Any difference using the balloon whisk in the mixer?
How 'bout for vegetarians - agar instead of gelatin but I understand volumewise, you need half of gelatin's, and it might need hotter liquid - anyone can enlighten?
And any substitue for corn syrup?
(Congrats on the award by the way - maybe you should bring some to the ceremony)
I can't easily get "plain" corn syrup, but I can get "jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa" (high fructose corn syrup---I think it's called Karo in the US). Would that work?
I'm with silent - if there are any tips for vegetarian versions, I'd be interested. It still boggles my mind that nobody seems to sell them commercially.
Regarding the corn syrup substitute: the ingredient converter on the right side of the page suggests brown sugar & water.
Since I've got everything I need in the house except for the syrup, I'll give this a go on sunday and post the results.
Does this recipe make about the equivalent of a standard bag of marshmallows?
re: recipe output size
This recipe yields about 1-1/2 pounds of marshmallows. The bags int eh store are usually 8 ounces or 1 pound.
re: whisk
I would use the flat beater in the electric mixer because the marshmallow will thicken up and a lot will be trapped in the whisk and on each of the spokes. This may cause some difficulties with the electric mixer.
re: corn syrup
Yes, high-fructose corn syrup will work. It seems to me, you may be able to do the recipe without any corn syrup and just starting with more granulated sugar. The texture may be different, but it ought to work. Maybe add just a little corn syrup to minimize crystalization.
re: gelatin substitution
I expect that you can use either agar or pectin to help provide the structural support to hold the sugar syrup in a foam - but I'm not sure what effect that will have on the texture or taste of the marshmallows. I expect that you will have something similar (perhaps better) but not quite like the store bought marshmallows (primarily because gelatin is a protein while the others are carbohydrates and gelatin has a distinct texture and flavor). Experimentation will be necessary to determine just how much agar or pectin to use.
You can purchase kosher or vegetarian "gelatin" which is usually a mix of carageenan and gums.
Example of Kosher Gelatin
i made marshmallows with this method last christmas - once you've had homemade marshmallows, one can never go back to the store bought stuff. ;)
for those interested in vegetarian / vegan gelatin substitutes, do a Google search on "marshmallow recipe vegan" for good options. From "Emes Kosher Gel" (which contains carageenan, a suspected carcinogen [www.ewg.org] ) to a "vegetable gel from seaweed" (from http://www.pangeaveg.com/ )
-Zak
this company makes a vegan marshmallow with a vegetable-derived gelatin and rice syrup:
http://www.tinytrapeze.com/productview3.cfm?categoryID=5
Not sure if vegetable derived gelatin is easily available. I've had this company's regular marshmallows and they are delicious - never had the vegan ones.
I would like to note in response to an anonymous poster above that Carrageenan and "Vegetable Gel from Seaweed" are the same thing. http://www.foodreference.com/html/fcarrageenan.html
re: carrageenan
Food grade carrageenan has not been shown to be carcinogenic. Degraded or low molecular weight carrageenan is a suspected carcinogen and should not be used in food products. Tests have shown cancer causing properties in both animal and human tissue.
Food grade carrageenan may affect some people by giving them stomach or intenstinal discomfort but is still generally regarded as safe (GRAS).
You don't need oiled plastic wrap, just some wet hands. One option for coating is some cinnamon sugar, the crunch from the granulated sugar adds a nice texture. More time consuming, but well worth the effort, melt down some of the best dark chocolate you can find. (MY FAVE IS LINDT 75% OR HIGHER) Try to get the coating as thin as possible.
These are unequal to anything you've ever bought.
Oh dear. I tried to make some marshmallows using granulated sugar rather than corn syrup and failed miserably.
My end result is slightly beige-coloured and it's missing the typical fluffiness. Perhaps the mixture caramelized too rapidly? The texture holds the middle between real marshmallows and candy floss.
To top it all off, I managed to get my fingertip covered with melted sugar. It's not my day.
Thanks to Michael Chu and Phoex for the info on carrageenan. While you're being helpful does anyone have reference to the study on the carcinogenic effects of Degraded Carrageenan? i'm wondering if its an oxidant thing that can be balanced with anti-oxidants, or something else.
An added note on carrageenan; there are no regulated minimums for what molecular weight is allowed for use in food products. For those interested, please consider this letter exchange at the NIH:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110-6/correspondence.html
Among the most damning data is information that shows that acid hydrolysis in the stomach can degrade the molecular weight of food-grade carrageenan to carcinogenic levels.
Hmmm... so if we eat we die... if we don't eat we die...
You can get really, really good vegan marshmallows at www.veganessentials.com. The brand is Vegan Supreme, and I think they taste like homemade. FYI, they toast up just perfectly for s'mores!
Saldeck and others opting or wanting to leave out the corn syrup - corn syrup is important but not essential to this recipe. You'll just have to be much more careful when you bring the sugar to a boil. This is where cooking for engineers becomes chemistry!
In order to make any candy (other than rock candy) you need to prevent recrystallization of your supersaturated sugar solution! Any single grain of sugar that remains in your pot can serve as a nucleus and your cooling liquid will quickly become grainy and slushy!
To avoid this you can add corn syrup (Karo works fine) to your granulated sugar or you can go it the old fashioned way.
You'll need 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water, combine in a pot and bring to a boil. Begin swirling the pot gently yet constantly once all of your sugar has dissolved. Resist the temptation to stir! If you see grains of sugar on the side of the pot you can wash these down into the syrup using a food grade brush dipped in cold water. Many recipes recommend constant stirring but often you can wind up with granules of sugar stuck to your spoon.
BTW - if your sugar gets too hot and begins to brown - congratulations you've made caramel! If you want to make soft caramel add 2 TBS butter and 1/2 cup of whipping cream to the brown sugar syrup once you've removed it from the heat (it will bubble like crazy but stir the mixture and it will become silky smooth) - Caramel and marshmallow complement each other well!
Feel free to use the wire whisk attachment - if you have a stand mixer worth its salt you won't get any splatter if you pour in your syrup carefully and you'll get a lot more loft in your marshmallows!
Also - don't forget to experiment with other falorings although vanilla is my fave. You can also roll your marshmallows in a mixture of cornstarch and powdered sugar to keep the sticky-ness down. You can also add cocoa to this mix for chocolately goodness. Or can also choose to get fancy and you can pipe out all sorts of shapes just put the marshmallow goo in a large plastic freezer bag, cutting off a corner, and go to town - make your own peeps, etc.
Good luck (BTW - marshmallows make excellent gifts and people can't get over them)
RE: corn syrup substitute
"Lyle's Golden Syrup" is a product from the UK made from sugar cane. The jar says it can be subsituted for corn syrup. It can be purchased at health food stores or Kroger in its international foods section or through numerous websites.
As a cool experiement you can see the wavelenght of your microwave oven by heating up a layer of mini marshmallows on a large plate. Be sure to remove the turn-table to make this experiment work. Turn on the oven at high and watch the marshmellows grow and burn where the wave power is at its max but undergo little effect at the minimums.
Hello!!!
I use balloon whisk to make my marshmallows which is a recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's. The syrup is boiled to soft-ball stage not hard-ball. Using a balloon whisk makes a fluffier (and therefore drier) maarshmallow.
Corn syrup is expensive here so I subsitute with liquid glucose measure for measure. Corn syrup/liquid glucose not only prevents crystalization but makes a creamier marshamallow texture.
Kosher gelatine Kojel will not work. Carageenan and gum arabic behaves differently in recipes like this. It will work for other recipes that does not require whipping time.
The best substitute would be fish based gelatine.
I have not tried Emes. Agar also would not work with marhsmallow recipe.
For a smoother mouthfeel use potato starch and not powdered sugar. Cornstarch maybe used also but best is potato starch/potato flour.
And because I sell this, I want them to keep longer, I do not usebutter. I just sprinkle with LOTS of potato starch is all.
Hope the tips helps.
Good God people! Don't any of you sleep at night? Who writes in at 05.03 am? You should be sleeping or eating marshmallows or somethin'!!
Hi I can't write english so god but i need know if you have the way to make figures but with the commercial marshmallow in monterrey named brochetas de malvaviscos
tank you and a thousand excuses for my bad writing of English
one drop of cochineal in the final stages will turn them an appetizing pink!
If you eat Vegan Supreme Marshmallows, you might want to read this.
http://www.vegparadise.com/news38.html
I have never tried marshmallows, but I have an easy "Fluff"-like recipe there may be a way to use this (non-gelatin)recipe for mallows with some experimenting (though it uses eggs, so it's still be no use for vegans). If the fluff sits around (refrigerated) for a few days, it separates. If you dredge glops of the (post-separating, drier) fluff, maybe you could get them to dry to a more marshmallow-y texture (I've never tried).
Mix together 1 egg white, 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, 3/4 c. sugar (granulated or powdered both work), 1 tsp. vanilla. Add 1/4 c. boiling water, beat until stiff.
By the way, I was taught to chill bowls & beaters in the freezer before beating eggwhites. Anyone know why?
Do you have one of the recipes that uses marsh mallow root? I have some plant and would love to try it!
It worked out fine not using cornsyrup... the only thing i didn't like was that i thought it was too sweet and had a touch too much vanilla.
Corn syrup isn't available in my area, but I did find something called 'Dextrose' The bag says it's 'grape-sugar' (which should be frustose), but the description is something between glucose and fructose. I'm pretty sure it isn't sucrose (normal sugar), so I think it should work in the recipe. However, because it isn't in syrup form I have to juggle a bit with the amoun of water.
Is there any sort of guideline of how much water I should use, when substituting solid sugars, instead of syrup?
More complete history of marshmallows:
http://reddingpalm.com/shns/rstory.cfm?pk=MARSHMALLOWS1-02-14-05&cat=DD
wow, Marshmallows seems very tasty! nice recipe.
I have been making vegetarian marshmallows for years. I use the same recipe as CfE, with the exception of the gelatin. Agar reacts very similar to gelatin, however it will not melt in room temp water the way gelatin does. If you ever took a microbiology class and had to make agar plates, then you know it can be melted and re-melted at low temps. I keep the agar on the lowest temp possible, and other than that I do exactly what was described in the recipe. The fake gelatin I use is an unflavored agar/carageenan mix that I bought a couple of years ago at a natural foods store. I store it in an airtight container and I've made 5 or more batches of marshmallows with it. I like to cut mine square so they make nice s'mores.
WOW, lovely suggestions!! thanx all of u:)
The best part is the "skin" that forms as they dry a little. It reminds me of the old Campfire marshmallows that came in cellophane wrapped boxes in the '50s. Who remembers? It was when people would smoke in the store and put their butts out on the floor. If memory is right, the "jet-puffed" bagged style came out about 1960-1962. Until I started making my own, I had trouble eating marshmallows since they took my Campfire boxes off the shelf.
By the way... I forgot to ask and/or suggest;
I put mini semi=sweet chocolate chips in, at the very end before placing in the tray... also, a little peppermint flavor and coloring for swirls is a great fun activity for kids (and adults)
Thanks for the recipe! Has anyone tried making Chocolate Flavored Marshmallows? I was just wondering if you would use cocoa powder or chocolate flavoring. I am assuming you would dust the marshmallows with cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar. I would appreciate any input. Thanks :)
how does one make marshmallow topping for icecream? microwaving the jar of marshmallow cream doesnt work so well, it is too hard and sticky when the icecream cools it, but sundae bars have warm marshmallow cream topping. thx
silent,
i remember making marshmallows this way in high school, except using glocose syrup instead of corn syrup without any compromise in taste and texture, and i have since found the two can be used interchangably.
nice recipe, thanks!!
Just finished mine. An excellent recipe!
hi,
can u tell me where can i get corn syrup.
