Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2)

[Tri2Cook]

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.

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That could be the problem. I dusted all of mine (when I did the long list of flavors all at once... that's not happening again unless I have a volunteer cutter/packager crew) just in icing sugar and all of them held up fine except the 3 flavors that had fat in them (chocolate, mayan chocolate and coconut) which began to weep a bit and get sticky. I gave them a second dusting in starch and that solved the problem at least for a few days (I didn't keep any to see if the problem eventually returned).

[sygyzy]

I wanted to thank everyone for their help with my strawberry puree. I got a bag of frozen strawberries from Trader Joe's and blended them up. It only took about 6-8 berries to make half a cup for the recipe. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I feel dumb now asking how to make puree.

Anyway, the whole marshmallow making process was simple. I was nervous with all the hot molten sugar and the possibility of splashing but there was none of that. My mixture is not resting (it won't be ready til noon tomorrow). I tasted the stuff that was stuck to the spatula and it tastes exactly like melted marshmallows with a subtle hint of strawberries. This is going to be great!

[Chris Hennes]

I wanted to thank everyone for their help with my strawberry puree. I got a bag of frozen strawberries from Trader Joe's and blended them up. It only took about 6-8 berries to make half a cup for the recipe. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I feel dumb now asking how to make puree.

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No need to feel dumb at all! I'm always worried there must be some special trick to things, so I ask a lot of questions here, most of which probably sound ludicrous to people who actually know what they are doing. Oh well---that's how you learn. I doubt anyone was born knowing how to make a puree .

[prairiegirl]

I made marshmallows last week and this one is "coconut"

My next bunch of marshmallows will be titled "Marshmallows with an Attitude" and they will absolutely crazy and off the wall!

I have a hand marshmallow that I will post. It is still in my sister's camera and I hope to get it tonight!

Edited February 19, 2008 by prairiegirl (log)

[prairiegirl]

I just purchased a new book today. It is called "Marshmallow Homemade gourmet treats" by Eileen Talanian.

Recipes for: vanilla, honey-lavender, long pepper , cinnamon, etc..many more. I am too busy to read it tonight but hopefully I can try some recipes in the next few days.

Edited March 4, 2008 by prairiegirl (log)

[jlwquilter]

Hi. This is my very fist post as a member - yeah! And this topic is what made me join Just so you know, I am a home baker, not a foodie professional.

I successfully made a batch of strawberry marshmallows a few days ago. Very easy and quite fun. I used pureed frozen strawberries for all the water.

Cocky gal that I am, I then tried chocolate marshmallows... tripling the amount of cocoa (natural) in the recipe as at least one poster here said they'd done. Crash and burn. I need help in identifying where I went wrong.

When I dissolved the cocoa in the boiling hot water, there was so much cocoa that "dissolved" wasn't exactly what happened. I panicked and added 1/4 cup more of water (maybe a tad more). The rest of the recipe I followed exactly. I did think to deduct the extra 1/4 cup water but then worried that the sugar wouldn't have enough liquid to do its thing in.

The resulting chocolate marshamallow was half the amount of the strawberry batch (which I kinda expected from other posts), had alot of bubbles on the surface, and failed to achieve marshmallow texture. It's actually pretty tasty "sheet mousse". The inside looks like a very fudgy brownie - no air sack texture.

I used the same gelatine and amount that I did for the strawberry batch - 4 packets of Knox.

Would that extra bit of water really have made such a difference? Was it the amount of cocoa (1 1/2 cups total)? Or that I used natural instead of Dutch cocoa? I really need to figure this out as I have a person that would like to buy the chocolate marshmallows for Easter if I can get the recipe working.

As an added question, do you think that if I took the "sheet mousse" and mixed it in my mixer (high or low spead?) I could get it to smooth out, maybe fold in some whipped cream and really have a sorta mousse desset?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Desiderio]

I havent made the cocoa one, many other flavors but not those yet. I do think that the cocoa was too much , I dont think the type it really matters, but the amount yes.Also the extra water might be a bit of problem for the texture, I would stick to the recipe, maybe add a tad more and do not add extra free water , maybe you can use some cocoa liquor to give it a punch , but remeber to subtract the water for the liwquor so you sont end up with too much liquid, in the end has to be the same.

