Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2)

[infernooo]

FWIW, Alton Brown on Good Eats recently did a show on home made marshmallows!

Recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_88610,00.html

[Lior]

Thank you to all for the citric acid/tartar and sour salt info. I will try 3/4 tsp next time. Mow I want togo to that link aon marshmellows and realted questions/answers. Thanks all!!

[Desiderio]

I have noticed that the caramel around my marshmallows, tends to melt after few days (3-4 days),it doesnt melt completely but become softer and squshi .

I am trying a different caramel to see ,but I noticed also that the company or candy makers that manifacture these type of products , use a caramel that is more light colored and denser, i dont know but it doesnt melt or change .

Any idea?

[equality5271]

I have noticed that the caramel around my marshmallows, tends to melt after few days (3-4 days),it doesnt melt completely but become softer and squshi .

I am trying a different caramel to see ,but I noticed also that the company or candy makers that manifacture these type of products , use a caramel that is more light colored and denser, i dont know but it doesnt melt or change .

Any idea?

←

the moisture is migrating from the marshmallow to the caramel. a fat barrier might be needed between the two. i am not sure about the manufactured products, though.

[Desiderio]

Good point , thank you , I might try a thicker caramel layer and maybe spray the marshmallows with thin layer of cocoa butter ?:-P

[Madhat]

I have noticed that the caramel around my marshmallows, tends to melt after few days (3-4 days),it doesn't melt completely but become softer and squshi .

I am trying a different caramel to see ,but I noticed also that the company or candy makers that manufacture these type of products , use a caramel that is more light colored and denser, i dont know but it doesnt melt or change .

Any idea?

←

I also think that the moisture is coming from your marshmallow. I haven't worked much with caramel but I've found that the hygroscopicity of marshmallows exposed to air will have an effect on food not even in direct contact with the candy. For example, the graham crackers in those tasty looking s'mores I've posted on p. 28 would have gotten unpleasantly mushy after about a day and a half if they had not been eaten right after the photo was taken.

The caramel covered marshmallows I've seen (aside from yours) have all had the caramel completely covering the marshmallow, preventing it from pulling additional moisture from the air. Also, refrigerated storage in an airtight container may be a help in keeping water levels down.

I'm not sure if my layman understanding of confections was helpful but good luck.

[fanny_the_fairy]

I don't have pictures yet and they're still uncut but I finally finished my little marshmallow marathon. I have the following flavors made, dusted, wrapped, sealed in containers and ready to cut, package and give away:

- Chocolate (callebaut cocoa)

- Strawberry (strawberry puree and lemon juice)

- Raspberry (raspberry puree and citric acid)

- Passion Fruit (passion fruit puree)

- Blueberry (pureed local wild blueberries that were in my freezer, lemon juice, replaced corn syrup with homemade wild blueberry syrup)

- Cherry (morello cherry puree, citric acid)

- Honey Lemon (fresh lemon juice, citric acid, replaced corn syrup with honey)

- Apple (pureed granny smith apples, malic acid)

- Caramel (caramelized part of the sugar and added a healthy dose of sea salt)

- Coconut (coconut milk boosted with spray dried coconut milk powder)

- Banana (pureed bananas)

- Pumpkin (pumpkin puree, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla)

- Vanilla (that one explains itself)

- Chai (strong chai tea)

- London Fog (strong earl grey and vanilla)

- Coffee (espresso)

- Rosewater (another self explanatory flavor)

- Mayan Chocolate (cocoa, cinnamon, new mexico chile powder, vanilla, replaced 1/2 of corn syrup with honey)

This list makes me want to mak marshmallows right now.

[Desiderio]

I have noticed that the caramel around my marshmallows, tends to melt after few days (3-4 days),it doesn't melt completely but become softer and squshi .

I am trying a different caramel to see ,but I noticed also that the company or candy makers that manufacture these type of products , use a caramel that is more light colored and denser, i dont know but it doesnt melt or change .