This recipe is great! I used a piping bag to pipe out the mixture, cooled it in the freezer for about 10 min. and it was ready to go. I then the cut marshmallows into 1 inch pieces and skewered them. I then dipped them into chocolate and dusted them with ground graham crackers. They were fantastic
I'm not looking to dip marshamallows in chocolate but to make Chocolate flavored marshmallows... any techniques?
re: corn syrup
If you can't get corn syrup at your local supermarket (the most popular brand is Karo in the United States), then you'll need to mention your location and see if someone can help out.
i have been looking for a marshmallow recipe for a long time and i cant beleave i found it iam happy thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much i love this site thanks
does anyone know and Italian product that is corn syrup/Karo available in Italy?
I just made marshmallows for a shower on Saturday. How should I store them?
You should be able to store marshmallows in an air tight container at room temperature for at least a few weeks. They might harden a little due to moisture loss though.
Thank you! After I made them I got nervous about if they would last. I made them pale pink and the tops and bottoms have coconut! It is a baby shower and they gal is having a girl. They came out great and I hope I don't eat them all by Saturday!! Thanks again!!!
How can you make marshmallows with a colored center? In Mexico you can find all kinds of them, pink, orange, blue, white w/pink,blue and yellow center, cov ered w/coconut, colored sugar and in different flavors sometimes sourly disturbing, but in the US i can only find them in white. So i'd like to make my own. I'll appreciate your input. Thanks so much.
To someone who commented about being online at 5:03am - You must be a morning person! My best hours for accomplishing stuff: 11pm-5am. Deepest-sleep hours: 6am-11am. Unfortunately, I can't accommodate the rest of my life to my sleep preferences.
To whoever asked about substituting brown sugar + water for corn syrup - You'll be disappointed in the flavor.
To lori h - Chill the bowls and beaters for whipping cream so the butterfat stays firm. Room temperature for beating eggwhites, and the eggwhites should be at room temp, too. The proteins will expand easier than when cold. When you beat the air in, the proteins become a little wall around each air bubble. You want the proteins to expand so more air bubbles can be encompassed. Also, start the beating at a low speed, so the air bubbles will be small; later in the process you can increase the speed to build up the mass to maximal volume. If you start out beating at high speed, the protein-surrounded air bubbles tend to be large, and a mass of large air bubbles is more likely to collapse than a mass of small air bubbles because each large air bubble has less structural support than a small air bubble does.
To Lazy - It's so nice to hear that someone else remembers the original Campfire marshmallows! Campfire held out for about three years before joining the Jet Puffed generation. Financial reasons, I'm sure, dictated the change; when there's more air and less substance, you can make more marshmallows for less money. I never have figured out why people like those fluffy flavorless puff balls. I moved to Boston and discovered Sunshine marshmallows, which were actually even slightly better than the original Campfire. Unfortunately, these disappeared in 1972 or 1973. I've been reading recipes from other websites for the past hour. I'm so happy to read that you think the marshmallows made from this recipe are very like the Campfire marshmallows. Thank you for reporting that!
I saw a Food Network guy making marshmallows and he put a piece of plastic food wrap around the top of the mixer and bowl to avoid the hot liquid flying out. With that in place, you can whip away at high speed without the worry. I plan to try your recipe which looks terrific. I hope to dip small squares in chocolate. I may leave some out to get rubbery - to me, there's nothing better than a rubbery Peep after it's sat in an Easter basket too long!!
My favorite substitute for corn syrup is honey. Might mess up the color though.
;) well so far, so good. They look like the pictures, and the kids have licked the spoon and are a total sticky mess. Tastes yum too! Time, of course will tell. Tomorrow will be the true test. Can't wait!
Thanks for the great recipe. Made this last night and the marshmallows came out great. Gave myself a bit of a sugar high...actually.
Hey,
Mine came out too dense. Any ideas what I did wrong. I gave it eight minutes in the mixer on high and it had appeared to have stopped increasing in volume, but then it seemed like it fell after I turned the mixer off. Weird huh.
D
Hi Folks,
1. Regarding the question about dense marshmallows: I'm wondering if perhaps you cooked the sugar to above 250? I know that taffy & toffee use higher temps. (If the recipe included egg whites, I'd say that you might have gotten some fat mixed in but this recipe doesn't include them.)
2. For interest, I tried them without any corn syrup - turned out nicely except that they do continue to harden as days go by - is that due to crystals - which no matter how careful you are when cooking, I imagine are bound to form from the splatter when you mix. Hey, I wonder if that idea of covering the bowl with plastic wrap while mixing might have a dual benefit - melt down the crystals???
3. OK, a question for the scientists: I keep trying to sort of squirt this out of a plastic bag to shape the equivalent of meringue "kisses". But, due to the marshmallow nature, it really doesn't "break" off like meringue would. Any ideas or am I defying the point of the marshmallows in trying to get it thinner? Hmmm, I think I'll go make a batch with egg whites folded in and I'll tell you if that makes a difference - g
Just found this site. I want to try making the chefs recipe. Question is.....do I have to put the powder sugar on if I want to dip them in chocolate?
using a sheet of plastic draped loosely over the bowl and top of the mixer, like a drop cloth, serves in two ways, i found. it keeps the mixture moist and and traps the heat so that the sugars don't cool down while mixing as quickly and, it keeps the mixer from splashing hot sugars all over the counter and you. i saw this trick on a food network special about a gourmet mallow enterprise.
my marshmallows have just finished drying and it's time to cut them. i put almond extract, crushed almonds and marischino cherries in them. they're pink and fluffy and gorgeous for the holidays. i've made these before and, if you keep them in an airtight place they'll last about 3 weeks. although that's an estimate because they never last that long due to the nibbling family!
thanks engineers!! :)
Duchess, could you have added too much water to the gelatin? Or maybe didn't get the sugar syrup hot enough?
To Indiana Guest: Yes I would use the powdered sugar to provide a dry surface for the chocolate to stick to...think of it like when you bread chicken...it works best when you flour the chicken first, right? -g
(Yes, thanks engineers)
O.K. I am a slacker. My daughter is wanting to give hot chocolate with chocolate dipped marshmellows for Christmas. Has anyone tried dipping store bought (yes, I am ashamed) marshmellows in chocolate? Any suggestions? Thanks.
Has anyone tried using Splenda as a sub for the sugar? Would love to do a 'sugar free' or at least 'lower sugar' version of recipe.
All the info on the is fantastic. Love cooking for engineers. It all makes so much sense.
holly.
Becky- For chocolate-dipped marshmallows, I'd suggest sticking each marshmallow on a wooden skewer, and dipping them in the molten chocolate. Shake off as much of the chocolate as possible so you get a nice thin shell. If you can find coating chocolate, that's easier to work with, but if you're using regular store-bought chocolate, you'll want to temper it. It'll make it shiny and "snap"y, plus untempered will take like an hour to set.
Holly- If you want to sub Splenda in, I think you'll need a meringue-based recipe. This recipe depends on properties of sugar. With a meringue marshmallow, you could safely replace most of the sugar with splenda (you may need to up the gelatin content to compensate).
I tried but I can't get the mix to increase in volume. I used agar agar, grand kids are vegetarian, 3 tbsp / 1/2 c water. Mixture temp to 250, whips together, but no volume. Does elevation matter?, cooling down to fast? (I whip for 20 min. no help)
Hi! I make marshmallows almost every year at Christmas. I use a recipe that does not require making a hot sugar syrup. Otherwise, it is very similar to yours. I use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer and it works just fine. A few whacks on the side of the bowl usually work just fine to remove the marshmallow fluff.
--Pilapila
We have been "remodeling" our kitchen for 3 years and that is how long I have not had a stove to cook on. Has anyone made this recipe in the microwave? (before you ask, we have double ovens, a microwave, a crockpot, and an electric fry pan...I don't think I remember how to cook on a stove)Thank you.
I have wanted to make marshmallows for years, and found this site!
As a chef I have always been fascinated with the science of food as well as the art.
I will be dipping into this site often.
Now off to make the marshmallows as an accompaniment to a chocolate fondu at a family gathering this weekend.
Thanks to everyone for their research and input.
What fun!
Thanks for the info, I stumbled across this site looking for candy cooking temps. So of course I had a go, first off I tried a no glucose (karo) recipe as we don;t have that here, my grocery store has a glucose sugar candy for beer making so I used these on the second batch and this was less grainy than the straight sugar but the sugar was still very good. Next time I will try using golden syrup as my glucose portion, I found this site was very useful for me as I like to fomulate as a soap maker LOL.
http://www.itdg.org/docs/technical_information_service/marshmallows.pdf
Next batch is going to be with added rosewater rather than vanilla and chopped pistachios as a kind of turkish marshmallow delight?
Thanks again, i am not an engineer but I loved the cooking instructions chart. You should give Nigella Lawson a call.
I made marshmallows for the first time a couple of weeks ago, using the Martha Stewart recipe. They were SO good, but my Brother, a vegetarian, wouldn't eat them because of the gelatin. I researched a veg. substitute on line and found out about Agar Agar. I found it in an Asian market in the form of cellophane strands. The instructions are in Korean, but on line I found instructions for soaking in cold water for an hour, draining and then bringing to a boil in desired amount of water, simmering till dissolved.
I'm wondering if anyone's tried this for marshmallows...and if I should use these strands ounce for ounce of gelatin..?
I'm so happy to have found this site...and loved the Campfire reference...remembering well that wax paper sheet. Also...there is nothing like a stale Peep....LOL....!
Counting on your expertise....!
To the anonymous reader back in October who asked about making chocolate-flavored marshmallows:
Yes! I have tried making chocolate marshmallows, and they are delicious. I used cocoa powder, and it didn't make them too dense or anything. The recipe I like to use for marshmallows in general calls for adding whipped egg whites and vanilla to the fluffed up gelatin/corn syrup mixture, but otherwise it seems to be the same as the one at the top of this page. I added the cocoa powder at the very end, after everything else was mixed in, just in case it caused the marshmallows to stiffen faster (though this didn't seem to happen). I used 1/3 cup cocoa powder, because the box said 2/3 cup was used for a whole batch of brownies, and the marshmallows turned out perfectly. They are already sweet enough that you don't need to add any more sugar to compensate for the cocoa powder's bitterness.
Mint marshmallows (1 tsp. peppermint extract added) and raspberry marshmallows (4 tsp. raspberry extract and a little red food coloring added) have been big hits, too. Food Network has recipes for lemon marshmallows and toasted coconut marshmallows on their website, but I have never tried them.
Hope that helps!
Just my 2 cents.
corn syrup in marshmallow recipeis best substituted with liquid glucose. measure for measure.
substitution with brown sugar and water may work in other recipes but corn syrup here is used to prevent crytalization and give the smooth creamy texture tothe marshmallow.
'kojel' will not work. agar won't work either because although they are gelling agents ... remember the mixture needs to be whipped like crazy over some time and kojel is a fast acting gelling agent ... once past the gelling stage it won't re-set. the same with agar. it's like whipping up gelled/set agar - it just won't re-set. that is probably why there are no commercial vegan marshmallows sold. however if Halal is the issue, one can use marine base gelatine and substitute measure for measure.
in other recipes, substituting gelatine with agar or those other subs which contains carageenan or pectin is okay .... like in making panna cotta for instance. where the mixture is just left to set/gel.
i am saying all this based on experience as i have tried all the above.
also, using all sugar without any corn syrup might work but the texture will definitely be different.
i also think it is much better to not butter the pan ... just dust the bottom with LOTS of potato starch or cornflour ... instead of powdered sugar to cut down the sweetness as well as not attract moister as sugar is a humectant ... but potato starch gives a better mouthfeel. then just run a dry but hot knife around the sides and voila the set marshmallow will come of nice and easy. then roll teh cut mallows in the potato starch.
hope that helps.
i sometimes dip mine too. however, i dust my mallows in potato starch. then i put them in a large plastic sieve and throw/tumble them so that the coating is real thin but the cut mallows not sticky. then i just dip these in chocolate and set on wax paper to dry. hope that helps.
sorry, agar won't work. it has to do with the properties of agar and the thickening journey of agar in marshmallow process.