Good luck

and welcome on Egullet

[patris]

I struggled with chocolate marshmallows for our Easter production as well. First I tried mixing a slurry of 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 2 oz. boiling water, which I added to the marshmallow at the very end of mixing. I wanted a chocolate swirl, so I just let the mixer run for about 5 seconds after adding the slurry. The result was very very very soft and sticky, but when rested ended up to be a nice consistency - very silky and soft. The flavor of chocolate was extremely pronounced. I enrobed them in dark chocolate, and the cocoa flavor and the dark chocolate really complemented each other nicely.

Next I tried adding some mini chocolate chips, again at the end of beating while the marshmallow was still quite warm. After letting them sit a moment, I turned the mixer on low for about 10 seconds. What I ended up with was really lovely - both the vanilla and chocolate flavors came through. As an added benefit, when I patted them out in the pan the chocolate swirl looked like some kind of gorgeous satellite picture. The final texture is kind of interesting on these - the melted mini chips turned into thin, thin striations of chocolate in some places.

In both cases, the volume of the finished product was not too far off from the plain marshmallow.

Hope this helps - good luck!

[jlwquilter]

Thanks Desiderio amd Patris for the input (and words of welcome!). I now have a batch of chocolate and a batch of vanilla marshmallows resting. For the chocolate I decided to try 1/3 cup natural cocoa (I wanted more volume and a lighter texture but good chocolate flavor too) and 1TBLS of creme de cocoa liquor. The mixture looks much more "normal" - no excess bubbles, a light chocolate color, etc. The volume was less than both the strawberry and vanilla batches but not nearly as less as the first try I did several days ago. I have hopes! I do think I may have zoomed a bit beyond (a few degrees) 240 though, so will see what if any difference that may have made. The mixture was indeed very very soft and very very sticky. I have more waste left in the bowl than I'd like... any suggestions on how to get more out of the bowl when pouring??

The vanilla batch went very smoothly. Also very very soft and quite sticky with more waste than the stawberry batch but less than the chocolate batch.

Both taste pretty darn good - what I've scraped off the bowls.

Here's another question. I will be dipping/enrobing (I do not know enough yet on chocolate to know the differnce between terms) the marshmallows. Should I still powder the mashmallows in the confectioners/potato starch mixture before doing the chocolate? I did so (dusted) on the strawberry ones and it seemed to work fine but if I can cut out a step and save time, I'd like too.

I really love the idea of swirling in melted chocolate and getting a mix of textures but that will have to wait a bit to try that I am afraid.

Thanks again for the help! This newbie appreciates it!

[patris]

Hi jlwquilter,

Glad you had success this time! The only trick I have for not having much left in the bowl is to scrape it out with a great big sturdy spatula (ever so lightly coated with pan spray) immediately - seriously, without any delay - after taking the bowl off the mixer.

If you're going to enrobe the marshmallow, I highly recommend dusting them first. Those buggers are sticky.

(Not that I speak from particular experience of not paying enough attention to where the pan of marshmallow for dipping was sitting and consequently having naked marshmallow cubes stuck to my right arm up to the elbow, stuck to the fingers on the other hand trying to get them off of my arm, stuck to the wall from shaking my hand to get them off of my fingers, stuck to the counter, or anything...)

[KrazedMom]

(Not that I speak from particular experience of not paying enough attention to where the pan of marshmallow for dipping was sitting and consequently having naked marshmallow cubes stuck to my right arm up to the elbow, stuck to the fingers on the other hand trying to get them off of my arm, stuck to the wall from shaking my hand to get them off of my fingers, stuck to the counter, or anything...)

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I'm picturing a human Stay-Puft Marshmallow?

[patris]

Yeah, but with more cursing.

[pringle007]

So, I just read this whole thread, as I am looking at making some marshmallows for the local farmer's market (My $24 lb gourmet chocolates won't cut it outside in Ohio Maytime temps). So, all in all, what is the best gelatin to use? Any name brand you guys and gals recommend?

[Madhat]

So, I just read this whole thread, as I am looking at making some marshmallows for the local farmer's market (My $24 lb gourmet chocolates won't cut it outside in Ohio Maytime temps). So, all in all, what is the best gelatin to use? Any name brand you guys and gals recommend?

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I've always used Knox. It's worked fine for me, consistent quality results, but I've mostly used it because it's available retail.

Quick related question; can one sell homemade foodstuffs at a farmers market? Items not made in a commercial kitchen?

