[Bicycle Lee]

I was interested in making my own marshmallows and I figured I would ask my eGullet compatriots....eh?

[tchorst]

I believe there are quite a few posts with recipes in this forum already. If you search and can't find what you like, try these:
marshmallows

they work pretty well.


HTH,

Tim

[alanamoana]

be cautious with the gelatin!

i have a recipe from the "time/life" series book on candy making. it sounds pretty similar to the french laundry one linked in tchorst's post...

you can probably cut the gelatin in half (or at least reduce it a little).

i made mine following the recipe to the letter and when they had set up, i had little super balls...you could barely bite into them without your teeth bouncing back and causing your jaw to dislocate

when they're good though, homemade marshmallows are great!

p.s. if you want the time/life recipe, i can pm it to you...i guess there are issues with copyright

This post has been edited by alanamoana: 06 April 2004 - 07:57 PM

[TrishCT]

I like Gale Gand's recipe...She uses them for hot chocolate and calls them Marshmallow Footballs, but you can make them whatever shape you like.

This post has been edited by TrishCT: 06 April 2004 - 08:57 PM

[nightscotsman]

My recipe for Strawberry Marshmallows is here. Is you want to make plain vanilla ones, you can replace the puree with 1/4 cup of water and add a teaspoon of vanilla, or scrape in some vanilla seeds.

[ellencho]

I hope you have a kitchenaid stand mixer because it always took me upwards of 20 minutes of whipping and I've heard folks' horror stories about their hand mixers burning out.

That said, as long as you have a good recipe homemade marshmallows are delicious.

This post has been edited by ellencho: 07 April 2004 - 05:00 AM

[Betts]

Follow Nightscotsman's advice - he helped me with my last marshmallow craze.

With the leftovers, I tossed them with a mix of cocoa( the good stuff), powdered sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Perfectly delicious, a big hit but they looked just like cubes of browned meat -

[Moopheus]

Has anybody made marshmallows using agar instead of gelatin? I was thinking of trying this, and wondering what sort of substitution to make.

[Wendy DeBord]

I made Nightscotsmans recipe for Easter and it was fabulous! I highly reccomend it and I can't wait to try other puree flavors.

Thanks Neil for sharing that!

[nightscotsman]

Sinclair, on Apr 12 2004, 11:16 AM, said:

I made Nightscotsmans recipe for Easter and it was fabulous! I highly reccomend it and I can't wait to try other puree flavors.

Thanks Neil for sharing that!

You're very welcome

So far I've tried them with raspberry (good), passion fruit (really good, but could use a touch of food color), cinnamon (excellent in hot cider), coconut (the fat in the coconut milk made them dense), and chocolate (using cocoa powder - made them very fudgy tasting). Strawberry is still my favorite, but I would like to try lemon or peach sometime.

[FWED]

I also used the nightscotsmans recipe for marshmallows for easter. I made three batches. One was made with fresh strawberry puree and colored a pale pink. The second was colored a pale green and flavored with mint. The third was a pale yellow and flavored with lemon. Instead of pouring them out into a flat pan I poured them into Chocolate molds shaped like small bunnies and chickens and easter eggs. I let them set for 24hr and them put them into the powered sugar potato starch mix. For Easter gifts I put them into 6 inch birds nests made of Chocolate and slivered almonds and cornflakes. The pale colors worked well with the dark chocolate. The kids at our family dinner devoured them as did many of the adults.

[cdh]

Tis the season of marshmallow making, it would appear... Just made a big bunch of them the other day. Have been wondering what the differences between the egg-white ones and the whipped gelatine ones are. The final results seem alike... Did I not need those six egg whites in there after all?

The recipe I use was from a workshop I took with Dorie Greenspan, and her recipe brought the syrup up to 265, and threw that into some eggwhites at stiff peaks (which double in volume when hit with the hot syrup), and then beating a hell of a lot of gelatine into that. They have turned out perfectly... but a friend who uses just the whipped gelatine method comes up with a nearly identical result .

So, pros and cons of the egg white method?

[nightscotsman]

Well, depending on the recipe, I think the egg white version can be made lighter and fluffier. But then, the egg version also won't keep as long. I tend to like the creamier mouthfeel of the corn syrup and gelatine method, myself.

[Bond Girl]

Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets book has recipes for marshmellows. It worked pretty well, even for novices like me who play with candy thermometers about twice a year.

[Behemoth]

Moopheus, on Apr 7 2004, 02:46 PM, said:

Has anybody made marshmallows using agar instead of gelatin? I was thinking of trying this, and wondering what sort of substitution to make.