For anyone wanting to try a cocoa marshmallow .... based on Martha's recipe:
Mix 0.75 cups of powdered cocoa (low fat if possible) which is about 60grams to 0.75 C of hot water. Mix to smooth mixture. Add 3T/1oz/28gm gelatin and 1t vanilla. Set aside.
Boil to soft ball stage (240F) 0.75C water, 3C sugar/600gm and 1.25C corn syrup (about 325gm) and 0.5t salt.
Add to gelatine mixture in a steady stream while whipping at high speed.
Continue till syrup finishes aing and whip till fluffy.
Instead of using powdered sugar/cornstarch/potato starch for dusting use chocolate powder.
My guess is that you boiled the syrup way past the softball stage. Bring the syrup to 240 is enough.
Not a scientist here but marshmallow have gelatine in them. Meringues is just egg whites and sugar. Surely marshmallows won't 'break' like meringues? They are more like jelly. Or am I reading you wrong?
I would like to know how I would use this recipe and make choclate marshmallows like they have for sale in William and Sanoma for $18 a pound. Does anyone know what kind of choclate to add and when in the making process?
I am hosting a baby shower and planning to make bears with ducks melting marshmallows into molds. Can you please let me know which marshmallows to use or should i use a fluff and what temperature should i melt the marshmallows.
I'm impressed. I have trouble just getting my ducks all lined up.
Can Maple Syrup be substitued for Corn Syrup?
I can't find any Corn Syrup (I live in Australia)
this is the first time I have come accross this web sight. It looks great, can't wait to try the marshmallow tomorrow. Also pouring the marshmallow into empty icecream cones and top with coloured sprinkles before setting is a nice treat for the kids. see ya and thanks
I ended up trying to use the cellophane like agar agar strands and made cement. That stuff has to be good for something...but NOT marshmallows.
In the same Asian Market, on my next trip, I found "Instant Agar Gelatin Dessert"...in powder form...unflavored. I'm wondering just how different this is from gelatin and am torn by posts saying Agar Agar won't work...and a few that say it will work. Guess I'll just have to try it and report back.
BTW....I keep marshmallows in the freezer.
Agar Agar and Carrageen are different products. I was looking for more information about Agar Agar when I came across this page. A further search found the following.
Vegetarian Gelling Agents
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/gelling.html
Martha Stewart has a very good marshmallow recipe that I made 3 years ago..would never buy store bought now...great for putting in hot chocalate
Visit the following site for information on a product called ChillOver by MaryJanes Farm. The following link will be to a part of the site showing two recipes using the product and a brief description of the product.
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/ChillOver/recipes.asp
Once on the site, you can click to the Products section to see pricing and shipping info.
Also, if you can, you might want to get her book, MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook for the farmgirl in all of us, from the library or book vendor to see the ChillOver marshmallow recipe in it.
The product is relatively inexpensive and is supposed to be geared to those who do not want to use gelatin.
I haven't purchased the product myself as yet - am saving up to order it and other items on this site. I have read her book, however, I can vouch for its sensible, down-to-earth style covering a variety of subjects. I've tried a couple of non-ChillOver recipes from the book and have been pleased so I think this product is worth a try.
As for me, until I order ChillOver, I will try your recipe and Martha Stewarts. Hope you get a chance to try MaryJane's recipe.
Hi, just want you to know: instead of pouring the mass into a pan, i dusted my pan with powdered sugar and lots of coconut (grated) and poured small amounts ,before it got stiff; these i shaped into balls ,with help of the coconut (and my husband) ; our coconut covered balls look great,just hard to get them the same size..Ideas?
How do you determine how much of certain spices to blend and what taste you are goingto get
Did u guyz know marshmallows were fist made by Egyptians with the marshmallow plants :shock:
Hello! I tried this recipe some time ago.
I did follow the instructions, proportions and all (except I substituted the light corn syrup with dark corn syrup), but when I took it out of the fridge after two hours(I needed to go for a family reunion), the big marshmallow piece was still sticky and somewhat wet. Even the bottom (which I had thoroughly dusted) was sticky.
Does this have something to do with the amount of time in the fridge?
Thank you. =)
Were the marshmallows sticky before you put them into the fridge? If they had been covered when placed in the refrigerator, I wouldn't be surprised that moisture condensed onto the surface of the marshmallows. These marshmallows do not need to be refrigerated.
I am attempting to work out a recipe for marshmallows to be made as a gift to two vegan friends of mine for
White Day. I have found a few recipes, but none look so promising as this.
Quite a few of them have agar agar powder as the gelatin substitute. There appears to be some dissent here as to whether or not agar actually works and I would really like to know, from the people who say it works, exactly how you get it to work.
Another issue is that one of them has to be particularly careful of her sugar intake, and both of them seem to have issues with high fructose corn syrup; I am not sure what the differences are between high fructose and just corn syrup¿ When they cook for themselves they tend to substitute agave nectar for sugar. Now, I am at least fairly certain that it is impossible to do this recipe without sugar. But do you know how agave nectar might work in place of corn syrup¿
I am not entirely certain why the corn syrup must be used, really. Please forgive my ignorance in the greater science of these things. I hope that some of my questions can be answered in a timely manner, since White Day is only a few days away. Thank you.
Okay! Got it. =) Thanks for the info. I'll try them again and I'll see if they're successful.
By the way: Freaking awesome site!
After some research I found out that agave nectar is actually mostly fructose, go figure. So, chances are it can probably be subbed for the corn syrup, right¿
What a wonderful, wonderful site. THANK YOU to everyone who submits, posts and maintains this site - it is terrific. I am not an engineer, but an avid and curious cook. Have been wanting to try marshmallows, and after printing out and studying the 22 (count 'em!) pages of recipe + posts - created my first, and successful, batch of marshmallows. I believe you should always do a recipe as written first...now I've done that...the questions...!
People were asking about flavored marshmallows. I thought maybe the flavor could be changed according to the liquids used?? The liquid to bloom the gelatin, and/or the liquid to make the sugar syrup?? Has anyone tried this? I saw the cocoa/water reference - maybe cocoa dissolved in hot coffee and allowed to cool for a mocha marshmallow? Liquers for the gelatin? Amaretto, Grand Marnier etc.? Will the heat of the sugar syrup tone down the alcohol (not that there's anything wrong with that!). ;)
As for the mexican colored marshmallows...what about taking out 1/3 and tinting? Then white, tint, white layers in the pan??
So many questions, so little time. Thank you ALL again for an informative and lively site. I'll be back often!
Dextrose is the natural form of glucose (the right-handed or 'dextro' form). It is also called D-glucose.
How many mini marshmellows equal one regulkar or large size?
I just tried to make marshmallows & ran into a big problem with the sugar, syrup and water mixture boiling over the pot. I tried to transfer to a larger pot, but I think the temp had already fallen a bit and the stuff boiled over again! At this point I gave up because the gelatin had been blooming for over 10 minutes and I figured if the goo temp had gone up and down and up again, things wouldn't be quite right. How big a pot are you folks using? Thanks.
I'm surprised that it's boiling over. Usually with a mixture of sugar, corn syrup and a tiny bit of water, the mixture just melts and then starts to bubble but the bubbles don't really do a big boil over thing unless additional ingredients are added to the mixture (like making caramel sauce - use a pot twice as big as you think because when the cream is added it froths up big time). In this case, the only advice I can give is to reduce your heat and bring the temperature up slowly...
I used Vanilla Beans instead of extract and they tasted sooo yummy!! I simply cut open the vanilla bean and scraped out the "Caviar" from the inside and added it in place of the extract. Mmmm So Good!!!
I got my Vanilla Beans from
Beanilla Trading Company since they have a couple of specials going on. I somehow got my Vanilla Beans in 2 days! Good stuff!
Toodles!
I just finished a modified recipe that's kosher for Passover, which will also work just fine if you want honey flavored marshmallows because the main difference between the recipes is substituting honey for corn syrup on a 1:1 basis. The marshmallows came out just right, with a very strong honey flavor. Because of the added sweetness from the honey, I dusted the outside with potato starch rather than powdered sugar (if you don't need it to be kosher for Passover, you can use corn starch). This means you don't have the sugar taste when you first put the marshmallow in your mouth, but get a big burst of flavor when you bite into it. I also cut the vanilla down to 1 teaspoon, added toasted coconut and beat in 2 beaten egg whites. Fantastic!
One note about using kosher fish gelatin: Although you can substitute kosher fish gelatin for regular on a 1:1 basis, the actual packet that fish gelatin comes in is twice as large as a regular gelatin packet. So if the recipe calls for 3 packets of gelatin, you only need 1 1/2 packets of fish gelatin.
So, are we supposed to stir the sugar/cornsyrup solution to disolve sugar, while it's boiling, both or niether?
Another question, sorry, what setting should we heat the sugar/corn syrup/ water mixture on, low, medium, high? Somewhere in the middle of any of those?
Simply stir to dissolve (before it comes to a boil). Then leave it alone as it boils.
I feel that low heat takes too long and I lose patience. I usually go with a medium-high heat, but if it's your first time making this, try going with medium until you get a feel for how the mixture will bubble up during boiling and how the boiling slows down after the water is boiled off.
Thank you. I made some and they came out very nicely. Then I cut them out with little cookie cutters and painted them with melted chocolate.
Thanks for the recipe! I added 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/2 tsp more vanilla at the end and mixed in Rice Krispies cereal to make squares. Altho. the recipe on the box calls for 6 cups of cereal, I must've put just about double the amount. It yielded a nice chewy 9" x 13" pan of squares. The hard part was actually mixing in the cereal since the sugar was setting. I had to do it in two parts and ended up running hot tap water on the outside of my Kitchen Aide bowl to unstick it.
The marshmellow tasted great, just like store bought. I did refer to MC's recipe for rice crispies squares. Someone's suggested recipe for making it without marshmellows was fairly similar to this sweet recipe. That recipe didn't use gelatin. Question for everyone: If I omitted the gelatin when making the marshmellow sauce, how would that affect the squares?
I dont understand the amount of people posting uneducated responses to this site. If you dont have a natural talent for confectionary fuck off and dont give it go- leave it to us experts!!!!!!!!!!![/i]
I tried the recipe using a hand mixer and it was great the first time! This is my new favorite site. I recommend wrapping the marshmallows in caramel, and if you have been extra good, covering in chocolate. Thanks!
Okay, I tried the recipe, subing agar for gel., per the directions, and after 10 min. of mixing on high I just had some tan, syruppy, goo!
HELP! WIth 5 kids making a good marshmallow, especially in light of bon-fire season beginning and all, is an absolute must!!
It's what the say they miss most about being vegetarian :-(
I was hoping to make them before saturday in honor of our youngest son's 7th birthday.
Any help with actual directions would be GRATELY appreciated!!
after several attemts with losuy reults, I can with all confidence say, agar agar is NOT a good gelatin substitute for marshmallows.
Any help would still be abreciated.
Thanks
If you are making marshmallows this way just to avoid salmonella from fresh egg whites, you can get the (kosher) powdered egg whites and re-constitute them with water. There's a recipe using egg whites for marshmallows at epicurious.com.
Is it possible to make marshmallow without sugar or even a savoury flavoured one?
in response to a comment from a while ago:
thats a bug from the desert, cochineal
so i suspect if you want vegan anything, you wouldn't want to use that ingredient...i mean, white is a colour too...
Just wanted to say thanks for a great site. I followed the recipe and the marshmallows came out great! I even used a cookie cutter to shape some of them.
