Lloydchoc

Patti, As I mentioned in a previous post, I am using Emes kosher gelatin which is made with carageenan, locust bean gum and malto-dextrin. I get it from barryfarm.com. It is about 3 times more expensive than regular Knox gelatin and it seems to take about 20% more gelatin to water to get the same texture, but once you get the proportions figured out, it behaves the same as regular gelatin. That being said, you are still looking at only 3-4 cents per marshmallow for ingredients--but the labor is another story. The cinnamon marshmallows were very good, but not many people bought them (or even sampled them). For a recipe using 1 1/2 pounds of sugar, I added 2 tbs of Vietnamese cinnamon and a tsp of vanilla. For good measure I added a little caramel coloring so they didn't look so white. The cinnamon has just a little bite to it that cuts through the sweetness. Lloyd

Just thought that I would let you know how my experiences with marshmallows is going. The potato starch is much better than corn starch for dusting. I'm now using 50/50 potato starch/powdered sugar. Keeps them very dry. We are making flavored vegan marshmallows and have been selling them for the last few weeks at a couple of farmers' markets. We thought that this would be a good method for piqueing people's interest in our chocolates--it works. We're selling about 500-600 a week (but we're not getting rich at 4 for a dollar). So far, we have tried vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, lemon and cinnamon. The three top sellers are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry in that order. The people are amazed, and some come back and buy them $5 at a time. I also found that anyone wearing a t shirt with the slogan "Meat is Murder" is an easy sell. And then there are the people that think that if it is vegan, then it must be healthy for them. At one farmers' market people kept asking if it was tofu (it wasn't labelled well then). I'm still having problems with the chocolate. If I use a low-fat cocoa the texture is OK, but the flavor is flat (because the only low-fat cocoas that I have found are of low quality--think Nestle) and if I use the high fat full flavor cocoa, the texture comes out gummy. So far my compromise is to use half low-fat and half high-fat cocoa and add it after mixture has mixed for about 6 minutes and then whip it for another 6 minutes. Then I roll it in a mix of high fat cocoa, potato starch and powdered sugar (that adds lots of flavor). This makes for a marshmallow that is a little too fragile for my taste. Any fat in the mix causes a problem with the texture. I have been using lemon oil in the lemon marshmallow (about a teaspoon) and when I add it to the mix, I can hear the mixer speed up and I have to beat it a couple of minutes longer to get a decent texture. I use a fresh strawberry puree instead of water for the strawberry, and the texture here is heavier than the vanilla, but the flavor is so good that it makes up for every thing else. I have found that not only is the water/gelatin ratio critical for a tender marshmallow, if you overbeat the mix, then the texture will be tough and chewy (I think that marshmallows should melt in your mouth). Well, it is still a great learning experience and even if I have to throw out every third batch we are getting better. If anyone has any experiences to share I would really like to hear them.

As soon as I read the info on Mycryo, I knew I had to get some to use for seed in tempering chocolate. I have used it twice, and I have not gotten the quality of temper that I can get using chocolate seed. It seems like it should work though. There were some mitigating circumstances--it has been very hot and humid lately and it is difficult to get a good temper using traditional methods. I have tried calling Jeff at Callebaut but he hasn't returned my call--perhaps he is on vacation. I can do a very good job tempering using chocolate seed, but I thought that using mycryo which I assume is pure type V crystals would give me more control over the process under difficult conditions. Does anyone have any experience with this?

We have been developing a vegan marshmallow to sell at Farmer's Markets with a mixed success. Sometimes they come out great, and sometimes they don't. We found that Emes Kosher gelatin almost behaves like regular gelatin, but you have to use about 20% more to get the same texture. We found a place called Barry Farms on the internet that sells it in 8 oz packages. The problem is the texture and the stickyness. Any plain marshmallow that we just add a flavor to such as vanilla, lemon or cinnamon, we don't have a problem (most of the time). When we use a fruit puree then the texture changes--it gets a little denser. The big problem is with the chocolate. If we use a low-fat cocoa powder (i.e. cheap), then the texture is a little denser, but the flavor is not great. If we use a high-fat cocoa powder, then it is dense and gummy (but it tastes great). I tried adding the cocoa powder to boiling water cooling and then adding the gelatin and also adding the cocoa powder at the end--it seems to be less dense when it is added at the end, but you can feel the grit of the cocoa powder. Also, after they have been in a bag for a while, they tend to stick together. I use a mixture of cornstarch and powdered sugar for dusting. I notice that the recipe on this site calls for potato starch instead of cornstarch. Will that make a difference? Thanks for any suggestions that anyone may have.