One of the great things about food is there’s always something new around the corner, be it a vegetable or exciting newly introduced seafood or meat. Food and its variety are truly infinite. But often even better than finding a new culinary experience is rediscovering an old one.
On cooking a barbecue during the week I got a sudden bright idea to toast up a few marshmallows. Sticky, sweet, and lightly caramelised, a toasted marshmallow is definitely one of the great forgotten culinary masterpieces. And with a few simple sweet dips such as chocolate, caramel, or maybe strawberry sauce, a neat plate of marshmallows can really make a fantastic dessert, in particular at the end of a barbecue. Often on looking at marshmallows it’s easy to conclude that they are a highly processed food, to be avoided at all costs. And indeed this is most likely to be the case with the commercially bought variety. But not to worry, because making marshmallows fresh is surprisingly simple. A marshmallow is more or less a meringue which is set with gelatine. Natural flavours can be added and also the recipe lends itself to experimentation, once the basics are mastered.
So for tasty fresh marshmallows:
350 gram sugar
0.5 tbsp of glucose syrup
0.15l water
20 gram leaf gelatine
2 egg whites
Place the water, sugar, and glucose into a sugar pan and bring to 127°C, use a sugar thermometer.
Soak the leaf gelatine in a little water then dissolve in 0.1l of water, keep warm.
Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks. When stiff and while continuously whisking add the hot syrup. Then add the dissolved gelatine. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.
Line a tray with lightly oiled grease proof paper, pour the mixture into the tray and smooth the surface. Allow cool for around five hours before turning out. When turned out cut the marshmallow into cubes.
Finish in whatever way you see fit, maybe dipping into warm chocolate, tossing in pre roasted desiccated coconut, or best of all toasting over a barbecue or camp fire on a perfect summer evening.