:P As three engineers talk over their cubes, the topic of marshmallows came up. I googled how to make marshmallows and came across something that I have been needing for years. It is so cool to find both an engineer and food lover. I graduated from Scotsdale Culinary Institute and I am a big fan of the science of food. I was hoping to create a site like yours, but never came around to it. I am really impressed. You are a great inspiration!!!!
hello again i try this recipe last year but it didnt work for me im confused about when you add the gelatin is at right at the start and them you poor the suger mix over it and then wisks or what :( my eamil is eoin_moynihan@mail.com wood be very happy if some repild and tel me know asap thanks and god bless
Yes, you pour the melted sugar mixture into the bloomed gelatin -- but you do it slowly and with the mixer running on low. The mixer should be rotating and moving the gelatin while you drizzle (to pour so that a small tiny stream of sugar drips down into the mixing bowl) the sugar. This may take a minute or two as you patiently pour in the sugar. You do not want to just dump the sugar into the gelatin.
1) The balloon whisk worked fine for me in a KitchenAid mixer.
2) I used a 2 qt saucepan. When the sugar/Karo/water mixture started bubbling in earnest, I was briefly worried about boil-over, but it just didn't happen.
3) I would like to find a vegan recipe that works. I've found a number of recipes that claim to work, but haven't tried any yet. Comments here are a bit discouraging.
4) The non-vegan recipe here is easy and fun.
5) I'd recommend filling the sink with hot water before starting, so you can run over there and put the sugar-coated implements of destruction in the hot water immediately after you're done using them.
6) I wonder if oil-coating the spatulas would help with stickiness?
I also wanted to say that the sugar mixture is not too time sensitive. With the pot pretty full, I didn't feel comfortable drizzling from it at the beginning, so it worked fine to lift up the mixing head and to pour in a quarter or eighth of a cup of the syrup, then drop the head back down and start mixing. After a while it started feeling okay to drizzle directly from the pot, and that worked fine too.
Also, the salt is for intensifying the taste of the sugar, right? So not necessary if you don't want that intensifier, I imagine. I wonder if MSG would work (which you can often buy by itself at Asian grocery stores).
Someone has tried to do them with chocolate?
Looks like a good idea and I will try the next weekend.
Best regards.
Susan.
So it seems the subject of vegan marshmallows has been deemed impossible. I made them once with Emes "vegan" gelatin which was involved in somewhat of a scandal when discovered it actually contained animal gelatin.
I have not given up hope yet.
There are 2 brands of vegan marshmallows that can be purchased, therefore they must be possible!
One is made by Vegan Sweets http://www.veganstore.com/index.html?stocknumber=850
The ingredients are: Non-bone-char processed sugar, corn syrup, vegetable gel (seaweed-derived; NOT Emes brand), soy protein, natural vanilla.
The seaweed-derived gel must be either agar agar or carageenen.
I have eaten these and they are pretty good, although the texture is slightly off. I would still say they are light and fluffy.
The other brand is new and made by Sweet and Sara. These seem somewhat denser, but are still marshmallow-y for the most part. The ingredients are:
Cane sugar, water, corn syrup, acacia, soy protein, carrageen, locust bean gum, vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar, sea salt
So how did they get these to work??? I would still like to make my own to fine-tune or flavor them differently. Any ideas? Would the soy protein make the difference?
Thanks!!!!
You see these for sale in candy stores for as much as $25 lbs . I have done a little math and even if you cover them in chocolate, depending on how fancy you get, it still does not cost much more than $5-6 a batch. you also can use a deep sided baking sheet that is bigger than 13x9. if you use corn starch insted of powdered sugar in it you will find them easier to coat in chocolate. the powdered sugan does not hold the chocolate s well. so what did we learn? the candy stores are making a ton of $$$ off of the general public and this recipe is fun and easy,not to mention cheap to make. try dipping them in white chocolate. unreal
:P
I'm trying to make vegan marshmallows as well, as of right now I just made this recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/78524 ...there firming up right now, I'll hafta check on them tomorrow, but why not give them a try. I also have just ordered Lieber’s Unflavored Jel, so I think when I get that I'll attempt to make the eggless marshmallows and use that as a substitute for the gelatin. I'll write back and tell everyone how they came out.
Thanks for the recipe - I tried it last night, and they came out very well. While I just used gelatin, I believe that you can buy a vegetarian alternative to gelatin called 'Chillover' from MaryJane Butters (MaryJane's Ideabook Cookbook Lifebook). Her website is www.maryjanesfarm.org. She also had a recipe in her book that incorporated the Chillover powder, plus egg whites. Hope this helps!
Any suguestions for dipping these marshmellows in caramel? I want a thin caramel coating. But the marshmellow melt while dipping and the caramel is offen to sticky and soft. I need a good recipe for dipping caramel.
Why don't you use a Whisk attachment ?
the recipe you have posted works brilliantly. the recipe came out in the first attempt and was as light and fluffy as you mentioned.
thank you for the recipe..
As a person who enjoyed marshmallows as a child, the recipe given was rather awesome, I filled up a whole sheet pan with the recipe, and when they're dry, I get to have s'mores again.
Oh. I am familiar with using agar-agar, but it shouldn't be used alone in the recipe, or all you get is fluff. I live in Malaysia, and once in a while you can find marshmallows made with fish gelatin (from China). Most of what we get out here is marshmallow pillows with jam or chocolate inside, or they braid pink and yellow marshmallows together, but not white,
A million thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the recipe. I've made them before but your recipe was a lot simpler. FYI - if you use the whisk attachment it works just fine, you just have to be careful to pour down the side of the bowl so you don't hit the whisk and splatter hot sugar everywhere, the same as if you were using paddle. Any kitchenaid worth its salt will not splatter while whipping the marshmallow, and using the whisk actually makes it go much faster. You just have to slow down the speed as it gets really thick so you're not straining the motor.
Other than that, fabulous recipe. We dusted in cocoa/confectioners sugar, and promptly melted them in cups of hot chocolate!
Who would have guessed that this thread on marshmallows and the one on Kelloggs Rice Krispie Treats (more marshmallows!!) would be in the running for the longest threads on this website?!?!
I think engineers could use a short course in nutrition as part of their degree requirements! :)
Bagels, I had the same problem with the marshmallows melting when I tried coating them with chocolate. I found that freezing the marshmallows beforehand kept them melting too fast and helped the chocolate to cool quicker. I don't work much with carmel so I don't know but it might work if you want to give it a try.
I would love to make these for one of the "dippers" for my little chocolate fountain I'm having at my wedding. I'm trying to impress my guests with my champagn taste on a shoestring budget style. I want to make a few the marshmallows ahead of time to save on catering but I'm worried about freezing them because I wouldn't be able to predict their reaction.
I'm also worried that they wouldn't hold up in the 175-180 degree chocolate fountain although they will only be dipped and hopefully not marinated in it. :P
So, any wisdom anyone may have on this query would be mucho appriciated!
The Chillover product from Mary Jane's farm is just agar. I bought 1/4 pound for 23 dollars (ouch!). It's organic, and makes 123 recipes of gelatin-type dessert, or I'd have a major fit. Has anybody had any luck making vegan marshmallows with agar?
I would like to make these for a party I'm having in a week. What is the earliest that you would make them prior? And, how would you store them.
Thanks
I don't think you'd have to worry about them melting in a chocolate fountain like that. Unless someone held it under the fountain for a nice solid few minutes, marshmallows should hold up in that kind of environment, at least the ones that I made did, so I'm kinda generalizing. And they seem to freeze pretty good, althugh I'm not sure about long term freezing as that's what it kinda sounds like you're thinking of. But once they thaw they seem to be fine. Hope that helps some
Two or three days at the most. The marshmallows have a distinct "fresh" taste that you're guests will delight in.
instead if corn syrup you can use a little less golden syrup and in regards to vegetarian i'm folowing this and usung vegi-gel instead and following the vege-gel instructions (but keeping the quanity) i think thants all thanx for the recepe.
Hello im not an engineer but i made marshmallows and it no way turned out the way i wanted it to.i live in the UK i used golden syrup since i fought that it could be a subsitute and i dont think it is at all. i made my marshmallow with 2 egg whites. i think because golden syrup is heavy it sunk to the bottom forming with the gelitin to form a disgusting kind of jello. and a layer of it was at the bottom. And at the top i had marshmallow that tasted nothing like marshmallow. and tasted like whipped egg white with golden syrup and some sugar. Please can some1 help me!
To what temperature did you heat the sugar and golden syrup? Also, what altitude are you at?
i did'nt have a thermometer so i was'nt sure but it was bubbling and all the sugar had melted? And what does altitude mean?
We not only have to melt the sugar, we need to bring it's temperature up to a level where we can make candy out of it. Sinc eyou don't have a thermometer, a way to tell if your sugar has reached a high enough temperature is to spoon a little of it out and drip it into a container of cold water. The resulting bead of sugar should form a ball that is firm enough that you can't completely flatten it when you squeeze it (but will deform a little when pressure is applied). This is the hard ball stage. Prior to this stage, the sugar may form intoa ball, but flatten as you pull it out with your fingers or not form a ball at all. Once the sugar is at this stage, dribble it into your gelatin. Try this recipe without adding egg whites first before trying a more complicated recipe.
ok thanks alot for that i'll try that tormorrow :)
use glucose syrup, not golden syrup. You can get it in most supermarkets, it'll be with the icing sugar and cake making bits.
I don't have a stand mixer so I just used my hand mixer. I wasn't sure how fluffy or what the texture should be when I put it in the pan, and I was wondering what the normal texture/fluff is? Mine was...maybe comparable to marshmallow fluff. Slightly more airy, though. Thanks.
I made the corn syrup substitute recipe for use in marshmallows, and have the following questions, if someone would be kind enough to answer:
1. the recipe calls for salt; is there areason in the chemical reaction for that? Can it be omitted?
2. I follow all of the directions, including covering the pan for 3 minutes and not stirring afterwards, but the syrup starts forming crystals in the bottom of the jars I put it in after several hours. Why? Is that harmful when I make marshmallows? Can the crystals be avoided? The syrup is clear when I ladle it into the jars.
3. Sometimes there are a few very small white lumps at the bottom of the pan when the syrup is finished cooking. What are they?
Thanks so much for your help!
Which corn syrup substitute recipe are you using? Without that info, I can only guess -
1. salt, as a flavor enhancer, is great at making sweet things taste sweeter (too much salt may make for an odd salty sweet taste though)
2. Sugar (assuming you're using sugar?) naturally forms crystals. We do our best to avoid it and in fact adding come corn syrup to sugar is a good way to avoid getting crystals. No harmful effects, just an undesirable texture
3. Are the lumps sweet or salty? could be either sugar or salt crystals...
Sounds wonderful, Michael. Will try. YUM!
Hi all
I've been making marshmallows for a number of years now with a simpler recipe: another option for coating your marshmallows is to used roasted, ground coconut. This may be higher in fat but decreases the sweetness of the marshmallows.
A rough guide is that coconut should be spread out on a baking tray, placed into a 140°C oven and cooked until it turns a golden brown colour. Stir / flip every 5-10 minutes to ensure even browning. Watch out, it will suddenly start to burn if you don't watch it carefully enough. Not sure how long I cook it for.
You may not be able to get this to work, but a method of lining your pans is to run cold water in them before you pour in the mixture (it's an imperfect method as the water forms drops and can't coat a pan evenly - for obvious reasons). This may sound bizarre but if you are doing the coconut method you don't end up with the extra sugar coating the masrhmallows (for those who think they are sweet enough). They will stick to the pan a bit, but it's not a problem as you can still get them out and the stickyness aids in coconut adsorption.
Don't get me wrong, I like the sugar coated ones too... enjoy!
Has anyone ever tried organic maple syrup? I just made carmels today with it and tofu sour cream organic as my own recipe and it is awesome but I was thinking to replace the sweetener with this it is a lot like a corn syrup texture so I am not sure if it will affect the taste as I replaced what would normally be a corn syrup with this. Anyway i will let you know if it turns out if I try it.
Hi. I've been using this website to help get my 70+ year old father, a retired engineer, to cook more for my mom. He loves this website. And I love this marshmallow recipe. But I wanted to say that CAmpfire Marshmallows are alive and well ... here is their website http://www.campfiremarshmallows.com/Regular-Marshmallows.asp.
Says original since 1917.