I haven't tried agar in marshmallows, but I have heard people complain that it doesn't set up well. Also, I find that agar sometimes contributes an off flavor unless the other ingredients are strong enough to hide it. (I wasn't so happy with Agar panacotta, but stronger flavored fruit-based jellys were fine). Kojel or other vegetable-based gelatin seems to be more popular. Here's a recipe I bookmarked a while ago...most recipes I've seen seem to be a variation on this.

vegan marshmallows

Note, some Kosher gelatins are not vegetarian, but you probably already knew that.

[Moopheus]

Thanks for that link. I've never seen Kojel, but it looks like something that might be useful.

[stscam]

I used Neil's recipe for both "classic" (i.e., vanilla) and strawberry marshmallows. They've been selling like hotcakes at our local farmers' market. We charge $1 for a bag of four. The looks on people's faces when they read our sign are priceless! Usually they glance at it, then glance away, then turn deliberately back to read it more carefully. Their jaws drop and eyes open wide. They walk over to our stand and ask all sorts of questions. Then out comes their dollar and away they go, in fluff heaven. It's very cool to witness.

Making these guys is really simple. It takes less than 15 minutes to get it into the whipping bowl, another 10 to whip. I let them cool/dry for about 24 hours, then cut them on a guitar. They are the goooooiest things I've ever worked with - until you get the sugar/corn starch coating on. But my golly how people love them!

Cheers,

This post has been edited by stscam: 12 May 2004 - 05:31 PM

[andiesenji]

Moopheus, on Apr 7 2004, 02:46 PM, said:

Has anybody made marshmallows using agar instead of gelatin? I was thinking of trying this, and wondering what sort of substitution to make.

I have not made them with agar agar, however I have made them with marshmallow root (from my garden), with guar gum from the health food store and with kuzu root.
The first two turned out well but were a lot of work. The kuzu root was not successful.

I was trying to develop a recipe for friends who are vegans and did not want to use gelatin.

I don't see why you couldn't use agar agar, you would probably have to experiment.
considering my experience with agar agar, I would use a little less than the amount of gelatin in the recipe as agar agar has more "setting" power.

This site will give you quite a bit of information.
http://www.vegsoc.or...fo/gelling.html

[andiesenji]

andiesenji, on May 12 2004, 05:45 PM, said:

Moopheus, on Apr 7 2004, 02:46 PM, said:

Has anybody made marshmallows using agar instead of gelatin? I was thinking of trying this, and wondering what sort of substitution to make.

I have not made them with agar agar, however I have made them with marshmallow root (from my garden), with guar gum from the health food store and with kuzu root.
The first two turned out well but were a lot of work. The kuzu root was not successful.

Addendum:
I began using guar gum years ago to make lakhoum, Turkish Delight, because I liked the stability better than the candy made with gelatin.
My teacher, way back in the 60s, used gum arabic (has to be food grade, can't use the stuff in artist's supply stores) for making jellied candies and for some reason the flavors were much more intense than with any other product. He also used it for making decorations for cakes.
It remains pliable and combined with pulled sugar to support it, can make spectacular decorations. My teacher made a 5-tier wedding cake with a waterfall on one side made with the gum arabic jelled material.
For many years it was very difficult to get superior food grade gum arabic in significant amounts at reasonable prices. (Most came from the Sudan and the tribal warfare nearly destroyed the trade.)
read about it here:http://www.jumbo.th.com/
and here:http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/Technical_papers/gum_arabic.htm

[JustKay]

nightscotsman, may I ask how much in tablespoons are 4 envelopes gelatin?

I have half a dozen boxes of Diet Kojel - unflavored, unsweetened, sugar free jel dessert - recently arrived courtesy of a kind American friend (she's on the sugar free diet, hence the diet Kojel). Each box has one envelope, 0.3oz in weight. How different/alike is this with the gelatine you use.

On the box, it also states "Kojel, unlike pure gelatine, is a quick setting jel dessert". Is this a problem?

She also sent me some boxes of flavored ones and these are 3oz each. Can these be adapted into your recipe to make flavored marshmallows? These already have the sugar in them, right?

My previous attempt to make marshmallow was a disaster (dense and gritty), so I will try your recipe next (also because I really prefer that it contains no egg whites).

I will have to resort to using agar-agar powder once this Kojel is exhausted due to Halal/Kosher issues (although she said all I have to do is ask ), and I wonder about the proper substitution measurements.

And what about pectin? Is this also a possible substitute?

And I really want to be able to make them because my son loves marshmallows and none of the commercial ones available here are truly Halal/Kosher. He can only enjoy them when friends send over the Kosher ones from the US (although they are really produced in Israel). The 3 packets of Kosher marshmallows sent with these Kojels have long since gone. One of them was covered with toasted coconut - quite yummy. I bet they're better dipped in chocolates!

