americans came to know marshmallows made into cute shapes to sell for Easter, goes back only to 1953. Surprisingly (to me, at least), credit for creating them goes to a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant, Sam Born (originally Bernstein), who founded his then-small firm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that went on to become famous for making marshmallow Peeps. Marshmallow chicks came first, followed soon after by bunnies and an array of other animals.
Fifteen years or so ago, the Candy Manufactory began crafting our own version, and voila, Bunny Tails took Tree Town by storm. With all due respect to the more commonly sold commercial version, making them with better ingredients and handcrafting the marshmallow makes for a pretty magical little sweet Easter bite! You really can taste the difference!