Thanks for a great and useful website.
Michael Chu,
Sorry or the delay in my response. The recipe I used for corn syrup substitute is from this site, I believe:
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch salt
Bring to boil, cover for 3 minutes, remove cover and bring to 240 degrees F.
The recipe says it will keep for 2 months, but it forms crystals on the bottom of the jar after only a week or so. Is there a solution to this problem? I don't want to use corn syrup, and this recipe said it could be used in recipes in place of corn syrup. But I'm wary of using it in marshmallows if it has started crystalizing.
Thanks for your help!
Corinne
Does anyone remember the marshmallows available about 35 years ago? I remember a brand which had a tissue paper like outside, crinkly but soft and very soft inside. I think the name started with an A. I'd like a recipe like this if anyone knows of one. Or the brand name of the originals? Thanks
i've just finished cooking these...there great!!
i've had a few problems trying to get some corn syrup...but finally got it and i'm very glad with the results
they didn't turn out as white as i expected them to be but they taste so good, think it doesn't really matter
thank you so much for the recipe!
I was trying to make vegetarian marshmallows for like 2 weeks with no luck and a whole mess of wasted sugar. I just couldn't get any of the recipes to work... nothing "fluffed up" like it said it would and that agar stuff isn't cheap... or easy to find. I found some veg mallows online at
http://www.gourmallows.com and broke down and bought them. I haven't had the cinnamon yet but the coconut are to die for and the plain are better than any store bought mallow I can remember.
Hello! Great site! I hate to be repetitive but was the final consensus on cornsyrup free marshmallows to use glucose syrup? 1:1 ? My son cannot eat corn and i REALLY want to make him some marshmallows. Was glucose syrup the only adequate substitute for the corn syrup? thanks so much for any info anyone has :) !
Sorry forgot to also add/ask about brown rice syrup. I have some brown rice syrup, does anyone know if that would be a decent substitute for corn syrup? i know they would taste different but i'm not so much worried about that as long as they are they same texture as reg. marshmallows :) . thanks again if anyone knows :)
For all those with veggan questions and the worrys about carcinogens there is a great solution. Just dive in and enjoy REAL food. Get a life! Enjoy! For goodness sakes it's not canibalism, unless you are a cow or a pig. By the way jello has been deemed Kosher. :lol:
Hi,
This weekend i tried to make marshmallows using 2 egg whites, 2 cups sugar and Agar Agar as a substitute for Gelatin and basically followed the directions above. However I did not bring the sugar up to 250 I just let it dissolve.
My marshmallows came out quite wet. Can anyone give me some tips as to how I can firm up my Marshmallows?
thanks so much,
~Gabie
hi gabie
you definitely need to boil the sugar syrup more - i boil mine to 221 celsius. that way, you're boiling off excess water.
cheers
alice
Thanks Alice,
I really appreciate it! I'll let you know how they turn out!
~Gabs
im just wat can i use insted of corn syrup you cant not get is over here were i live ion ireland
please wright me back asap
The recipe looks awesome. But I guess I am too lazy to make them from scratch. I usually just order them from here.
http://www.mannamallows.com they are very tasty and I don't have to clean anything up afterwards :D
Occasionally you can find a product called either "Mallow creme" or "Mellow creme" that is a vegan substitute for marshmallow creme.
it is just divene...
i made it for my family and they just loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
;) from my sister, :) from my dad, B) from my mum and :D from me!!!
Would it work the same if i used electric beaters instead of a stand mixer?
For variety, I added a little cocoa as I was beating the mixture for chocolate marshmallows - really good. Another version is adding a little peppermint extract and a drop of red food coloring. Add the food coloring when it is getting good and thick so you have ribbons of pink throughout the white.
i believe what she meant was the mix doesn't separate from the tip like a meringue would when piping try using a paring knife or any flat edge surface dipped in starch or powdered sugar to cut the mix from the tip thats how they do it for mass production and pipe directly into the starch or powdered sugar to make handling easier
as for the person who asked about multi colored and flavored marshmallows you would need to make separate batches of marshmallow and using a mold coated in starch or powdered sugar do the outside layer first let it set then insert a piping tip inside with the next layer and so on or you could try piping it in a line in the starch or powdered sugar let it set then wrap the next layer around like a jelly role for example and do that for as many layers as you want then slice into disks either way its will probably be a lot of work
for the person that asked about caramel dipped marshmallows i feel pipping the caramel inside would be a lot nicer and less sticky unless you were going to set up a dipping platter at a party where people could dip their own because transporting them after being dipped would be very difficult
for the record i'm only 23 and i remeber the campfire brand so whats the big deal i don't remember them being that great
I am neither a scientist nor an engineer, I just like playing with established rules.
I made marshmallows last week after watching Alton Brown's episode on the subject. His recipe was fundamentally the same as described at the beginning of this thread.
I made mine using Sucanat which is an organic, unrefined dehydrated cane juice rather than white sugar.
And rather than corn syrup I used 50/50 honey and grade B maple syrup.
They are perfect but I think the Sucanat imparts too much of it's own very distinct flavor. In future I'll probably use organic Turbinado or other less flavorful sugar.
The reason one needs to add corn syrup is to introduce a sugar other than pure sucrose to prevent re-crystallization. I understand that the introduction of a small amount of cream-of-tartar can prevent re-crystallization as well and I intend to try this an experiment.
The point is any sugar other than pure sucrose added to the mix should prevent re-crystallization. Pure Grade B maple syrup or natural unrefined honey from a local producer both of which have a complex of sugars would probably work all on their own and since I make my own syrup I intent to try this next season. Grade A syrup probably would not.
Just my thoughts.
Mick
hi
i'd guessed that any other syrup should work (i'd thought of golden syrup and rice syrup) - but haven't actually tried them yet! i'm curious about why you say grade A maple syrup probably wouldn't work.
best wishes
alice
corn syrup is used because it helps prevent the precipitation of crystallized sugar from the solution. corn syrup does this because it is made up of long chains of glucose molecules. these molecules get in the way of others and prevent the crystallization of fructose and glucose into sucrose.
another way to prevent this crystallization is to create an invert syrup. to do this, all you need is some lemon juice, or potassium salt of tartaric acid (cream of tartar) and table sugar (sucrose). i'm not sure of the exact ratio, but you can try for yourself by boiling a small amount of sugar and acid, and letting it cool. a proper invert syrup stays liquid at room temperature, and only has a slight acidic taste. in marshmallows, only 10% of the total weight of sugar needs to be an invert syrup. a word of caution, though, more than 10% will result in marshmallows that do not solidify properly.
as far as gelatin substitution, i really dont know how that would work. gelatin is a protein, and marshmallows require a protein to be stretched and partially coagulated around air bubbles to make a suspensoid, or an emulsion of air in a semisolid. agar and other seaweed derived gels are polysaccharide based thickeners, and do not coagulate, or even act like proteins do. so, marshmallows made with these gels will not be nearly as stable as those made with gelatin.
Why bother with the corn syrup? Go to Alexandra's Kitchen.com and use her marshmallow recipe, or get it from thebulletin.us. There's no messing with corn syrup and they are fantastic. I'm just not sure how to store them because of the uncooked egg whites. Is anyone else concerned about that?
I’ve had the 1989 Christmas book by Martha for years, and I’ve wanted to make the marshmallow recipe. I ventured there today. First time, I ever bought gelatin without flavors.
Being the recipe rule follower, I didn’t catch that she makes no mention of when to add the vanilla. Thank God for the internet. I found a version on the Oprah site that mentions when to add the vanilla.
My searches lead me to this site. I'm so grateful to find a site for the analytical type. This is also the first time that I've made any Martha Stewart recipe. Do others have thoughts on missing info and her recipes?
Happy Holidays for Orange County, California
Alice asked
"hi
i'd guessed that any other syrup should work (i'd thought of golden syrup and rice syrup) - but haven't actually tried them yet! i'm curious about why you say grade A maple syrup probably wouldn't work.
best wishes
alice"
Grade A syrup is made earlier in the season and has the smallest complement of the various minerals and such that gives maple syrup its unique flavor and also tends towards pure sucrose so you would probably have the same problem of crystal formation unless you were to add another type of sugar or cream-of-tartar. Grade B syrup on the other hand (possibly Grade A dark amber) comes later in the season and has a more complex assortment of sugars and other stuff. I've used it in fudge and had no problems. Made the smoothest fudge I've ever had.
I will say that it takes quite a bit longer to get to the proper temperature though.
I'm biased towards the darker stuff since I started making my own 25 years ago.
Mick
Re cooking sugar syrup. I have made marshmallow with syrup cooked to soft ball. It worked well. Can I assume that cooking to hard ball results in a firmer marshmallow that keeps better at high room temperatures. I live in the tropics so this is an issue for me.
hi
i live in auckland, nz, and it's very humid here for much of the year. i boil my syrup to 121 celsius, and set the marshmallows to dry for 24 hours in a room which has a dehumidifier set to 50% humidity.
cheers
alice
You can put a glob of marshmallow fluff on a stick and toast it slowly over very low heat to dry out the outside to the texture of a regular marshmallow. At that point, you can put it over higher heat to toast or burn or however you like your marshmallows. If you skip or rush the first step, it just melts all over. I haven't seen a recipe for marshmallow fluff, but when you buy it at the store, it's vegetarian.
I am so glad you said something about the smell of the gelatine. That is the worst smell I have ever had in my kitchen! Worse than any chemical plant! The smell alone is my reason for trying to find a vegan recipe for marshmallows. P - U. The odor is just like my dog's nasty chew hoofs - for obvious reasons.
My first batch of marshmallows is cooling now, and I so hope the smell dissipates before I cut and try them.
you could try gum arabic if you look on store bought marshmallows its in them. Also its the fructose in the corn syrup which is important because it allows the marshmallow to remain soft and not turn into a hard candy so good luck replacing that.
So says a person commenting on a marshmallow recipe. I'd hardly call marshmallows "real food".
By the way, that was one of the most offensive comments I've ever read in my life. How dare you undermine the beliefs of others this way. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan (nor am I personally seeking to avoid things that may or may not be carcinogens) but at least I can respect their views.
Compassion is a good quality. I'd suggest you try to garner some.
Hi,
I had made marshmallow which had egg whites before I found your site. The recipe's steps are almost the same exept including beaten to stiff whites. Mine came out very tasty, but somehow a bit rubberish. Does anybody know what made the marshmellow rubbery? I suspect the gelatine, but I followed the recipe precisely.
Thank you,
Ema5friends@yahoo.com
PS. I am very happy finding your site and very soon will try your marshmellow recipe w/o whites.
Has anyone tried using a hand mixer for this recipe?
I was just about to post about this when I noticed the latest question is re using a hand mixer for this recipe.
I made this yesterday and, since I don't have a stand mixer nor the money to buy one right now, I used my hand mixer. It worked, but it makes the process a lot more fraught with danger. Trying to keep the bowl form moving, use the mixer, and drizzle the hot sugar mixture into the bowl at the same time is not easy.
The marshmallow itself came out fantastic, so the lack of a stand mixer did nothing to harm the outcome of the recipe itself. But if you don't have a stand mixer, I would highly recommend having two people available to do the pouring/mixing/adding of salt and vanilla. Or a great deal of dexterity and *full* attention on what you are doing. One or the other.
i hope it's ok to promote a new product on this forum.
i'm very excited about this! that's why i'm using so many exclamation
marks!!!!!
we're making great vegan marshmallows here at angel food, but because they only have a two-week shelf-life, it's difficult to get them far
out of auckland, let alone to the US of A.
so, we've developed a DIY kit so that you can make a batch whenever the need arises.
the kits are NZ$10 including postage to the US. for that, you get the
specialist ingredients (and the recipe) for making about 50 good-sized
marshies. you just need to add sugar, syrup, water, vanilla essence and
starch/coconut (for coating the marshies).
great deal, huh?! you also need a candy thermometer, and a stand mixer is best but a hand-held electric beater will also do the job.
hope you're as excited about this as i am!
cheers
alice
www.angelfood.co.nz (altho the marshie kits are so new that they aren't
up on the web site yet...)
ps the kits won't be available in shops, only by mail order from us.
