Marshmallows

[porcupine]

Anybody here ever make marshmallows? They're sloppy but really fun, especially when serving to friends who didn't know home marshmallow making is possible. I usually flavor them with vanilla, but recently had the idea of using rosewater or orange flower water. Any thoughts?

[Heather]

I haven't made marshmallows but love the homemade kind. It's on my list. My SIL gave us some toasted coconut marshmallows in our Christmas basket that were unbelievably good.

[smokey]

I haven't made marshmallows but love the homemade kind.  It's on my list.

On my list as well. Oh, to have all the time in the world to pursue my hobbies!

[mktye]

Anybody here ever make marshmallows?  They're sloppy but really fun, especially when serving to friends who didn't know home marshmallow making is possible.  I usually flavor them with vanilla, but recently had the idea of using rosewater or orange flower water.  Any thoughts?

There is an 11-page thread regarding homemade marshmallows on the eG Pastry and Baking forum (click) with extensive of discussion of various flavors. My favorite flavor is strawberry (using nightscotsman's recipe, found here in the thread). Edited January 5, 2006 by mktye

[Pete]

There is an 11-page thread regarding homemade marshmallows on the eG Pastry and Baking forum (click) with extensive of discussion of various flavors.  My favorite flavor is strawberry (using nightscotsman's recipe, found here in the thread).

My wife made them for the first time over the holidays, and all I can say is...WOW! They were a big hit on their own; however, she also dipped some in chocolate and rolled them in graham cracker crumbs for bite-sized "smores" that were terrific.

[Pat]

I'm in the midst of making marshmallows to put in ice cream. I'm disappointed that it's not working quite right but pleased that I can tell by looking that's it's marshmallow. I'll have to check that eG thread.

I'm making white chocolate ice cream from The Perfect Scoop and am planning to add crushed heath bars and homemade marshmallow to the custard base.

Any specific suggestions re: marshmallows that might help at any stage are welcome. (I'm plannng to scrape up small pieces, roll in c-sugar and add to the ice cream after churning.)

[legant]

Wow. It’ll be quite a while before I do this again. And, then… with major modifications in technique.

Saw this recipe and thought it would be a good idea for a dinner party. I researched other marshmallow recipes and had a good list of dos and don’ts. I should have read more.

Lessons learned:

1. Without a candy thermometer I knew, from the Cooking for Engineers site, to boil the sugar mixture to the “hard-ball stage.” Seems to have worked.

2. Having never used gelatin before, this stuff gets really stiff when left to sit too long.

3. I had been warned that this is a sticky mess. That’s an understatement. I knew not to try to lick the bowl lest I wanted sugar strings all over the place. One blogger related how she was stuck to the bowl until her SO arrived to the rescue.

4. Lining the pan with parchment did nothing at all. Next time: line with parchment, spray with vegetable oil, dust with 10x sugar… borrowing from Alton Brown… mixed with cornstarch. Hopefully this will make it easier to separate from the parchment.

5. I used a lot of 10x sugar. Way too much. I used it to separate the marshmallow from the parchment and to cut into squares. Again, mix with cornstarch.

6. It was easier to spread the chocolate with a spatula on the graham crackers than to dip the one side.

7. Made a ganache for dipping. For some reason I thought the cookies would adhere to the marshmallows. They didn’t. Even after dipping in chocolate, it didn’t form an adhesive.

8. Plus… because the cookies didn’t stick to the marshmallows… the marshmallows kept sliding out from between the cookies.

9. Martha Stewart has food stylists on her payroll. I ended up with a strip along two sides of the marshmallow cookie.

I don’t know how well this will transport.

The marshmallows were too sweet for my taste but I think that was because I relied on the 10x sugar to cut and separate. Next time – not anytime soon -- I might try sandwiching the marshmallow on the just-coated cookies, allow to set… and then proceed.