Are Marshmallows Vegetarian-Frendly?

[yvegeny]

My sister has recently become a vegetarian, and someone she knows claims that marshmallows have meat products in them. Can anyone clarify this? We have found online that gelatin may contain meat byproducts, but cannot verify the truth of the websites. Some of them kind of look a little fanatical. We would appreciate any help we could get. Thanks.

[Pam R]

I don't know what type of veg. she is... but if she's still eating fish, she can have kosher marshmallows - they're made with fish gelatin. It is true that reg. ones contain animal gelatin.

A couple of OK brands are Bloom's, Bloomies and Granny's.

[srhcb]

My sister has recently become a vegetarian, and someone she knows claims that marshmallows have meat products in them. Can anyone clarify this? We have found online that gelatin may contain meat byproducts, but cannot verify the truth of the websites. Some of them kind of look a little fanatical. We would appreciate any help we could get. Thanks.

←

You could make your own using vegetarian gelatin. (Emes brand)

Or, buy Kosher marshmallows!

SB (do vegertarians eat smores?)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Gelatin is derived from the bones and other tissue from animals or fish, and is used in a number of applications. It forms the basis of marshmallows and gelatin desserts and into yogurt and ice cream. There are kosher marshmallows which are usually available in the spring around Passover. Various brands available.

[nightscotsman]

Some members here have experimented with using agar agar to replace gelatine in marshmallows. You can read about there efforts here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...358&hl=homemade

Yeah, it a long (long) thread, but what you're looking for will probably be nearer the end (newer posts).

[Pam R]

Some members here have experimented with using agar agar to replace gelatine in marshmallows. You can read about there efforts here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...358&hl=homemade

Yeah, it a long (long) thread, but what you're looking for will probably be nearer the end (newer posts).

←

I've been through all the pages of that thread and can't find anybody who actually used the agar. (I could have missed it though). I have some agar now and will try the recipe when I get a chance.

[Rebecca263]

Smucker's Marshmallow topping SEEMS vegan by the ingredients...HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, WATER, CORN STARCH-MODIFIED, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: TITANIUM DIOXIDE (COLOR), CELLULOSE GEL, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), BLUE 2. But, on close inspection, it's Kosher Dairy! Must be those artificial flavors.... still, this got me thinking about the different kinds of recipes for marshmallows that I've seen. There is the corn syrup version, the brown sugar version, the rice syrup version... and then I remembered...Ricemellow! It's a really tasty marshmallow creme ala Marhsmallow Fluff. I don't know how to put up an eGullet friendly link to it online, so you'll have to search a little. I've had a few different vegan marshamallows, so I know it's do-able, I just don't know the logistics of it. Must be cellulose gum or agar agar. They were pretty good, too.

[Redsugar]

Yvegeny, et. al. – Pangea brand is available:

http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html...itemsperpage=12

[chezcherie]

tiny trapeze makes vegan marshmallows

clickety

apparently they are out of stock online, but there are a lot of stores that carry them.

Edited October 9, 2005 by chezcherie (log)

[LCS]

Sadly it was discovered that Emes is not vegetarian. They've been lying all these years...

http://www.vegparadise.com/news53.html

[Rebecca263]

Regarding Emes products (which I have never used myself) I've read the ingredient labels and they contain carageenan. Doesn't carageenan have some protein in it? I'm confused.

[lperry]

Doesn't carageenan have some protein in it? I'm confused.

←

Carageenan is from seaweed (big algae). It does have protein in it, but it is not an animal product.

-Linda

Edited to say: It looks like they were testing for animal-specific protein when the company claimed to use only plant-based protein. The article is a little unclear.

Edited October 10, 2005 by lperry (log)