Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 3)

[FrogPrincesse]

[Moderator note: This is part of an extended topic that became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it into shorter segments; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2)]

 

 

 

 

How fun. Thirty-five pages of marshmallow discussion; I had no idea until recently when I made a batch of French vanilla ice cream and ended up with leftover egg whites. I decided to make marshmallows and found this thread. I used this recipe from David Lebovitz.

It went quite well but the marshmallows were a little sticky at the end of the process and it got worse with the heat and humidity we've experienced this weekend in San Diego. It's possible that I did not whip the mixture long enough at step number 6. In any case, they were delicious little clouds!
The recipe yielded exactly a 1/4 sheet pan.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Mjx
Host note added. (log)

[CanadianBakin']

Cranberry marshmallows have me stumped and I'm wondering if someone can please help? As someone mentioned above, if you replace the puree/water amounts with straight cranberry puree in NS's recipe they turn out a bit like taffy. They do turn out if you use say 2/3's puree and 1/3 water but I was hoping to pump up the flavour. Apparently cranberries have a lot of natural pectin like apples so I guess that's affecting the gelatin. Do I use way less gelatin, more gelatin or deal with a milder flavour by using more water/less puree?

Thoughts?

[pjm333]

You can use any puree (raspberry, passion etc) in this recipe. Spray 1 flat sheet pan with non stick spray and add parchment and spray again.

2 CUPS PUREE

24 GELATIN SHEETS/SOFTENED

1 1/2 CUPS WATER

6 CUPS SUGAR

2 1/2 CUPS LIGHT CORN SYRUP

MIX THE PUREE AND GELATIN IN A 20 QT MIXING BOWL, COOK WATER,SUGAR AND CORN SYRUP TO 235 DEGREES AND ADD TO PUREE & GELATIN MIX. BEAT AT HIGH SPEED UNTIL VERY THICK, ABOUT 10 MINUTES. YOU CANNOT OVER BEAT THIS RECIPE. ADD TO SHEET PAN AND CHILL 2 TO 3 HRS. CUT INTO DESIRED SHAPE AND ROLL IN SIFTED 10X AND LET AIR DRY AT ROOM TEMP ABOUT 24 HRS.

[MelissaH]

I've made a few different marshmallow formulas over the years, and have come to the conclusion that I strongly prefer the recipes without egg whites. (This didn't come as a huge surprise to me, as generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of anything with uncooked egg whites, meringue pie toppings or meringue cookies included.)

Without looking through all 35 pages, does anyone know what the egg white does, that so many recipes include it?

MelissaH

[CanadianBakin']

Melissa, I was recently reading this article and he talks about the addition of egg whites. http://www.eatthelove.com/2012/03/carrot-cake-marshmallows/

[FrogPrincesse]

I've made a few different marshmallow formulas over the years, and have come to the conclusion that I strongly prefer the recipes without egg whites. (This didn't come as a huge surprise to me, as generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of anything with uncooked egg whites, meringue pie toppings or meringue cookies included.)

Without looking through all 35 pages, does anyone know what the egg white does, that so many recipes include it?

MelissaH

I am guessing texture. The ones I just made with egg whites were very fluffy and delicate. I am not sure that you could achieve the same texture without egg whites.

[xxchef]

Some of my marshmallows are turning grainy after a few weeks. Is this "normal"? or cause?

Thanks!

[CanadianBakin']

xxchef it's normal for them to turn grainy after some time. You can slow down the process by making sure they are stored airtight at cool room temperature in a dry location. It's the sugar re-crystallizing. They should still taste good melted.

[Cassie]

I have made a lot of different marshmallow recipes. I recently made chocolate malt marshmallows which taste great, but they are gummy. What causes gumminess in marshmallows--too much corn syrup maybe?

Edited November 13, 2012 by Cassie (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I have made a lot of different marshmallow recipes. I recently made chocolate malt marshmallows which taste great, but they are gummy. What causes gumminess in marshmallows--too much corn syrup maybe?

I don't know what your recipe uses as the chocolate component but it's been my experience that any ingredient that introduces fat to the formula messes with the texture resulting in a denser, less aerated marshmallow with a texture that could easily be interpreted as gummy. Chocolate, cocoa, peanut butter, coconut milk and spray dried coconut milk powder all had that effect on marshmallows I've made. I've never been able to get a marshmallow with the traditional texture when including a fat-containing ingredient. The taste was fine, the texture not so much.

[Cassie]

I am also wondering if the powdered ingredients prevent aeration and give the rubbery texture. I make a sweet potato/curry marshmallow and it seemed that the ones that had more curry in them were tougher. I am going to try adding the cocoa-malt slurry to the syrup before adding it to the gelatin. I had the same problem when I used coconut puree to soften the gelatin--very tasty, but tough

[GlorifiedRice]

The following was posted in Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2) by PLK

 

 

 

ETA: I just had another idea. Flax seed, when powdered and then boiled in water, becomes clear and gummy -- almost like an egg white. Only fresh reacts this way IME -- pre-toasted doesn't work. I wonder if when cooled somewhat, it would fluff? It does contribute a "nutty" flavor, so that has to be taken into account.