A lot of questions, I know. So, thanks in advance for any help.

edited to add : Thanks Behemoth and andiesenji for the links.

This post has been edited by kew: 12 May 2004 - 06:39 PM

[nightscotsman]

According the the Kraft Foods web site, 4 packets of Knox Gelatine is 1 oz. So I think you could use 3 packets of your Kojel.

I haven't heard ot Kojel before, so I don't know how it will work. Do you know what it's made of? Any other details on the box?

And stscam: glad the recipe is a hit with your customers. So that royalty check is in the mail, right?

[JustKay]

nightscotsman, thank you for the reply.

I have been trying to get more information on the Net and so far I've found out on one site that mentions 1 envelope gelatine is 1T. I visited the Kraft site but wasn't sure if the envelopes of differing brands are of the same weight.

I will try using 3 envelopes of this Kojel.

The ingredient list is : vegetable gum, adipic acid, tapioca dextrin, calcium phosphate, potassium citrate.

Other things mentioned on the box are - to not to let it dissolve nor soak in cold water but boiling water, to use it immediately, to not add pineapple juice and that kojel cannot be remolded once set.

I tried to find an official homepage but it doesn't have one?

I did ask my friend who sent it but then she doesn't cook much and only make the flavored ones.

I think I'll go explore more vegan sites. Or Jewish cooking sites. Of course, there are marshmallow recipes using kojel but I want to make your marshmallows. Plus the 'vegan' recipe says to soak the Kojel for 1/2hr in cold water which makes me skeptical - looks like it's merely a replacement of the word gelatine with Kojel, and not a true recipe using Kojel.

Thanks for trying to help out more. I just thought Americans would be familiar with it, but then (now it crossed my mind ) why would you need it because you can use gelatine, right?

[chocophile]

With all the interest in mycryo these days, and it being advertised as a substitute for gelatine, does anyone have any idea - or experimented - with using mycro instead of gelatine?

Also, for those of us trying this out at home (I may make these plain and then dip them in some fab chocolate for an event I am doing), any replacement ideas for a guitar? Can I refrigerate these, cut them, and let them warm up?

TiA,
Clay

[Wendy DeBord]

I used a cookie cutter to cut, since I don't have access to a guitar. It does gunk up but if your keep cleaning it off and spraying it with pan coating it works well. I did tulip shaped marshmellows on a stick, a photo of this is posted in my Easter thread.

No need or reason to refridgerate them. They hold for many days if you wrap them well in plastic (even cut ones).

[Joni]

Neil...I made passionfruit and they were incredible...how did you make the coconut ones...did you just replace the water with coconut milk? I did try a small batch of cocoa ones too -- delicious!

[DiH]

stscam, on May 12 2004, 05:30 PM, said:

The looks on people's faces when they read our sign are priceless! Usually they glance at it, then glance away, then turn deliberately back to read it more carefully. Their jaws drop and eyes open wide. They walk over to our stand and ask all sorts of questions. Then out comes their dollar and away they go, in fluff heaven. It's very cool to witness.

Sooooooo, don't stop there... what does your sign say???

[stscam]

The sign says, simply, "HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS." We had another market today, and yet more eyes popped and jaws dropped. People often comment, "I didn't know you could make them at home." And a few others tell us that they've made them for Boy/Girl Scout meetings, church functions, or just for fun.

Due to the popularity of the basic MM we decided to offer S'Mores, too. We make a thinner MM than usual, dip it in some Callebaut 52% semi-sweet, then sandwich that with store-bought grahams. We tell folks that if they want to heat them, they can stick them in the microwave, but under no circumstances should they run it for more than four seconds. If you do - KABLAAM!!! What a mess.

Thanks for the curiosity.

Cheers,

[Bicycle Lee]

so, is the consensus that agar will or will not work?
and...any thoughts on a slightly more savory application of flavored marshmallows?

This post has been edited by Bicycle Lee: 14 May 2004 - 08:02 AM

[JustKay]

Bicycle Lee, on May 14 2004, 08:01 AM, said:

so, is the consensus that agar will or will not work?
and...any thoughts on a slightly more savory application of flavored marshmallows?

I plan to make (nightscotsman's) marshmallows on Monday.

And if that is a success I plan to try using agar-agar powder because eventually I will have to resort to using this. I will post the results.

[nightscotsman]

chocophile, on May 13 2004, 07:20 AM, said:

With all the interest in mycryo these days, and it being advertised as a substitute for gelatine, does anyone have any idea - or experimented - with using mycro instead of gelatine?

Mycryo will not work for making marshmallows. Being cocoa butter, it's pure fat which will keep the mixture from whipping and holding a foam.