Marshmallow: features of preparing and eating soft marshmallows

From the history of sweets

In Ancient Egypt, cooks extracted a sticky white mass from the marshmallow root, mixed it with honey and nuts and formed candy. This sweetness was not only tasty, but also healthy - marshmallow has pronounced anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties.

The Egyptians used crushed marshmallow root to treat purulent wounds; the juice was used for coughs and as an enveloping agent for stomach diseases. An infusion of leaves and flowers was used to improve digestion.

Marshmallow inflorescence Photo: Bernd Haynold, ru.wikipedia.org

In the Middle East, marshmallow root was not valued as highly and was considered a poor people's food.

In France, sweets similar to Egyptian ones were very popular until the 19th century. Then production was simplified by replacing the labor-intensive process of extracting the jelly-like substance from marshmallow with gelatin and starch.

It should be noted that marshmallows are often called little marshmallows, but this is incorrect, although marshmallows taste a little like traditional marshmallows.

• Classic marshmallows contain applesauce, rich in pectin, and egg white.
• Marshmallow is made from sugar or corn syrup and gelatin.

The modern version of this sweet appeared in the middle of the last century in the USA, when Alex Doumak invented an automated technological line for the production of marshmallows. All components were supplied through pipes into a container, mixed and at the final stage extruded into the shape of a cylinder, which was cut into portions and sprinkled with a mixture of corn starch and powdered sugar.

Photo: Depositphotos

Nowadays, nuts, berries, vanilla, cinnamon, various colors and flavors are added to marshmallows, and they are produced in chocolate or caramel glaze.

And in the USA, roasting marshmallows over a fire has become widespread. At the same time, the pieces increase in size, become covered with a brown crust, and inside become airy and viscous. At home you can fry it in a frying pan.

Also, pieces of this sweetness are added to cocoa, coffee, ice cream, various desserts, fruit salads, and decorate cakes and pastries.

Photo: Depositphotos

Marshmallow cake mastic

And now another secret of lozenges. What could the humble looking marshmallows have in common with these luxurious cake toppers?

It's hard to believe, but all this splendor is created with the direct participation of these sweets. Marshmallow mastic has long become the main assistant for confectioners. The plastic mass molds perfectly and retains its shape, even if it is in a warm room.

Covering and decorating cakes with marshmallow fondant is a classic in confectionery. This art has been mastered not only by professionals, but also by ordinary housewives who want to please their loved ones with beautiful holiday desserts.

Try making marshmallow mastic yourself: the recipe is amazingly simple, but requires care and adherence to technology. The result should be a mass similar to plasticine. Here is one simple option.

How to make mastic from marshmallows

• white marshmallows - 320 g;
• powdered sugar - 1 - 1.5 cups;
• lemon juice or water - 1 tbsp;
• food coloring.

Melt the marshmallows in a water bath or in the microwave (10-30 seconds at maximum power) until they swell. There is no need to overexpose it. When heated for a long time, the marshmallow loses its elasticity and the mastic will not hold its shape.

Next, remove the bowl from the pan and, while stirring the mass, gradually add powdered sugar into it. When it becomes difficult to stir with a spoon, use your hands. Add powder until you get an elastic sweet dough that does not stick to your fingers.

The mastic should be tightly wrapped in film and allowed to stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. After this, you can roll out the covering and make decorations.

Attention! Dye is added to marshmallow mastic in several ways. If you need a large amount of colored mastic for covering, it can be added to the melted candies. If you want to make multi-colored figures and decorations, it is better to mix the dye into ready-made pieces of mastic, cut for specific elements.

Here's another recipe for mastic. Here the yield of the finished product is greater due to the addition of gelatin and butter with the same amount of marshmallows:

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Marshmallow mastic: recipe and video master class

By the way! The mastic can be stored for quite a long time. It does not spoil in the refrigerator for 1.5 months. The freezer will keep the product fresh for up to six months.

Now that you've learned how to make marshmallow fondant, it's time to dive into the internet to learn how to create exquisite decorations with it.

Marshmallow Recipes

Marshmallow at home is quite easy to prepare if you follow the proportions and technology. The products are the most common. The only thing you need to have is a mixer - it is difficult to beat the mixture by hand to the desired consistency.

One of the non-standard (with egg whites) recipes for making this sweet is very simple, as a result we get tasty marshmallow pieces without chemical additives.

• So, take 400 g of granulated sugar, 350 g of water, 50 g of gelatin, 2 egg whites, 15 ml of corn syrup (can be replaced with invert syrup); for rolling - half a glass of powdered sugar and half a glass of potato starch.

Soak the gelatin in half the water for 30 minutes. In a saucepan, mix the remaining water, sugar, corn syrup, put on low heat, heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

Beat the whites until foamy, add a tablespoon of sugar and beat again.

