Marshmallow/nougat bonbon

[Louisedk]

Hi  im doing a RECIPE where i wanna have nougat in or marshmellow … but im bit concerned about add eggwites? I want It to have a okay shelf life too… any with some Odenses pr advise ?

[curls]

Nougat has a great shelf life — just need to keep it from drying out or weeping. Either enrobe it’s in chocolate or use the rice paper wafer sheets and seal in good quality wrappers or bags.

[Jim D.]

6 hours ago, Louisedk said:

Hi  im doing a RECIPE where i wanna have nougat in or marshmellow … but im bit concerned about add eggwites? I want It to have a okay shelf life too… any with some Odenses pr advise ?

 

If the temperature in nougat is high enough, there should not be a concern about egg whites.  But I share your concern about marshmallow.  Many chocolatiers use fresh whites in their marshmallow.  Alternatively you can purchase dried egg whites (and there is a discussion of this on eGullet), but most if not all of them smell and taste terrible.  I use gelatin for marshmallow instead, and it works fine.  It also smells terrible, but I use enough flavoring (vanilla, coffee, strawberry, etc.) to cover up that smell.  There are several eG threads on making marshmallow that will answer almost any questions you may ever have had.  As for its shelf life, marshmallow has enough liquid in it to cause some concern, but in my tests the free water content has been around 0.78, which means its shelf life should be between 5 and 15 weeks (Melissa Coppel) or a maximum of 3 months (Jean-Pierre Wybauw).  Yes, those are very large time spans.

[keychris]

On 8/24/2022 at 5:02 AM, Jim D. said:

 

I use gelatin for marshmallow instead, and it works fine.  It also smells terrible

 

if your gelatin smells terrible, you're using the wrong one  the leaf gelatin I use has next to no odour at all.

[Jim D.]

I use the only brand easily found in grocery stores in the U.S., Knox (powder form).

[Louisedk]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:02 PM, Jim D. said:

 

If the temperature in nougat is high enough, there should not be a concern about egg whites.  But I share your concern about marshmallow.  Many chocolatiers use fresh whites in their marshmallow.  Alternatively you can purchase dried egg whites (and there is a discussion of this on eGullet), but most if not all of them smell and taste terrible.  I use gelatin for marshmallow instead, and it works fine.  It also smells terrible, but I use enough flavoring (vanilla, coffee, strawberry, etc.) to cover up that smell.  There are several eG threads on making marshmallow that will answer almost any questions you may ever have had.  As for its shelf life, marshmallow has enough liquid in it to cause some concern, but in my tests the free water content has been around 0.78, which means its shelf life should be between 5 and 15 weeks (Melissa Coppel) or a maximum of 3 months (Jean-Pierre Wybauw).  Yes, those are very large time spans.

That sounds interesting about the gelatine method.. anywhere I can see an recipe ? I wish more would add the aw in recipes though:D just startet a class about it and calculating and I think it’s difficult especially becurse I’m no good at math !!! And don’t know how to use an excel hahah 

[TdeV]

Hello @Louisedk. Welcome to eG!

[Jim D.]

19 hours ago, Louisedk said:

That sounds interesting about the gelatine method.. anywhere I can see an recipe ? I wish more would add the aw in recipes though:D just startet a class about it and calculating and I think it’s difficult especially becurse I’m no good at math !!! And don’t know how to use an excel hahah 

 

For information on all things marshmallow, you should read through the eGullet threads on marshmallow (a search will lead you to them).  As for a recipe using gelatin, check out the one many people use, also on eG:  

As far as Aw goes, Wybauw's recipes provide a reading, but such information can only be approximate because ingredients, environments, techniques differ so much from one person to another.  Something like the fat percentage of cream can make a difference, similarly water content of butter and amount of fruit solids in a purée.  In my opinion, the only way to be reasonably certain is to purchase a water content meter.  They are expensive, but you can read on eGullet of brands people have recently found that are less expensive but still give accurate readings.  It's good to bear in mind, however, that even an accurate Aw meter can give slightly different readings of the same substance over time, and as water evaporates, the reading will change a little.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Jim D. (log)