Any idea?

←

I also think that the moisture is coming from your marshmallow. I haven't worked much with caramel but I've found that the hygroscopicity of marshmallows exposed to air will have an effect on food not even in direct contact with the candy. For example, the graham crackers in those tasty looking s'mores I've posted on p. 28 would have gotten unpleasantly mushy after about a day and a half if they had not been eaten right after the photo was taken.

The caramel covered marshmallows I've seen (aside from yours) have all had the caramel completely covering the marshmallow, preventing it from pulling additional moisture from the air. Also, refrigerated storage in an airtight container may be a help in keeping water levels down.

I'm not sure if my layman understanding of confections was helpful but good luck.

←

Everything helps, thats why I adore this site

Thank you

I have also noticed that the caramel around the other marshmallows ,I saw, was thinker than mine indeed.I will keep experimenting :-P

[gfron1]

I can't say enough about curry marshmallow - just love them! This time I put them on crushed Domori cacao beans and decorated with candied grapefruit peel. I tried the cookie cutter method of cutting - it gave me a lop-sidedness which I don't really like. I thought maybe instead of oiling my cutter I could try heat and going slower.

[infernooo]

This might help some people - the transcript from the recent Good Eats Marshmallow show: http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season11/ma...mallow_tran.htm

[pagosselin]

This is a site that sells agave nectar (A natural sweetner) and they also sell vanilla.

Recently they sent me a recipe for marshmallows made with agave syrup. I thought

I would pass it along.

Follow this link for the recipe

http://m1e.net/c?74378681-tbVkS/flvmu7.%40...9-hvmwT1HvWYUWA

[PopsicleToze]

I made the strawberry marshmallows this weekend as a Valentine's Day treat. Only 1 person in my family liked them. To me, they were ordinary.

I did everything that I thought I was supposed to do -- brought up temp to 240 deg and then placed in KA mixer for full 12 minutes.

The taste wasn't bad, but were just a little better than normal marshmallows.

The only problem I can think of is that when I poured them out, I had lined 2 half-baking sheets, but it all fit into one of the half-sheets.

Maybe they were too dense. The mixture came to the top of the half-sheet, and they came out fine with the heart-shaped cutter I used.

I live in Southern Louisiana, and it was about 70 degrees this weekend. It wasn't too humid, but I'm thinking maybe it was too humid to make this. Was it okay for the mixture to fit into one half-sheet, or should it have been too much to fit?

[Desiderio]

I dont know if I understand ,was a taste problem or a tecnical problem with the texture of the marshmallows?

I did them as well in heart shape for a Valentine' s day sale booster ( buy 3 or more get the marshamllows etc) they were a huge hit I have to say people started to ask to buy them now .

They tasted great and the texutre was more of a strawberry mousse .

[PopsicleToze]

I dont know if I understand ,was a taste problem or a tecnical problem with the texture of the marshmallows?

I did them as well in heart shape for a Valentine' s day sale booster ( buy 3 or more get the marshamllows etc) they were a huge hit I have to say people started to ask to buy them now .

They tasted great and the texutre was more of a strawberry mousse .

←

It was more of a texture problem -- texture was more like ordinary marshmallows. Definitely not mousse-like!

[JeanneCake]

I made Morello Cherry hearts (like gfron1 I didn't like how they were a little misshapen as a result of using the cutter and plus it was a lot of waste); strawberry and blood orange this weekend.

The blood orange were great; I replaced an equal measure of blood orange puree for the strawberry, but felt it could use a little more oomph but they were by far the favorite.

The strawberry ones were very soft, in fact, a day after they are almost mushy and I'm picking up some grainy texture in a few of them. I didn't beat these quite so long as the other two, though.

I fill a half-sheet pan with this formula and sometimes it doesn't fully fill the pan - one edge might be a little thinner than the other if you don't beat for the right amount of time at the end.

