Why is nice potato casserole with marshmallows so beloved throughout Thanksgiving?

For a lot of of us, bitter political disputes, poor vacation etiquette and familial foes are just some sources of rage amid Thanksgiving dinner.

That’s not the case for me.

For me, rage is spurred by a sure dish that might be loved by many this vacation season: candy potato casserole with marshmallows. How (and why) this abomination of a creation is deemed even remotely appetizing stays an unsolved thriller — a minimum of on my half.

Don’t get me mistaken, I really like my justifiable share of sweet-and-savory meals pairings. However relating to meshing baked candy potatoes and toasted marshmallows into one cohesive dish, one thing about it’s extremely heinous. To start out, there’s the disagreeable texture. Heat, mushy candy potatoes combined with ooey-gooey marshmallows seems like a grown-up-rendition of child meals puree. After which, there’s the general style. Caramelized candy potatoes, that are each syrupy and nutty in taste, are virtually outshined by the unreal, sugary sweetness of marshmallows. To not point out that some marshmallows style like cleaning soap (relying on the gelatin used), which definitely doesn’t make for a scrumptious casserole!

Candy potato casserole topped with marshmallows was first created within the early 1900s by an organization named Angelus Marshmallows, additionally the unique maker of Cracker Jacks. Angelus Marshmallows, which was based by German brothers Frederick and Louis Rueckheim, “launched mass-made marshmallows to People in 1907,” wrote Alex Swerdloff for Vice’s Munchies. When marshmallows had been initially conceived in historic Egypt, they had been derived from a plant known as Althaea officinalis and utilized as an natural medication. Amid the nineteenth century, French confectioners discovered to make marshmallows utilizing simply sugar, water, and gelatin. What was as soon as a prized medication had remodeled right into a sweet that individuals slowly (however certainly!) discovered to understand.

A decade later, in 1917, Angelus Marshmallows sought a approach to encourage extra People to get pleasure from marshmallows on the day by day. The corporate reached out to Janet McKenzie Hill, the founding father of the Boston Cooking College Journal, to assist formulate recipes designed to “encourage dwelling cooks to embrace the sweet as an on a regular basis ingredient,” Swerdloff wrote. The ensuing cookbook “featured loads of immediate classics, together with fudge studded with chewy marshmallows; cups of scorching cocoa dotted with them; and, sure, the primary documented look of mashed candy potatoes baked with a marshmallow topping,” wrote Leslie Porcelli for Saveur.

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Right now, candy potato casserole with marshmallows stays a quintessential Thanksgiving dish that’s eaten by the lots yearly. On Reddit, followers of the dish raved about their go-to recipes.

“We had a particular electrical skillet that was solely used for this one dish. It additionally has copious quantities of butter and brown sugar,” defined one consumer. “The potatoes find yourself virtually candied or caramelized and the marshmallows get added simply earlier than serving. It’s like inexperienced bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions. You solely eat it at Thanksgiving.”

One other consumer shared their grandma’s recipe, which includes canned yams, “a lot of butter, and brown sugar with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.” The marshmallows are sprinkled on high after the candy potatoes have cooked within the oven in an effort to obtain a toasted and melted high.

Sadly, my sentiments relating to candy potato marshmallow casserole appear to be within the minority as many individuals agreed that the dish is extra delectable than disgusting. Let it’s identified that I’ve had the casserole many instances rising up, so my hatred for the dish isn’t primarily based on hypotheticals. Baked candy potatoes and marshmallows ought to exist as separate entities, plain and easy. I don’t need them served collectively as a aspect dish, important entree or dessert. In my books, there’s no comfortable ever after for the candy potato and the marshmallow as a result of I don’t need them collectively ever.

As anticipated, I can’t be consuming candy potato casserole topped with marshmallows this Thanksgiving. My opinions concerning the dish are fairly set in stone and admittedly, I am unwilling to vary them anytime quickly.