Zen and the Art of Marshmallow Roasting
Roasting marshmallows isn’t just a summer time treat, as you can make them indoors too!
The technique is quite simple: find yourself some oversized skewers, impale one or two marshmallows on one end, position yourself at the opposite and hold the marshmallow over a fire. The trick lies in getting your tasty treat cooked to your preferred taste, this seemingly simple challenge is similar in ordering a med-rare steak in some restaurants.
Getting the outside sugars to caramelize to our discerning palates, while swatting mosquitoes can produce some interesting results. From the Chicago-style being burnt on the outside and blue-rare in the middle to the perfectly cooked foie gras-style of a golden crust with a gooey molten centre.
The basic concept for making S’mores is to create a toasted marshmallow sandwich; this creation showed up in the 60’s and traditionally one uses graham crackers and chocolate. For the next fireside gathering try setting up a buffet for the kids, using After Eight’s, cookies, caramel or cut-up chocolate bars and pieces of sliced fruit. Better yet get ice-cream cones, fill it with roasted marshmallows and set up an assortment of toppings. The night time games of hide and seek or flashlight tag that follows tends to be super charged with the kiddie-crack effects of a sugar high.
Another unique summer time event is watching thunderstorms and the inevitable power outage that ensues. For this I like to keep a bag of mini-marshmallows and wooden skewers on hand as one can ride out the storm by roasting away over the candles and watch the lightning with cottage comfort food.
Now as the early days of winter have arrived we have moved our marshmallow roasting indoors using our wood-fired Heartland cook-stove.
The Marsh Mallow was originally a confection made from the mucilaginous root of the Althae officinalis, a relative of the common Mallow but resembles the Hollyhock. Today’s commercially produced Marshmallows are made from sugar and Gum Arabic and starch.
Roasting safely on an open fire
The first marshmallows were made as a medical confectionery for treating sore throats in ancient Egypt.
They were produced from the mucilaginous sap and roots of the common Musk Mallow plant which were boiled with honey and dried. The result was something akin to a honey flavoured sponge. Recipes evolved to include spices, herbs and colours from natural sources.
French confectioner’s discovered that the Musk Mallow sap could be whipped into a lighter texture as air bubbles became trapped within the sticky mass and further enhanced this by incorporating meringue into the recipe. Modern industrialization saw the recipe for of marshmallows change into a simple blend of sugar, gelatin and cornstarch. Today the Musk Mallow plant is considered to be an invasive weed while its ornamental cousin, the Hollyhock enjoys its ornamental limelight.
If you’re stuck for ideas for what to do for Valentine’s Day why not make up a batch of marshmallows and serve them for dessert. You can serve them with chocolate, graham crackers and candles to produce tableside S’mores. The following recipe is easy to use and can include Canadian sugar extracted from sugar beets.
Be aware that this recipe can make a sticky mess out of your kitchen if not approached with care. Keep plenty of warm water on hand to clean up any spills as you go. Make sure that you dust everything with icing sugar that you don’t want coated with marshmallow.
All smore’d up
Marshmallows
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. powdered gelatin
½ cup cold water, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Food colouring optional
Method:
In a small bowl, whisk together the gelatin and half of the water. In a medium sized, stainless steel sauce pan, combine the granulated sugar and the remaining ¼ cup of water. Whisk this over medium –low heat until all of the sugar is dissolved.
Whisk the dissolved gelatin into the sugar water and quickly bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes. Do not leave the pot unattended as its contents will double in size and easily boil over.
Remove the pot from the stove and transfer its contents into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the contents at a low speed setting for 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla, salt and a couple of drops of food colouring if you choose. Increase the speed on your mixer to maximum and let it run for 8-10 minutes. At which time you should have a large sticky white mass of something that looks like shiny icing and smells like marshmallows.
Liberally dust your work space with icing sugar and pour the marshmallow mixture onto the sugar coated area. Let the mixture rest for about five minutes before completely dusting its surface with more icing sugar. Gently push the dough out until it reaches a thickness of about 1 inch. You can now cut out the marshmallows with a knife or cookie cutters and transfer them to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Let the marshmallows sit out for 45-minutes before serving. Marshmallows will store in a sealed air-tight container for 3-5 days. Yeilds: 30-40 marshmallows.
Rasi says you know they are good when they are sticky!
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