Hi,
I used a recipe from james martin (a chef in Britain) Link: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/577053
instead of using corn syrup use sugar and water boiled up to a syrup also the egg whites are cooked by adding boiling sugar so no problem there. i also used sheet gelatine instead of powder and that recipe wrked brilliantly
Thanks for this recipe, Michael! We made these for my birthday party and they were a hit!
I used a hand mixer, so our marshmallows were about half as high as yours (not as fluffy) even though we too used a 9x13 dish, but they're still plenty soft so the fluff wasn't missed. I wouldn't recommend making it with a hand mixer because ours became dangerously overworked toward the end when the sugar started solidifying and the marshmallow fluff got progressively stiffer. The mixer got hot and stopped being able to turn, like an elephant with its foot stuck in a tar pit.
why do they mention 2 large egg whites in other recipes...... does it make a difference if we use them or not????
for the user below - you're correct, agar agar is a likely candidate but the substitution could get complicated. instead, there are veg-friendly jel-like products that, measure-for-measure, work just like gelatin.
i can find them in the baking section at my local whole foods, but many stores that carry kosher foods will carry a vegan gelatin. just be sure you're not purchasing the fish variety.
check food fight! grocery @
http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/jeldesserts.html -- i'm sure they've got it.
When you are letting the gelatin "bloom" are you supposed to be mixing it with the electric mixer or no?
No, just let them rest in the water to bloom.
:( hi! I was kinda frustrated doing the recipe... i dunno but it didn't turn right for me... i followed every single instruction to the details... but to no avail, it turned out to be a failure! i even tried it twice meaning i waisted twice the recipe... i was wondering where and what did i miss? i even waited for like 20 minutes on the beating time... yet, there was not even a sign of improvement unlike when i make meringue for my chiffon cakes... my 2 year old son loves marshmallows a lot that is why i tried making them for him... please help! :(
thanks in advance.
You're going to have to descibe every step that you did...
I tried to make these.. I let the gelatin bloom, boiled up the sugar to hard ball and started mixing them together. However, after about five minutes the mixture had failed to fluff up at all and I was at a loss at what to do. Eventually I gave up and was about to pour the mixture away when it dawned on me that I could try changing the mixing utensil.. you see I was using the K beater, which when swapped for the whisk beater completely transformed the mixture so quickly i barely had time to add the flavouring before it had expanded to such a state that it could no longer be whisked!
Feeling slightly stupid at my mixing utensil silliness I ended up with A LOT of delicious marshmallow.
Just goes to show.. if at first you don't succeed, use the proper mixing utensils!!
Hey I just discovered your great site when I as looking to remedy a potential marshmallow issue. I made some divine passionfruit marshmallows using the hot sugar syrup/ gelatine method. The mixtures separated while cooling leaving a thin layer of passionfruit flavoured gel on the bottom of the marshmallow. This has actually made them better and very attactive on a dessert plate - but why did it happen?
And now for my main question to any clever food engineers /molecular gatronomists out there.
How could I achieve a product with the texture of marsmallows without using sugar - I though it could be fun to try and create say, a tomato flavoured marshallow?? Any ideas?
So, I don't know what I did, but I do know it was BAD!
I let the syrup mixture get to 260 (from another recipe) and when I poured it in, it just formed a big ball of sugar candy.
Was it too hot? Is there something else I could have done wrong?
For you vegetarians, and other interested people, I have done some digging around looking for actual marshmallow sap.
Couldn't find it.
But I did find dried, powdered marshmallow root, which I think you could use to make the sap. I haven't tried it yet (yet being the operative word) but you can buy the stuff here:
http://www.herbalremedies.com/marshmallow.html
Be warned, the site is primarily concerned with herbal remedies and health problems, but I see no reason you couldn't use the stuff simply for food reasons. Plus maybe it would help if you had a sore throat.
Maybe I'll serve them at my next cigar and screaming party...
Has anyone tried making Elizabeth Falkner's marshmallow recipe with xanthan gum instead of gelatin from Demolition Desserts? I attempted it and ended up with some delicious marshmallow creme. I was just wondering if someone has had success with this recipe before I try again.
My first batch of marshmallows was amazing, but the batch I made today behaved differently.
While in the mixer it seemed to be fluffing up just right, then at about 11 - 12 minutes it began to deflate. I turned it off right away, and it was gooeyer than the other batch.
The only things that were different, was this time I didn't stir the corn syrup, sugar mixture (my first recipe omitted that instruction), and it's humid and raining here today.
I'm hoping they'll turn out anyhow, but any ideas why they would begin to deflate. I used Ina's no egg white recipe.
Thanks for any help.
[b:3c51906850]
Between not having corn syrup, but finding other recipes with Cream of Tartar, with or without egg whites, and originally trying the recipe with agar, (big failure)
Then it went like this,
recipe as per the one on this website, just added one large tablespoon of light golden syrup in stead of corn syrup.
Added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar, boiled it up like it says.
Added it to the gelatin, whipped it up, added the salt, and suddenly the mix climbed up the beaters, so had to work fast to get the vanilla in, and on the side had beaten one egg white (2 would work as well) folded those in and voila, the mix tasted delicious, so now we need to see how they set and cut later on, but so far, it's looking good and tasted creamy, not too sweet, vanilla is lovely, and it will remain to be seen what the set texture is like.
Bravo, and keep on keeping on with Marshmallow.
A real simple recipe to put on top of a passionfruit slice is simply disolve 1 dessert spoon of gelatin in 1/2 cup of hot water, beat 1 egg white separately with 1/2 cup of sugar, then slowly add the gelatin solution, mix well, and pour over the slice, allow to set and then sprinkle on toasted grated coconut !
[/b:3c51906850]
Has anyone tried substituting agave nectar for the corn syrup? I want to avoid using corn syrup. I made homemade graham crackers and they are wonderful for smores. Homemade marshmallows sound really good too.
You can use any kind of sugar syrup, including agave, or even omit it altogether.
I have been dying to make marshmallows, but do not use gelatin. I found an alternative called MaryJanes ChillOver Powder Gelatin Alternative. You can order it from www.maryjanesfarm.org. I have not ordered this yet, but I am going to, and I will post my results once I have them.
I'v been wondering, how long is the mixture gonna take before it fluffs? I'v been trying to fluff it for 2 hours
It fluffs within minutes. How is it possible that your sugar hasn't cooled and solidified after so much time? Next time you try it, make sure your beaters are running at a high enough speed - you've got to rally whip it up and the sugar and gelatin will set while in the air resulting in the fluffy texture.
I made these last night, and forgot to pay attention to the time. It didn't seem like they "fluffed" like I expected, then I realized I was expecting them to behave like egg whites. After checking the picture, I realized I was just fine. I just let it go until it stopped getting bigger and looked like it was a good consistency.
For someone who has never made a sugar solution like that, and has never made anything even remotely close to marshmallows, this was incredibly easy, and the little marshmallows are so cute. I will definitely make this again, soon. I'm making graham crackers at the moment to go with these little treats, and I'm sure my kids will be thrilled.
I should have a post up on my blog about it later today.
http://homemakersguidetothegalaxy.blogspot.com
when i was younger i remember one of my classmates proudly bringing in home made marshmallows, they were so good!
i think they rolled them in kool aid, not sure but i cannot tell you how good they were....
i have access to mexican "kool aid" great flavors~ mango, pineapple, strawberry... how do you think this would turn out?
also... a few years ago a lady gave me a piece of home made marshmallow with a home made caramel on the inside, anyone have any ideas how to make any of these?
DOES ANYONE KNOW A BRAND OF CORN SYRUP IN THE USA THAT I CAN GET WITHOUT HIGH FRUCTORE CORN SYRUP IN IT? (AND WHERE I CAN BUY IT?) I WANT TO MAKE THESE BUT I DO NOT WANT TO USE HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. I READ THROUGH ALL THE THREADS AND HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT FOR A BEGINNER I REALLY NEED TO USE CORN SYRUP TO GET A DECENT RESULT (WHICH BY 4 YEAR OLD AND 1 YEAR OLD WILL BE EAGERLY WIATING FOR!) BUT I JUST CAN NOT BRING MYSELF TO BUT THE KARO BRAND WHICH LISTS HFCS AS THE 2ND INGREDIENT.
THANKS
Has anyone tried using xanthum gum instead. If it does work, is is possible to post the amount used together with the instructions please.
Thank you very much. :)
Honey works well as a substitute for corn syrup. Marshmallows will be darker in color, but taste just as good.
I would like to know if anyone has tried Splenda? I seen that it was previously mentioned in the past. Can you tell me the exact recipe and if it is a marshmallow feel and taste?
I added some peppermint extract, about a teaspoon, and a couple drops of red food dye for candy cane effect. Thinking of trying coconut and maple flavorings.
1. We make marshmallows every Christmas - I have found an organic corn syrup by Wholesome Sweeteners that is incredibly delicious! You can google them to find out where to purchase.
2. Sometimes my marshmallows are rubbery and I can't figure out why. Some recipes say to "bloom" the gelatin for 10 minutes, and others say 30 minutes to an hour. There are also variations in how much gelatin to use...would this cause rubber marshmallows? Or is it related to the temperature of the syrup or the beating time?
Thanks!
Are you sure you shouldn't be a chef instead of a computer programmer? :-)
Just finished making a batch using this recipe, with my own added bachelor-style additions:
In the sugar mixture at the beginning, add a packet of hot chocolate mix for chocolate flavor marshmellows. Turns the sugar an awful brown, and you might worry about the result looking too...unedible. Nonetheless, it works fine, the resulting confection is a light tan. I also added a 1/4 tsp of Peppermint extract at the end for Chocolate Mint Marshmellows!
The timing on this is accurate, but can be messed with. I stirred the sugar mix regularly on low heat, and had it bolied & hot, ready to mix in at the 10 minute mark, just as the Gelatine was bloomed and ready.
No powdered sugar? Blend 2 cups of regular sugar in your blender, giving it a firm shake every couple of seconds. Instant powdered sugar!
Finally, I put the contents in a plastic bag, cut a corner, and squeezed out tubes of marshmellow onto sheets dusted with powdered sugar. Work fast, as the marshmellow confection reaches room temperature, it starts to harden, and make a HUGE mess. I must have thrown away 20% due to it sticking to various implements you work with. (OK, OK, I ate most of it off, but it was still tough to clean!)
Thanks for this recipe, it saved me from buying sheets of gelatin because the inspiration from the cookbook Baked suggested sheets but packets are so much more convenient. I think I waited too long to pour the mixture into the pan because it was SOOOOOO sticky that I could not get my hands clear of the mixture. I was stuck to most of the marshmallows in the pan and there was more in the bowl that I had to rinse out because I could not get it out of the bowl without creating streams of marshmallows. I think that beating for 12 mins on a Kitchenaid mixer might be too much.
Great News for those not in the know, Sweet & Sara, LLC products include vegan marshmallows and smore pies!
We are sold through many retail and online stores. For more information and retailers near you check out our website at www.sweetandsara.com
:huh: any subsitute for unflavored geletan
I made a full batch up to the point where extract is added. It seemed to me that I could go any number of ways at that point. I ended up adding the vanilla extract and pouring off ~half of the recipe to an 8x8 pan For the rest, I added a bit (1/2 teaspoon? - I eyeballed it - it turned out to be a bit too much) and several drops of green food coloring. It turned out very nice, although a bit too strong on the mint flavor.
I imagine you could add some instant coffee to get coffee-marshmallows or orange/lemon extract and zest or any other number of things as well.
In any case, this is a good base recipe and a lot of fun.
On January 18, 2009 at 05:38 AM, American Idle (guest) said...