 

 

 

 

 

You can make Meringues with flax seed gel so I wonder if it will work with marshmallows, listen to that crunch

 

[Jim D.]

I finally got around to making marshmallow (Greweling's recipe). The plan is to spread a layer of it in a frame, top it with a layer of lime ganache, and dip the finished pieces in dark chocolate. The marshmallow seems to be OK, though a little rubbery after one day. I had trouble spreading it evenly in the frame, so am thinking I may have overcooked the mixture. Greweling says to cut marshmallows on a guitar, but I have doubts about the success. I didn't want to endanger wires on the guitar, so I took a separate piece of the wire and tried to pass it through a cube of marshmallow. The wire mashed the square (which mostly rebounded, but the cut is certainly not clean). In a two-layer marshmallow piece, Greweling calls for spreading the foot on the ganache, not on the marshmallow layer. I am seeking advice on whether it is worth it to try to use the guitar or just give up and use an oiled knife. Perhaps the guitar wires should be oiled?

[pastryani]

@Jim D. - my guess for the wires would be to oil them.  I've tried cutting marshmallows both with an oiled and unoiled knife, and oiled is definitely the way to go (cleaner cuts, less stickiness). 

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, pastryani said:

@Jim D. - my guess for the wires would be to oil them.  I've tried cutting marshmallows both with an oiled and unoiled knife, and oiled is definitely the way to go (cleaner cuts, less stickiness). 

 

I can corroborate what you advise. I oiled the wires yesterday and the marshmallow layer did not stick, but I recount the other issues in the Greweling thread.

[Jim D.]

Greweling uses honey in his marshmallow recipes. I thought the taste of honey overpowered other flavors (such as vanilla) and would like to omit it. Should I replace it with an equal amount of glucose (in addition to the glucose already called for), or is the invert-sugar effect of honey crucial to marshmallows? I should note that in his first book he includes invert sugar in addition to honey, but does not in his at-home volume.

[Kerry Beal]

40 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

Greweling uses honey in his marshmallow recipes. I thought the taste of honey overpowered other flavors (such as vanilla) and would like to omit it. Should I replace it with an equal amount of glucose (in addition to the glucose already called for), or is the invert-sugar effect of honey crucial to marshmallows? I should note that in his first book he includes invert sugar in addition to honey, but does not in his at-home volume.

I'd probably replace with invert sugar if you have it rather than glucose.

[pastrygirl]

Honey is not crucial to marshmallows. 

[Jim D.]

53 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

Honey is not crucial to marshmallows. 

 

I know, but I wanted to know if its invert-sugar properties are essential. Most recipes for marshmallows seem to include honey, though Melissa Coppel's includes neither honey nor invert sugar.

[Bentley]

Bruno Albouze has a recipe that uss corny syrup or glucose - no honey or invert sugar.   I haven't tried it yet, but I love many of his other recipes, so it's on my list.

 

Edited June 9, 2017 by Bentley (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I've never used honey or invert sugar in marshmallows. I suppose it's entirely possible that he just likes the taste of honey in his marshmallows since he's not adverse to using invert sugar in other recipes but I agree with Kerry that I'd probably go with invert if I was going to replace it just to be on the safe side. Just in case it's integral to his formula. I strongly suspect that glucose would work just fine though.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

I've never used honey or invert sugar in marshmallows. I suppose it's entirely possible that he just likes the taste of honey in his marshmallows since he's not adverse to using invert sugar in other recipes but I agree with Kerry that I'd probably go with invert if I was going to replace it just to be on the safe side. Just in case it's integral to his formula. I strongly suspect that glucose would work just fine though.

I think this recipe is balanced to give tenderness and correct humidity with the balance of invert and glucose. 

[Tri2Cook]

11 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

I think this recipe is balanced to give tenderness and correct humidity with the balance of invert and glucose. 

Now I'm curious how these compare to others I've made. Gonna have to give them a try. I find it interesting that he says to add fruit purees at the end of the whipping stage, I've never tried that. When doing fruit flavors, I always use the puree to hydrate the gelatin and then whip the hot syrup into that.

[Kerry Beal]

Looks like both of the pipeable marshmallows in the new edition use egg albumen. I know the ones from the Time-Life Candy book that I used to make and mold in starch used egg white as well as gelatin.

 

[pastrygirl]

On 6/9/2017 at 7:45 AM, pastrygirl said:

Honey is not crucial to marshmallows. 

 

So then I watched some marshmallow videos and a few mentioned honey as being the original, historical sweetener. Ya learn something every day!