Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 1)

[Sethro]

There should be no need to freeze them. They'll only be in 85-90 degree chocolate for a second or so. Plus, refridgerating or freezing marshmallows is a bad idea since their moisture levels are very sensitive, being nearly 100% hydroscopic.

[CanadianBakin']

Any ideas for other coatings as an option to coconut? I use sweetened shredded coconut on the strawberry marshmallows and it not only tastes good, it looks very pretty. Gives the impression of fairy cakes for tea time. But reading through this thread again, I see caramel and chocolate which would be delicious but not suitable for my purposes, and toasted coconut. Has anyone tried something different? Or do you have ideas that would work well with the marshmallow texture? I'm just looking for some brain-storming to give me options.

[Beanie]

Any ideas for other coatings as an option to coconut? I use sweetened shredded coconut on the strawberry marshmallows and it not only tastes good, it looks very pretty. Gives the impression of fairy cakes for tea time. But reading through this thread again, I see caramel and chocolate which would be delicious but not suitable for my purposes, and toasted coconut. Has anyone tried something different? Or do you have ideas that would work well with the marshmallow texture? I'm just looking for some brain-storming to give me options.

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After cutting the marshmallows I rolled them in graham cracker crumbs and dipped them diagonally in chocolate. My chocolate skills are virtually non-existent, but they tasted good.

[Genny]

How about finely ground nuts? That souds pretty good to me. Walnut and marshmallow?

[techno foodie]

I've been making these marshies for a while now, ever since I first saw this thread. Until now, though, I've only tried "normal" flavors like vanilla, chocolate and peppermint.

This weekend I tried pumpkin, based on someone's suggestion here (sorry - forgot the name!). Just replaced the strawberry puree with pumpkin pie filling (with spices incorporated). Oh, and I added a bit of color, making them a pretty pale orange after they were done.

Everyone I've given them to seems to like them, though I don't think it's a flavor I will make for myself again. Eaten plain, they have a slightly "off" flavor - not sure if it's from the pumpkin or the spices.

Anyway, I have been dreaming of making a peanut butter variety. Does anyone know if this would, in fact, work? I thought I could add the peanut butter to the sugar syrup and then pour the whole thing in with the gelatin mixture. Will this work, or would the oil in the PB create havoc with the final product?

Regardless, this is such a great recipe. Thank you for sharing!

[amccomb]

Anyway, I have been dreaming of making a peanut butter variety.  Does anyone know if this would, in fact, work?  I thought I could add the peanut butter to the sugar syrup and then pour the whole thing in with the gelatin mixture.  Will this work, or would the oil in the PB create havoc with the final product?

Regardless, this is such a great recipe.  Thank you for sharing!

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I've been wondering about peanut butter, too. I thought I read farther upstream in this thread that fat will keep the mixture from whipping up well, so you will end up with flatter, denser marshmallows. My thought was to go ahead and whip up plain marshmallows, but then fold in the peanut butter at the end. I still haven't tried this, though!

Keep us posted!

[Pam R]

Bicycle Lee - I made Neil's marshmallow yesterday, using 30gm of pure agar-agar powder.

I must have the marsmallow jinx or something coz it didn't turn out right!

I don't know what went wrong. I heated the sugar mixture up to 240F. And then whisked it but it never turn fluffy. I beat for a total of 25 mins before giving up. It remained syrupy.

I just made a batch with agar. I used 1 oz. I have absolutely no experience with agar or gelatin, so I wasn't really sure of what to do. It thickened up a bit, but didn't get stiff and voluminous.

My agar is flaked, not powdered. Am I supposed to bring the agar to a boil and simmer it? I know that Neil's recipe calls for sprinkling the gelatin into the strawberry/water mix - but I don't think this works with the agar. I did heat up 1/2 cup of water and added the agar but it immediately soaked up the water and did nothing. And can I then let the agar sit or does it need to hit the water just before the hot sugar mixture is added? Will the whole thing work if I add the simmered agar to the hot sugar mix once it's already beating in the mixer?

Any thoughts?

[taylor214]

I made 8 batches of these marshmallows today only to realize that I had forgotten the salt! Is this going to affect anything significantly? They tasted fine in the gooey stage (still have to set overnight), but I'm wondering if the missing salt dramatically affects the final product?!?

Quick replies will be appreciated as these are for a wedding on Friday and I would have to re-do everything tomorrow if necessary...

THANKS!

[CanadianBakin']

I don't know for sure, but I think it's just a flavor thing. I think they'll be fine.

[Betts]

Has anyone tried the recipe with brown sugar? I'm thinking that this might give a caramel -ly flavor to the marshmallows.

[miladyinsanity]

Bicycle Lee - I made Neil's marshmallow yesterday, using 30gm of pure agar-agar powder.

I must have the marsmallow jinx or something coz it didn't turn out right!

I don't know what went wrong. I heated the sugar mixture up to 240F. And then whisked it but it never turn fluffy. I beat for a total of 25 mins before giving up. It remained syrupy.

I just made a batch with agar. I used 1 oz. I have absolutely no experience with agar or gelatin, so I wasn't really sure of what to do. It thickened up a bit, but didn't get stiff and voluminous.

My agar is flaked, not powdered. Am I supposed to bring the agar to a boil and simmer it? I know that Neil's recipe calls for sprinkling the gelatin into the strawberry/water mix - but I don't think this works with the agar. I did heat up 1/2 cup of water and added the agar but it immediately soaked up the water and did nothing. And can I then let the agar sit or does it need to hit the water just before the hot sugar mixture is added? Will the whole thing work if I add the simmered agar to the hot sugar mix once it's already beating in the mixer?