I think I killed my trusty 6 qt KA with these, though. Mind you, this workhorse is in use on an almost daily basis and I do beat the living daylights out of it so maybe it wasn't the marshmallows

Edited February 11, 2008 by JeanneCake (log)

[sygyzy]

Hi,

I feel silly for asking this but how do I make strawberry puree? I am looking at Nightscotsman recipe and it simple says strawberry puree. I cannot find any locally and buying it online would be very expensive. Strawberries are showing up in the markets now and while they are expensive, I can still get them. How can I make it from scratch? I am surprised this has not been elaborated in the recipe since I'd imagine different purees would have different ratios of water, sugar, etc.

[Chris Hennes]

Hi,

I feel silly for asking this but how do I make strawberry puree? I am looking at Nightscotsman recipe and it simple says strawberry puree. I cannot find any locally and buying it online would be very expensive. Strawberries are showing up in the markets now and while they are expensive, I can still get them. How can I make it from scratch? I am surprised this has not been elaborated in the recipe since I'd imagine different purees would have different ratios of water, sugar, etc.

←

When I make fruit purees with something with plenty of liquid, like strawberries, I don't generally add any water. And I only add sugar if the fruit is really tart---I doubt it would be necessary for marshmallows. I would just toss a bunch of strawberries in the food processor and let it rip. Bags of frozen ones with no added sugar work well once thawed, too. Then strain out the seeds and voila! strawberry puree.

[sygyzy]

Chris - Thanks for the tip. I figured it was that easy but was not sure. I am worried about the amount of sugar to put since the marshmallows themselves have sugar too.

[KrazedMom]

Chris - Thanks for the tip. I figured it was that easy but was not sure. I am worried about the amount of sugar to put since the marshmallows themselves have sugar too.

←

I thaw frozen fruit, whirl in a blender and then strain also. There's a mix at Costco that I love: blueberries, raspberries and marionberries (seeds, seeds, seeds!) that make the greatest flavor. I add maybe up to a 1/4 c water just to help thin it to strain it easier but use that to bloom the gelatin and for the sugar mixture.

[Desiderio]

I do the same , for marshmallows I just get the frozen fruit if isnt available fresh ( and sometimes is but not very tasty ) just puree it in the blender as it is , dont add any water or sugar.Strain it if has seeds , however I didnt strain the strawberry ones and was fine.

[schneich]

hi,

today i discovered that a batch of marshmallows i did about a week ago got kind of wet(ish) & sticky while it was inside a closed plastic tube ??? how can this happen... i have to admit that we used only powdered sugar on them and not a mixture of starch+sugar... could this be the problem ??

cheers

torsten s.

[Sethro]

hi,

today i discovered that a batch of marshmallows i did about a week ago got kind of wet(ish) & sticky while it was inside a closed plastic tube ??? how can this  happen... i have to admit that we used only powdered sugar on them and not a mixture of starch+sugar...  could this be the problem ??

cheers

torsten s.

←

That is definitely the problem. 100% potato starch is the best way to go.

[Lior]

Shouldn't the strawberry puree be reduced- that is if it is for ganache? I slowly reduce on the range. FOr my marshmellows I didn't reduce.

[Desiderio]

I definately think you shouldnt cook and reduce the strawberry puree for the marshmallows, I am sure it would change the taste. As for the ganache I have found two different school of thinking, one it says boil and reduce the otehr says added fresh to not loose the fresh flavor etc etc.

[Lior]

That is what has been worrying me. Whenever something is cooked it loses value in taste-as well asin nutrition. And yet the water content would greatly affect the shelf life. Has anyone taken the shelf life course offered by ecolechocolate? Marshmellows are great in that you don't have to reduce ,so they can taste very fruity. I just need to work on the citric acid to cut the sweetness. Same with caramel. I must try the curry marshmellows. I never seem to have enough time to try so may things! How do you all manage it?! I feel like I am bad at organizing my time.