Subject: Very nice - I added mint as well to half the recipe
"I imagine you could add some instant coffee to get coffee"
I made a similar recipe and I bloomed the gelatin in cold drip brewed coffee.
Hello there..great site! Have a query regarding the gelatine though - we don't have Knox in the UK. We use Super Cook beef gelatine instead (which totals to 70 grams per 6 sachets in the box). How many grams does the 3 Knox gelatine equals to any idea please? So i can just probably substitute..maybe? Thanks!
I believe one envelope of Knox gelatin is about 7 grams. Two of your satchels should be roughly the same.
I am wondering whether I could use friut juice in place of some of the water in the Marshmallows? Has anyone tried this?
This is the first time I've encountered this website. I am amazed and delighted. I was just wondering how one would make homemade marshmallows and now I have to try to do it myself. Thanks
I tried with homemade strawberry juice. The flavour and smell is great and the color that comes out is a nice pink.
I saw this website on Friday and I just made my first batch of marshmallows. The clean up is definately more challenging than the actual cooking of the candy. I'm excited to see how they taste tomorrow after they sit overnight. :)
Soaking the bowls in hot water for a few minutes should dissolve the sugar and gelatin mixture stuck to it. Then just wash normally.
This is for mary-ellen from way back in July (hopefully you are still here). I haven't made these marshmallows yet, but I think I can answer your question about gooier, deflated marshmallows. You had mentioned that it was humid and raining the day you made it. That was probably what happened. Sugar is known to suck water right out of the air, even when in a syrup. This is why some candies (divinity is one that comes to mind) don't work when it's raining. For instance, I *tried* to make caramels for Christmas, but they turned into a sticky mess, all because it was raining that day. Now, my problem is that I always get in inspiration to cook when it's raining! I'm going to have to find a nice dry desert so I can try out this recipe! ;)
After searching for a long time looking for a gelatin free marshmallow recipe, I finally found one that works beautifully. My thanks to all of those chefs who contributed to the knowledge of this recipe, especially Elizabeth Faulkner of Demolition Desserts.
60 ml water
pinch of cream of tartar
255 gr. granulated sugar
255 gr. light corn syrup (I used GMO free glucose)
1/2 vanilla bean
85 gr. egg whites (3 eggs at room temperature)
5 gr. xanthan gum
Ground xanthan gum with a Tbls of sugar. Set Aside. Heat water, cream of tartar, remaining sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla to 120 degrees celsius (248 degrees F) Discard vanilla bean. Whisk egg whites for about 2 minutes until still soft. Continue whipping egg whites at slow speed while adding syrup slowly. Sprinkle xanthan mix while still whipping. Turn speed up and continue mixing for 2-3 minutes or until meringue pulls away from sides. Sprinkle a pan or baking sheet with corn starch and spread out the meringue. Sprinkle top with cornstarch, cover with plastic and leave to set 4 hours in refrigerator. Cut marshmallows in desired shapes and dip surfaces in corn starch (preferably GMO free). I doubled this recipe and layed it into a half sheet pan and it worked out beautifully.
Enjoy!
Someone was wanting to make vegetarian/vegan (egg free) marshmallows. I have a successful recipe that can be made at home.
You need at least electric hand held beaters but better still a sturdy cake mixer.
The point most of us (egg free eaters) have been over-looking until now is that you need to beat up a fluffy mixture into which to pour the hot jell mixture. Then it's a matter of beating it in a cake mixer for 10 minutes until nice and...well, marshmallowy
A fluffy mixture can be produced by using soy protein isolate.
My recipe can be found at
http://www.meatandeggfree.com/agar-marshmallows.html
Is there some way to make this so it hardens less quickly, thus making marshmallow fluff?
I made a batch of the marshmallows listed above and they didn't turn out as I hoped. I don't live in a humid environment so I can't understand why my marshmallows are sweating and melting before me. The only thing I did differently was use the gelatin sheets instead of the Knox brand gelatin. I made sure the equivalents were exact. Is there a difference between using gelatin sheets and the gelatin powder packets?
I tried Natural Desserts Unflavored Jel Dessert as the vegetarian gelatin substitute. The original recipe called for 21 grams of gelatin. I used 2 boxes - 20 grams. To see if this vegetable gum mix was a 1:1 with Knox gelatin, I checked a package of regular flavored gelatin and subtracted out the sugar. The regular gelatin was 77g with 17g sugar times 4 servings - 68g sugar. This left approximately 9 grams of gelatin. The Natural Desserts was 10 grams, but not all of it was vegetable gum. The serving sizes were both at 1/2 cup and 4 per package.
So approximately 1g gelatin: 1 Jel Dessert.
I did not cook for one minute or until hard ball. I was aiming for soft ball and got something inbetween soft ball and hard ball as I was trying to mix the gelatin with water at the same time. I took the advice of a previous writer and attempted to whip the Jel before adding the syrup. It did not whip. I did not use cold water as the package suggested that cold water made it lump. But hot water also made it lump.
I mixed for probably 1/2 hour at high speed on a hand-held mixer. It didn't seem to be fluffing more, but it wasn't very fluffy. It did become quite white and reminded me of the fondant I made once - in color not consistancy. It also tastes a little acidic as the Jel has acids in it - surprising yet pleasant.
I'm waiting to see how it sets, but at this point I believe that I have achieved Marshmallow Creme.
You need to have a sugar that's naturally in liquid form in this process. You could use maple syrup instead of corn syrup and have Maple Mallows.
This is the recipe I have always used, with great success:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CHRISTMAS-MARSHMALLOWS-50012067
I use the balloon whisk without issue, though the addition of beaten egg whites changes the consistency from taffy-like thick candy to fluffy mallow and I'm sure that makes a big difference in my experience.
There's truly nothing like a home-made mallow!!
If you're hosting a part and want the classic hot chocolate with a mallow on top, I recommend Nestle's Abuelita hot chocolate. It's a spiced hot cocoa that comes in blocks you must grind up then blend with hot milk to make, but it's worth the work if you've already invested the time in mallows!
I've even considered buying a snowflake cookie cutter and make mallow-snowflakes to float on the top of a mug! Dip cutter in hot water, then cut mallow and dredge in sugar mix. Lots of work, but serious wow factor!
I just made your marshmallow recipe. It looks great and tastes great, although it's not time to cut them yet. My only dilemma is that I couldn't get all of it out of the bowl and into the pan, it was stringy and wouldn't all come out of the bowl. Of coarse my little grand daughter didn't mind licking some of it, but I lost some b/c it wouldn't leave the side and bottom of the bowl! I just am now soaking it in water to clean up the bowl. So, I guess my question is why, and what to do about it. Thanks for the recipe and I am sure we'll use it often, she has an allergy to egg whites, so this will be perfect for toasting marshmallows in the fire! jane[/b]
I made marshmallows the other day according to this recipe, however I replaced the corn syrup with honey, and the result was AMAZING.
I recommend using honey as corn syrup substitute!
I add peppermint instead of vanilla sometimes and a couple drops of red food coloring and swirling it in teh pan while they are still warm with a toothpick. the marshmallows are swirly pink and white and taste amazing in hot chocolate!
i have also thought about doing the same with orange oil and orange food coloring :)
I just watched an episode of Martha Stewart and this is the exact recipe she used. I can't wait to try it. I would love to find a vegan version, but I
'm afraid they may just be too difficult to bother with.
I mainly wanted to comment that I can't believe the number of people who post that they didn't follow the recipe AT ALL and want to know why theirs didn't turn out. Ummm, try following the recipe?!
This is a great recipe and I'm glad to find people who like to know some of the science behind cooking!
Assuming this recipe was written with the U.S. as it's intended audience; the corn syrup needed in the recipe is most likely Karo, light corn syrup. Personally, I'm not a fan of using Karo, since the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. I sought out a company in CA and ordered a large jar of corn syrup which only contains natural corn syrup. The consistency is a little thicker and the color is significantly darker, almost a caramel color.
Has anyone had any experience making this recipe using "real" corn syrup? I'm guessing that if others are using honey as a replacement, then this corn syrup should ultimately work, but I guess I'm concerned about the color.
Following the author's path (including temperature and whipping time) everything came out quite well for me.
I used a hand mixer and the marshmallows came out somewhat light in density but not at all airy.
They melted quite nicely in hot cocoa, fwiw.
Thanks for sharing.
I just made some marshmallows substituting 1 package of sugar free cherry flavored gelatin (cherry Jell-O) for 1 package of unflavored gelatin. I used half-and-half equal parts honey and molasses to equal the amount of corn syrup. I added cocoa powder just before the egg whites at the end. I also coated the marshmallows in cocoa powder. The molasses, cherry Jell-O, and cocoa powder all change the color slightly but the result was a very pleasing light pinky-brown. They turned out great. Cocoa powder on the outside cuts the sweet factor a little. Not sure if they will last the week for Christmas unless I hide them well.
I think I will try maple syrup next. I will also try rolling in potato starch. I also liked the cinnamon sugar idea.
I have a food allergy to corn so I do not want to use corn syrup. In addition, most icing sugar has cornstarch in it.
For pete's sake everyone... google "corn syrup substitute". The one I have successfully used was:
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a heavy, large pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and put cover on for 3 min (to removed any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan). Remove the lid and cook until it reaches soft ball stage.
Cool, and store in a covered container at room temperature. Keeps for 2 months or so. Makes about 2 cups.
*I usually halve this recipe - works fine.
*Do NOT refrigerate. Trust me...
*Any granulated sugar should work, but I prefer raw caster sugar. I would not use brown sugar.
*Recommend a candy thermometer, but I've done without one too and it's still OK.
agave works in place of the corn syrup. I never use corn syrup and I've never had a problem with agave. TASTY! :shock:
I have been making home made marshmallows for years. It started out as a curiosity and yeah once you go hm made there is no comparison to the store bought ones. This was very close to my recipe except alot of sugar in this one. I use half of the sugar,same amount on corn syrup, and I use one part corn starch to one part powdered sugar. You can roll them or place them on a large baggie and shake them. The corn starch cuts the sweetness so you can dip them in chocolate or sugar. Try this you will enjoy it.
Here is the EASIEST way to make marshmallow. Pour 1 cup of granulated white sugar into your mixing bowl. In a cup dissolve 2 tablespoons powdered gelatine into half a cup boiling water. Pour boiling gelatine over the sugar and start beating on high. Keep going until its really thick and white. Now you can add vanilla to taste and some food colouring if you like. Beat a little more to combine. Working quickly (its going to start to set) pour into deep tray lined with greased baking paper. Put into fridge to set. Cut into cubes and dust with icing sugar (confectioners) and corn flour mixed equal parts. Just takes off the sticky ends but does not add that much more sweetness. OR toast some desicated coconut and roll in that. What could be easier, sugar, water, gelatine. :)
I have so appreciated everyone's insight and suggestions. It is my turn to return the favor. As a birthday present, my mother hired a candy chef to give my teenage son and I private candy lessons. Our quest? Marshmallows! Results? Divine! We used an egg white based recipe.
Some things that we learned that you may find helpful: Chilling the bowl and whisk helps. Once the syrup hits the right temperature, it can cool for several minutes before being added to the bowl of egg whites. We stirred in chopped maraschino cherries (juicy, not blotted) and finely chopped chocolate before we blobbed the lot of it onto parchment to cool and set.
Probably the best trick we learned was how to release the marshmallow from the parchment. On day two, get a second piece of parchment and dust it with confectioners sugar. Flip the marshmallow over onto the new parchment, so you have a dusted parchment layer on the bottom, then the marshmallow layer, and on top you have the parchment that the marshmallow is stuck to. Then get a damp, but not dripping kitchen towel and lay it across the top parchment. Check on it in about 10 minutes. The moisture penetrates just enough to dissolve the layer of candy holding fast to the parchment, and you can peel the paper away easily. Once released, then dust the exposed surface with confectioners sugar. We then used cookie cutters to make shapes which we then paired with like-shaped shortbread and drizzled with chocolate to make "S'mores."
