Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 3)

[Jim D.]

Having discovered that Greweling's recipe for pipeable marshmallows is meant for marshmallows piped onto parchment while the mixture is still hot, I am still working on pipeable marshmallows as a filling in a bonbon (the complication arises mostly from the fact that the temperature cannot be too high because the marshmallow will melt the chocolate shell). I'm making some progress, with a successful attempt yesterday. But I'm puzzled by the discrepancies I find in the temp to which the syrup is to be cooked. Greweling says 252F (250 in his at-home book), and he (and Wybauw) are the only sources I can find who take the syrup that high. Martha Stewart, Alton Brown, the Serious Eats site, Nightscotsman (who contributed the well-known recipe for strawberry marshmallows to eGullet), etc., call for somewhere in the 234-240 range. David Lebovitz is the only one I found who gets close to Greweling, calling for 245. If the soft-ball stage is the goal, then 252 seems quite high. In Part I of this marshmallow thread, someone is told pointedly that the 250 range is too high. For those who have made Greweling's marshmallows, did you have issues with his comparatively high temperature? For my goal, a lower temperature keeps the marshmallow softer (good for piping purposes) and also helps with the issue of getting the temp down to the 80-85 range quickly enough so that the gelatin does not have so much time to thicken and make piping impossible.

[Kerry Beal]

Time -Life recipie is 127C (260F). But again piped warm into starch.

 

Marshmallow fluff which can be piped at room temp goes to 120C - 248F.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Jim D.]

Good point, Kerry. The lower temp sounds as if it is what I am looking for (as it is really marshmallow fluff that I am trying to make, but without dried egg whites--I bought some highly recommended ones from Amazon, and they smell and taste "off" to an unacceptable degree).

[Kerry Beal]

58 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

Good point, Kerry. The lower temp sounds as if it is what I am looking for (as it is really marshmallow fluff that I am trying to make, but without dried egg whites--I bought some highly recommended ones from Amazon, and they smell and taste "off" to an unacceptable degree).

Would you consider real egg white? The temperature of the sugar syrup would be high enough to eliminate any salmonella.

 

 

[Jim D.]

I'll give using real egg white some consideration. I'm reluctant, but it would certainly make marshmallow fluff easier...and tastier.

[pastryani]

23 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Would you consider real egg white? The temperature of the sugar syrup would be high enough to eliminate any salmonella.

 

Couldn't you bypass the egg white step (fresh or powdered) and just stick with gelatin, or was there a reason to use egg whites?

Edited June 30, 2017 by pastryani (log)

[Jim D.]

12 minutes ago, pastryani said:

Couldn't you bypass the egg white step (fresh or powdered) and just stick with gelatin, or was there a reason to use egg whites?

 

 

When you use egg whites, you can beat them and the hot syrup together, then let them cool down to somewhere around 90F. At that point the gelatin can be mixed in, will still dissolve at that temp, and you have only a little more cooling to do before a safe temperature for piping is reached. There is no worrying about whether the gelatin is going to jell when the temp is still too high for the chocolate. When you use the just gelatin and syrup method, you can't wait for the syrup to cool down because it thickens too much to beat with the gelatin--or at least this has been my experience.

[curls]

I have not done a side by side test but I remember discussion about the texture of the marshallow being better when egg whites are used. Might do a test some day -- maybe the next chocolate & confections workshop!

[MelissaH]

I haven't made marshmallow fluff, but I've made marshmallows both with and without egg whites. I find that the ones with egg whites (I used whites I separated myself) give the marshmallows a flavor I really don't care for, whereas the ones with gelatin alone don't. I have nothing against eggs in general, and I don't mind meringue. For me, it's all about taste.

[pastryani]

Has anyone tried making basil marshmallows? 

 

I've read about steeping basil leaves/dried basil in water overnight, straining, and then using the "basil tea" as your starting liquid.  Another recipe boils basil leaves in the syrup (but I'm not sure how those leaves don't scorch at 240F).  Ideally, it would be great to have little green flecks of basil leaves (fresh, not dried) in the marshmallow but I fear that they would (1) turn black pretty quickly, and/or (2) get moldy super fast.

 

Ideas?

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, pastryani said:

Has anyone tried making basil marshmallows? 

 

I've read about steeping basil leaves/dried basil in water overnight, straining, and then using the "basil tea" as your starting liquid.  Another recipe boils basil leaves in the syrup (but I'm not sure how those leaves don't scorch at 240F).  Ideally, it would be great to have little green flecks of basil leaves (fresh, not dried) in the marshmallow but I fear that they would (1) turn black pretty quickly, and/or (2) get moldy super fast.

 

Ideas?

Freeze dried basil bits added late in the game?

[pastryani]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

Freeze dried basil bits added late in the game?

Hmm interesting thought - would it stay crunchy?  That would be a funny texture!     (ps- freeze dried is different than the spices we get in the grocery store, right?)

[Kerry Beal]

2 minutes ago, pastryani said:

Hmm interesting thought - would it stay crunchy?  That would be a funny texture!     (ps- freeze dried is different than the spices we get in the grocery store, right?)

Company called Litehouse sells freeze dried herbs. It would lose it's crunch with the water in the marshmallow. 

[pastryani]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

Company called Litehouse sells freeze dried herbs. It would lose it's crunch with the water in the marshmallow. 

I'll try it out, thanks!