Any thoughts?

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You need to bring to boil the water with the agar-agar in it, or it won't set.

I don't know how this applies to marshmallow making, but the longer the liquid boils, the harder the resulting jelly will be.

[Pam R]

You need to bring to boil the water with the agar-agar in it, or it won't set.

I don't know how this applies to marshmallow making, but the longer the liquid boils, the harder the resulting jelly will be.

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thanks - i did try another batch yesterday that seemed to work a little better. But 1 oz. of agar needs a lot more than 1/2 cup of water to boil. So I probably added another cup of water, and watched the agar grow and grow. Then I was concerned that it was too much extra water (and agar) to add to the marshmallow mix - so I held some of it back. It never got 'stiff'.

So now I don't know how much agar to use, and how much water I can add.

[miladyinsanity]

Pam, did you dissolve the agar-agar into the water before boiling it? You can use hot water for this step.

I use powdered--a Thai brand that my grand-uncle living near the Thailand-Malaysia border gets for my mom--so I don't know whether flaked makes a difference.

[Pam R]

Pam, did you dissolve the agar-agar into the water before boiling it? You can use hot water for this step.

I did.. and it sucked the water up instantly. So when I placed it on the stove, it started to stick to the pot, so I immediately added the extra water. I'm not giving up, I'm just not sure which way to go.

[miladyinsanity]

Pam, did you dissolve the agar-agar into the water before boiling it? You can use hot water for this step.

I did.. and it sucked the water up instantly. So when I placed it on the stove, it started to stick to the pot, so I immediately added the extra water. I'm not giving up, I'm just not sure which way to go.

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That's just plain weird because nothing should happen until AFTER you bring it to a boil.

Maybe you should add a touch of sugar to the liquid? I'm not sure about this, though. Maybe somebody else will have a better idea.

What does it say on the packaging?

[Pam R]

What does it say on the packaging?

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It says to add 4 tbsp. of flakes to 4 cups fruit juice or stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until dissolved.

Now the original recipe calls for 1 oz. of gelatin - should I be using less agar? 1 oz. of agar needs much more than 1/2-3/4 of a cup of water to simmer for 5 minutes and dissolve.

[miladyinsanity]

Well, I don't know how much this helps, but I checked mine, and it gives me a ration of 1 gram of agar-agar per 100ml--and this gives a pretty solid jelly.

I have never used gelatin before.

Edited October 28, 2005 by miladyinsanity (log)

[CanadianBakin']

Inspired by comeundone's coconut cupcakes with mango buttercream, last week I tried a half batch of marshmallows with mango puree and coated them in sweetened shredded coconut. They were a HUGE hit with my family! I added 2 Tbsp extra puree and reduced the water you add to the puree by 2 Tbsp. I also added 1 tsp lemon juice at the end. I thought it might brighten the mango flavour a bit. Although the taste was good and my family thought the texture was fine, it was more dense than the strawberry or vanilla ones. I'm not sure if this was caused by the mango or the lemon. I'll have to try them again without the lemon to see.

[miladyinsanity]

What kind of mangoes did you use?

Some tend to puree out creamier, which might be why. Philippine honey mangoes and sometimes the Indian Alphonse ones tend to be that way, but if you can find Elephant Tusk mangoes (I think they are from Thailand), it *should* work out.

[amccomb]

Inspired by comeundone's coconut cupcakes with mango buttercream, last week I tried a half batch of marshmallows with mango puree and coated them in sweetened shredded coconut. They were a HUGE hit with my family! I added 2 Tbsp extra puree and reduced the water you add to the puree by 2 Tbsp. I also added 1 tsp lemon juice at the end. I thought it might brighten the mango flavour a bit. Although the taste was good and my family thought the texture was fine, it was more dense than the strawberry or vanilla ones. I'm not sure if this was caused by the mango or the lemon. I'll have to try them again without the lemon to see.

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I have heard that there is an enzyme in fresh pineapple, kiwi, mango, and a few other fruits that mess with gelatin. Maybe that's why they are a little different?

[CanadianBakin']

What kind of mangoes did you use?

Some tend to puree out creamier, which might be why. Philippine honey mangoes and sometimes the Indian Alphonse ones tend to be that way, but if you can find Elephant Tusk mangoes (I think they are from Thailand), it *should* work out.

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I used a can of Alphonse mango puree from the Indian section at the grocery store. I've never heard of Elephant Tusk mangoes and the selection of imported fruit where I live isn't great so I think I'll have to manage with what I've got.

I have heard that there is an enzyme in fresh pineapple, kiwi, mango, and a few other fruits that mess with gelatin. Maybe that's why they are a little different?

It could very well have something to do with this although it had no problem setting up. I think next time I'll try using less gelatin since it was firmer than usual. I've no idea if that will help but it can't hurt to try.

[Patrick S]

I have some frozen mango that I was going to use for something else, but mango marshmallows sound more interesting. I wonder if I should boil the puree first, or if the sugar syrup itself will heat the puree sufficiently to degrade the gelatin interfering enzyme.

[miladyinsanity]

Could be the other way around too Patrick.

The freezing could have denatured the enzyme already.

[Joni]

I use frozen (which I thaw) Perfect Puree Passionfruit all the time when making my marshmallows...

[Patrick S]

I tried mango marshmallows. I subbed about 2T of lemon juice for some of water that is added to the puree. I noticed that the puree+gelatin was not as solid as it is when I use strawberry, so I added an extra packet of gelatin. The marshmallows whipped up and set just fine, and the texture seems the same as that of the strawberry marshmallows.