Hope you guys find this helpful.
Just wanted to pass along that we'd found some marshmallows in a natural food store awhile back by a company named PASKESZ. Their website is http://www.paskesz.com/marshmallow.html and the marshmallows are fat free, but use fish geletin. Anyway, their taste & texture is the closest to regular marshmallows we've ever come across.
I made Alton Brown's exact recipe today, because of all the rave postings that followed. Well, I don't think they taste so great. The texture is fantastic... but my 6 year old daughter made a face, and my 8 year old nephew pretty much gagged. He said they tasted salty and like cooking spray. I felt myself that there was an oddly chemical-ish taste to them, even though I added an extra teaspoon of vanilla at the end. The two other adults that ate them raved about them. So it's dislike: 3, like: 2.
Based on all I'm reading, no one else encountered these problems. I felt as though I could actually taste the Knox gelatin or something - it was just an odd taste I couldn't figure out.
Any suggestions are definitely welcome!!
I love your site. We developed a marshmallow on Bettina's Blog -
www.bettina-network.com. We used maple syrup instead of corn syrup, but found that organic turbinado sugar works as well, but doesn't taste the same. The organic turbinado sugar needs to be boiled with water to 240 degrees. There is much discussion here about gelatins vs other things. We use marshmallow root - tried it several times and the organic powdered marsmallow root works very well. It also works well as a hair conditioner after you wash your hair - it is spectacular.
Michael Chu
Can you make fondant out of this recipe?
Although similar, fondant is a bit different. I'm assuming you want to make a fondant that you can roll into a sheet and enrobe a cake with. In most cases, the sugar isn't even cooked. Recipes typically call for the use of confectioners sugar (which is powdered and contains some corn starch) which is mixed into the gelatin with water being added if the mixture is too dry to roll into a ball.
I have made many batches of marshmallows since discovering this recipe on CfE a couple years ago -- all very fluffy and tasty! I've stirred in chocolate chips, chopped maraschino cherries, replaced the syrup with other sweeteners, flavored the sugar water, and so on.
For the most part, 2/3 c. syrup makes the marshmallows way too sweet for my tastes. I aim for between 1/3 and 1/2, depending on the sweetness of the other ingredients stirred in/substituted. One batch was hand-beaten because my electric mixer broke the night before. It turned out denser than the others, but not bad. There has been quite a variety in height/fluffiness in general, which I'm going to guess can be attributed to my estimated boiling times. Next few batches, I plan to use my cooking thermometer to track how hot I get the sugar syrup.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hello! I've made marshmallows with two cups of sugar and 1 cup of corn syrup for the longest time and they were perfect. However, recently I've had quite a few people saying that they were a bit too sweet. So, after reading a ton of recipes, I took away 1/2 cup of sugar. I thought that this wouldn't affect it too much. But since then, I have made 3 separate batches and all of them ended up too soggy within a couple hours. I would sugar them again and after a short period of time they became moist and dense. What do you think is the problem? I've treated them the same way as the other marshmallows except for using less sugar. I can't think my way out of this one. THANKS!
my marshmellows melt? how do i solve this issue?
All the recipes I've seen require marshmallows to rest for at least a few hours. Does anyone know why marshmallows need to rest? Why can't we use them freshly whipped? I'm thinking of making some crispy treats. Since the marshmallows are already soft, I thought I'd be able to cut out the step of melting them down.
If I'm understanding your question properly, then I believe you can cut the resting time out for making crispy treats. In fact, there might be a way to cut down on the whipping/mixing time since you don't need them to hold that much air.
Recipes for marshmallows require resting time so they set and can be eaten while at room temperature.
Anyone has a sugar free marshmallow recipes for diabetic people. I can't consume regular sugar. thanks.
Anyone has a sugar free marshmallow recipes for diabetic people. I can't consume regular sugar. thanks.
can i use Golden syrup instead of corn syrup??
There are a lot of comments on here so if these questions were previously asked, I am sorry.
I am having issues getting the mixture to fluff while I'm mixing it. I am wondering if the temp. wasn't right. It took almost 45 min. to get anything near fluffy. Could this be because it might be too hot or too cold?
I also used veggie gelatin, could this be part of the issue? Does it act the same way as regular gelatin?
As for substituting pectin, DO NOT DO IT! Bad idea. 1. It doesn't thicken at all like gelatin does (I have made them non vegan a couple years ago and they turned out fine). 2. It would only be good if you like citrus flavored marshmallows. I got just regular fruit pectin and the mixture tasted like lemon.
It's also very tasty if you use cocoa powder instead of powdered sugar.. =)
I've made marshmallows quite a bit, just discovered this blog/thread. Vegan/vegetarian gelatin isn't always strong enough to make marshmallows. I was disappointed that Kogel and Lieber's unflavored jel won't work. I have a number of large asian stores in my area but none source konjac, so I haven't tried it. It sets hard enough in jelly and candy that it can be a choking hazard. (I am waiting as I post for agar to soften.)
I've used agar to replace gelatin in Bavarois with only the difference in heating/melting. I buy agar (Telephone brand) from asian markets, mostly available in small packets 4 Tablespoons each. NOW brand from health food stores isn't a reliable strength. Make sure the Agar you buy is intended for food use and be aware that there are different jelling strengths. It is usually used in the same amounts as Knox gelatin.
Use Golden Syrup if you can find/afford it!!!! In the U.S. it is very expensive. I used 1/4 cup golden syrup with 2/3 cup corn/Karo syrup....unbelievably fantastic. Food Blogger Mowielicious used only golden syrup, recipe is on his site.
Marshmallows need to rest so the structure can solidify/set. I've also learned to keep whisking until the mixture is lukewarm and my KitchenAid starts to change pitch ever so little. Just whisking until light and the whisk leaves trails will not set the marshmallow enough to keep its shape cut.
Well ive tried Alton Browns recipe for marshmallows several times now.. the first batch came out splendid...My next batch i tried to use orange puree instead of water to bloom the gelatin...they tasted wonderfull but did not set up very well... added food coloring and a bit of orange zest and 1.5 tsp of orange extract to that batch... my last batch i used a banana extract (2 tsp) and food coloring. Still the same issue with staying very sticky and not setting up as the first batch... any ideas??? aside of course going back to the exact recipe...
ive been trying to make some vegan marshmallows 4 some time using Dr.Oteker vege gelatin but it dosent set and sometimes doesnt even get fluffy!!
help me plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
try:
http://veganmarshmallows.blogspot.com/2009/04/vegan-marshmallow-recipe.html
the problem is i cant find any of the engridients other from this blo in the market :( the only yhing i could find was the vege gelatine from Dr. Oteker and it was after months of waiting
not sure I can help.
here's the ingredients:
5T soy protein isolate 90% (available at many health food stores)
2t Baking Powder
1/4t guar gum
3/4C cold water
1.5C raw sugar
1C light corn syrup
1/2C water
1T Genutine Vegetarian Gelatin
2t vanilla extract
guar gum - readily available - see Bob' Red Mill stuff
soy protein isolate - the internet is teeming with sources
raw sugar - use regular granulated sugar if you can't find this
the veg gelatin you have.
Anyone have an original marshmallow sap recipe? I've dredged the internet and only found one, which really did not work well. I know I must change my expectations of what a 'marshmallow' is in this case, but would love it if anyone had an original source recipe to try out. Thanks!
I can't provide a recipe, but I did experiment with making marshmallows with Agave Syrup, which has a low glycemic index. It worked well except that it was *super* sweet. Perhaps you can investigate mixing it with another kind of syrup replacement that has a low glycemic index. It is important that the syrup have the same properties as sugar (changing elasticity when heated) in order to give the marshmallow its texture. But I'm convinced this is possible with some playing around.
Being the total space cadet that I am, I forgot to add the vanilla... Does anyone have suggestions on how to flavor them after the fact?
Vanilla sugar works. There is "vanilla powder" available in gourmet type stores that you could mix with some cornstarch and a little sugar. Or you could try adding a few drops or vanilla extract to some cornstarch-icing sugar mix and whizzing it up in a blender. Let it dry and whiz it up again. Then use it for the outside of the marshmallow.
The recipe I use calls for four envelopes of gelatin. I'm going to try it with three as this recipe states as I don't care for the strange odor of the gelatin. (It's all I notice now.) Also, I don't use corn syrup at all - I just use sugar and bring it to 240 degrees...
It was not made from 'sap' from marshmallow root, it was made from a strong decoction of the root, which gets gooey like egg whites. I wonder if flax gel would work? And it's not so much that it calms coughs as it soothes the throat, much like slippery elm.
Do these marshmallows roast well? I have been making homemade marshmallows for years. I use both recipes with and without egg whites, but when I try to roast my homemade marshmallows the outside always sags and falls off the inner marshmallow ( It doesn't matter what recipe I use). What makes the store varieties roast well over a fire? I would like to try this recipe, but will they roast well?
I read about substituting golden syrup. I wanted to let the American cooks that we do make that here in the US. It's called Golden Eagle Syrup it's $3 per pint jar & is much tastier than Lyle's. Please check it out. I've used it for the past 45 years. It's perfect for marshmallow or any recipe calling for corn syrup especially pecan pies! Hope this helps.
I have been using this marshmallow recipe for years. It is simple and it works consistently. Everyone is always impressed that I make marshmallows from scratch. Thanks! I use different size pans to make thicker or thinner marshmallows. A tip I learned is to spread them out with wet fingertips to keep them from sticking to me.
Just wondering if the temperature of the syrup is relevant. As in if I have some that wasn't used can I whip it into the bloomed gelatin at rm temp? Or does it need the heat to somehow interact with the gelatin to make it frothy?
when working with sugars/syrups in confections the temperature is very important.
the structure of sugar is modified by temperature - using sugar+corn syrup+water mixed together at room temp will not work out.
Are there vegan marshmallow recipes? :(
What kind of sugar are you using? Is it the white or the brown? Also, how about muscovado, is it recommended to use?
I prepared a 9x13-in. glass baking pan by greasing it with butter and sifting powdered sugar over it to coat the bottom and sides.
The recipe calls for 3 envelopes of Knox gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water. 3 envelopes of gelatin is equivalent to 3 tablespoons or 21 grams of powdered gelatin. Make sure you use the unsweetened and unflavored kind.
I poured the water and gelatin into the bowl of my stand mixer to allow the gelatin to bloom. The recipe calls the gelatin to bloom for ten minutes.
While the gelatin was blooming, I measured out 2 cups of sugar, 2/3 cup corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water.
I brought the mixture to a boil and deviated from Chef Keller's recipe a little. Instead of boiling for one minute, I allowed it to boil until the sugar's temperature passed 250°F. This brings the sugar into what is known as the hard-ball stage (when dropping the sugar into some water will form a hard ball that is not easily deformed) and is the traditional temperature of sugar used for making marshmallows.
I ran the mixer at low speed while drizzling in the boiling sugar syrup. Once the syrup was mixed in, I turned up the speed a little and added about 1/4 tsp. salt. The recipe calls for mixing at a high speed, but I couldn't turn up the speed to high without risking splattering 200°F sugar everywhere.
When the mixture begins to fluff up, I scraped down the bowl and turned up the speed to high.
Once the volume of the marshmallow stopped increasing, I added 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. After the extract was mixed in, I stopped the mixer. This took about 8 minutes from when I started mixing, a few minutes short of Chef Keller's recommended twelve minutes.
I poured the marshmallows into the prepared pan and smoothed roughly with a silicone spatula. Several internet recipes recommend oiling plastic wrap and using it to flatten the top of the marshmallow.
I let the marshmallow cool and set by leaving it on the dining table uncovered overnight. I then inverted the pan over a cutting board covered in powdered sugar. I released the marshmallow buy pulling from a corner and working the marshmallow loose from the baking pan.
I used a large pizza wheel to section the marshmallows one row at a time and dredging each piece in powdered sugar until the sides weren't sticky anymore.