‘You promised me marshmallows.’ Her pink gumboots squelch in the mud.
‘We’re almost there.’ I avoid a patch of deep water. ‘The whole plant’s edible.’
‘Marshmallows aren’t a plant, silly.’
‘Here’s one.’ Pale flower clusters top soft-haired stems.
Given her expression, I’m glad I packed the confectionery—once made with this plant’s root.
Afterword
The mission: to write a 53-word piece about a “marshmallow”.
The word conjures the image of people around a campfire, or white/pink treats floating in a steaming cup of hot chocolate.
But, I wanted something different for the flash fiction piece.
Did you know that the flowers, leaves and roots of the marshmallow plant are edible? Ancient Egyptians mixed the sap with honey. In the 1800’s, French confectioners mixed the sap with egg whites, sugar, and water. However, the marshmallow plant was subsequently taken out of the marshmallow, replaced by gelatin.
Photo attribution: thanks to Phillip Gow on Unsplash.
I didn’t know about the marshmallow plant, so.l have learnt something to tell my grandkids.
A thought provoking piece of work Kane, well done.
Thanks, Kirsten – yes, I enjoyed drawing from history for this one.