[AAQuesada]

Fresh Origins  the microgreen company makes some great herb crystals that I think would work perfectly for this application!

 

http://www.freshorigins.com/our-products/crystals

 

 

Edited February 1, 2018 by AAQuesada (log)

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, AAQuesada said:

Fresh Origins  the microgreen company makes some great herb crystals that I think would work perfectly for this application!

 

http://www.freshorigins.com/our-products/crystals

 

 

 

I have some of those - might be interesting to see what they do under the influence of the water in marshmallow.

[AAQuesada]

Or maybe dip the marshmallow in white choc then sprinkle as a garnish on the outside. In any case I thought I'd put it out there as it's an interesting product. 

[pastryani]

12 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I have some of those - might be interesting to see what they do under the influence of the water in marshmallow.

 

I have some too (rose flavor).  I imagine they'd melt since they're made with sugar?

[pastryani]

12 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

Or maybe dip the marshmallow in white choc then sprinkle as a garnish on the outside. In any case I thought I'd put it out there as it's an interesting product. 

 

Hmm that could work!  I have to get some freeze dried basil and crystals and try this now haha!

[pastryani]

Update:  I made the basil marshmallows - it worked, but tasting basil in a sweet application will take some getting used to.  Maybe if it's paired with another flavor... Also, I'll be curious to see if the basil suspended in the mallow browns after a few days.  

[Pastrypastmidnight]

On 2/17/2018 at 9:33 PM, pastryani said:

Update:  I made the basil marshmallows - it worked, but tasting basil in a sweet application will take some getting used to.  Maybe if it's paired with another flavor... Also, I'll be curious to see if the basil suspended in the mallow browns after a few days.  

I bet strawberry basil would be yummy and not as unfamiliar tasting in a sweet confection as straight basil. 

[Pastrypastmidnight]

I made a two layer Meyer lemon and blueberry marshmallow using Greweling’s formula and method. For the lemon I used Meyer lemon juice to bloom the gelatin and added zest at the end with a little citric acid. For the blueberry I used blueberry purée reduced by half and vanilla bean paste stirred in at the end as per his instructions. On day 1 they were fabulous. Well balanced—I could taste both fruit flavors and the play between the tart lemon and the mellow blueberry was really lovely. However, the blueberry flavor faded quickly. By day 3 after making them it was very faint. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

I also slabbed some of the blueberry, added a foot, hand enrobed in dark chocolate and topped with freeze dried berries to boost the blueberry. Super fun, but I am missing the intensity of the blueberry that was present initially. I want to try nightscotsman’s recipe next and see if the flavor is better retained. 

Edited March 16, 2018 by Pastrypastmidnight (log)

[Jim D.]

13 hours ago, Pastrypastmidnight said:

I made a two layer Meyer lemon and blueberry marshmallow using Greweling’s formula and method. For the lemon I used Meyer lemon juice to bloom the gelatin and added zest at the end with a little citric acid. For the blueberry I used blueberry purée reduced by half and vanilla bean paste stirred in at the end as per his instructions. On day 1 they were fabulous. Well balanced—I could taste both fruit flavors and the play between the tart lemon and the mellow blueberry was really lovely. However, the blueberry flavor faded quickly. By day 3 after making them it was very faint. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

I also slabbed some of the blueberry, added a foot, hand enrobed in dark chocolate and topped with freeze dried berries to boost the blueberry. Super fun, but I am missing the intensity of the blueberry that was present initially. I want to try nightscotsman’s recipe next and see if the flavor is better retained. 

 

Beautiful job of making and dipping the marshmallows. I have had the same experience with the flavored marshmallows. The strawberry ones (nightscotsman's recipe) retained a little strawberry flavor, but only a little. Passion fruit ones (I think of passion fruit as a very assertive flavor that overpowers almost anything else) lost all taste of the fruit after a few days.

[Pastrypastmidnight]

28 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

 

Beautiful job of making and dipping the marshmallows. I have had the same experience with the flavored marshmallows. The strawberry ones (nightscotsman's recipe) retained a little strawberry flavor, but only a little. Passion fruit ones (I think of passion fruit as a very assertive flavor that overpowers almost anything else) lost all taste of the fruit after a few days.

That’s really disappointing as I don’t usually gift them the day I cut them. Have you tried incorporating freeze dried fruit powder? I wonder if that would help with flavor retention. The lemon is still beautiful and tart even a week later, although I’m losing the floral quality specific to Meyer lemons. 

 

Edited to add: thank you so much for your kind words. Sorry—when I am in problem solving mode I sometimes forget my manners   

Edited March 16, 2018 by Pastrypastmidnight (log)

[Jim D.]

10 minutes ago, Pastrypastmidnight said:

That’s really disappointing as I don’t usually gift them the day I cut them. Have you tried incorporating freeze dried fruit powder? I wonder if that would help with flavor retention. The lemon is still beautiful and tart even a week later, although I’m losing the floral quality specific to Meyer lemons. 

No, I haven't used fruit powder. Might make a difference. By the way, I find that even vanilla fades somewhat--even though I use a lot of it to mask the unpleasant flavor of the gelatin. Another possibility is to add concentrated flavoring. Amoretti has some natural ones. I have tasted the pineapple and mango, and they are delicious and powerful. As for blueberry, after making my own purée and concentrating it to make a ganache for chocolates, I eventually gave up because the flavor was too muted to be recognizable.