[tammylc]

So, I just read this whole thread, as I am looking at making some marshmallows for the local farmer's market (My $24 lb gourmet chocolates won't cut it outside in Ohio Maytime temps). So, all in all, what is the best gelatin to use? Any name brand you guys and gals recommend?

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I've always used Knox. It's worked fine for me, consistent quality results, but I've mostly used it because it's available retail.

Quick related question; can one sell homemade foodstuffs at a farmers market? Items not made in a commercial kitchen?

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Depends on the laws in the state that you live in. For example Ohio allows it, Michigan (where I live) does not.

Re. gelatin - I use my cheap store brand (Meijer) which comes in a box of 32 packages for $6. I've never had a problem with it.

[pringle007]

Tammys right.. food safety is governed on a state-by-state basis. In Ohio, goods like chocolates, confections, breads and baked goods, jams, cookies, and just about anything else that needs no refridgeration are allowed to be sold at farmer's markets, crafts shows, etc. without the need for a commercial kitchen provided the home is pet free and contains only one stove and one fridge. The Amish love this rule..

[pringle007]

Its 1:30am in Columbus, and after reading all 30+ pages of this thread, I had to run to the grocery and pick up all I need to whip up some of these mallows. While I shopped about, I had an idea. I believe I read in the thead that you can replace the corn syrup and use all sugar. If thats correct, could you replace the sugar with Splenda and walk away with a low carb or sugar free mallow?

[Kerry Beal]

Its 1:30am in Columbus, and after reading all 30+ pages of this thread, I had to run to the grocery and pick up all I need to whip up some of these mallows. While I shopped about, I had an idea. I believe I read in the thead that you can replace the corn syrup and use all sugar. If thats correct, could you replace the sugar with Splenda and walk away with a low carb or sugar free mallow?

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I don't think you could, I think the sugar is an integral part of the structure of the marshmallow, the reason you can leave the corn syrup out is that it's function is to control crystallization.

But if you are willing to take one for the team and try it out, we'd all love to hear how it works out! That's how new things get discovered, someone says it can't be done - and some eG'er proves it can!

[Lior]

Did you go to a supermarket at 2 am? It is open? Does it ever close? Good luck with the marshmellows.

[Desiderio]

What about maltilol ( not sure of the spelling in english) anyway is the sweetner used in most sugar free products and chocolates and caramels as well.I was thinking to try some sugar free caramel one of this days .

[Nina C.]

This thread has sat in my bookmarks for the past year an a half. I keep saying to myself, I should make marshmallows!

Well, I finally did -

marshmallow peeps!

All the details, and more pictures are on my blog, TheKitchn.com

Edited March 21, 2008 by Nina C. (log)

[Lior]

Very cute and lots of fun! I like your blog,too!

[jlwquilter]

Reporting back in The vanilla and chocolate marshmallows came out great! Whoo-hoo! I cut the slabs into bunny heads (cookie cutter) and enrobed most in chocolate. Sold them to co-workers of my DH, and they sold fine. I do have some that I didn't send in and I am finding that the texture/flavor is changing a bit - and not for the better. I've kept each flavor in it's own plastic container. Any idea on why they might be "going bad" after only a week (or less)? The strawberry scraps I have left are actually yucky now and I am throwing them out.

By the way, I can't ever seem to keep a candy thermometer in good shape (always get water inside) so I used an instant read probe type thermometer to temp check the syrup. Seemed to work fine.

I was also amazed at the difference dusting the mallows make. I ate a few pieces off the very first strawberry slab and ugh! I was worried. Then I dusted them and it was night and day.

My DH has been really pushing the idea of selling at the farmer's market and I said I'd need a commercial kitchen... now I know to check my state (FL) laws instead.... unless anyone knows what it says? In case it matters, I live in Palm Beach County.

Those peeps are great!

[patris]

Reporting back in    The vanilla and chocolate marshmallows came out great! Whoo-hoo!

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Congratulations!

I do have some that I didn't send in and I am finding that the texture/flavor is changing a bit - and not for the better.

Mine always tighten up quite a bit after the first few days, especially if they're not enrobed. I don't think there's a way around it...

[Desiderio]

My DH has been really pushing the idea of selling at the farmer's market and I said I'd need a commercial kitchen... now I know to check my state (FL) laws instead.... unless anyone knows what it says? In case it matters, I live in Palm Beach County.

Also make sure to check if you need a sale tax license, it might be you need the special event sale tax license or your state tax license.

Good luck