Pour the heated syrup into the gelatin and whisk gently. At this stage, you can beat by hand (or at low speed with a mixer) until the gelatin is completely dissolved in the syrup.

Then combine the mixture with the egg whites and beat in a mixer at high speed until a thick, fluffy mass is obtained.

Pour into a wide bowl lined with parchment greased with vegetable oil and level the surface. When it thickens, cut into pieces and roll thickly in a mixture of powder and starch. Place in a colander and shake off excess powder.

Photo: Depositphotos

Marshmallow with this method of preparation turns out sweet and airy. It will be a great addition to hot coffee or cocoa.

If you want to get sweetness with a natural fruity taste and aroma, use berry juice instead of water. Also, in the dessert recipe, instead of water, you can use brewed coffee or cocoa - we will get the corresponding marshmallow taste.

And in conclusion - a more complex (or rather, longer in terms of cooking time) classic recipe .

• You will need: 200 g of water, 400 g of granulated sugar, 25 g of gelatin, 150 g of invert syrup, 1 teaspoon of vanillin, a pinch of salt; cornstarch and powdered sugar for dredging.

• For invert syrup you will need: 300 g of sugar, 130 g of water, 1 g of citric acid (one third of a level teaspoon), soda on the tip of a knife.

A few words about invert syrup: it has anti-crystallization and moisture-binding properties; it can be used instead of corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup; confectionery products prepared with it are not sugared during storage.

First, cook the invert syrup . Pour water into a saucepan, add sugar, put on fire, bring to a boil while stirring, add citric acid, close with a lid and leave on low heat for 30 minutes, during which time the syrup will acquire a slightly golden hue. We dilute the soda in two teaspoons of water and pour it into the slightly cooled syrup. After 5-10 minutes, the foam formed during the cooking process will settle to the bottom.

Photo: Depositphotos

Next step: pour gelatin with 100 grams of cold boiled water.

While the gelatin is dissolving, cook the syrup: pour 150 g of invert syrup into the pan, the remaining water, add sugar and salt, bring to a boil while stirring, cook over low heat for 5-6 minutes.

Heat the soaked gelatin in a steam bath until completely dissolved. Next, pour it into a large bowl and beat with a mixer for 2-3 minutes. Continuing to beat the gelatin, gradually pour the hot syrup into it.

Beat at high speed for about 8 more minutes, add vanillin, continue beating until you get a thick viscous mass.

Pour the resulting mass into a pastry bag and squeeze the strips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment (the parchment must be greased with vegetable oil).

Sprinkle the frozen marshmallow strips with a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Lubricate the knife or scissors with vegetable oil and cut the strips into pieces, roll them in a mixture of powder and starch, place them in a colander and shake off excess powder.

Photo: Depositphotos

Now you can brew a cup of coffee, throw a few marshmallows on top and enjoy the variety of coffee flavors and aromas. If you pre-fry the pieces in a frying pan, the flavor shades will change - light notes of caramel will appear.

And if you use your culinary imagination when making marshmallows, you will get a natural sweetness with various additives, tastes and aromas that will certainly appeal to adults and children.

How to eat marshmallows?

Marshmallow is not very common in Russia, so many people don’t even know how to eat it or what can be done with it. There are many options, and we will enlighten you.

You can eat it just like that

Opening the package and filling your mouth with soft, sweet lumps is a purely childish pleasure, which, however, is not alien to many adults. Marshmallow is a completely ready-to-eat product, so you don’t have to invent anything and enjoy it just like that. The lozenges are sprinkled on the outside with a thin layer of starch, and on the inside they are tender and melt in the mouth.

If your children try this delicacy, then you won’t have much of a chance to do something fancy with marshmallows - the open package will be empty very quickly.

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Marshmallow and cocoa - made for each other

A cup of hot chocolate in America is considered incomplete without a few pieces of marshmallows. Little white lumps melt without a trace in hot cocoa - children love it. It cannot be said that adding marshmallows greatly affects the taste of cocoa (except for some sweetness), but there is something wonderful and cozy in this tradition. You can also put a small marshmallow in your coffee, this is an option for adults.

The combination of cocoa and marshmallows is an established classic in the US, like apple and cinnamon or borscht and sour cream. Therefore, they are often even sold together. For example, in the picture you can see a package of a hot chocolate mixture that contains marshmallow pieces.

Roast marshmallows on fire

American schoolchildren spend another interesting experience with marshmallow candies on hikes, country walks and home picnics. However, it can also be arranged in the yard at the dacha, the main thing is to light a fire.

To roast marshmallows over a fire, just place the candy on a wooden stick and hold it over the fire for a while. It suddenly begins to swell. In this case, a crispy layer of caramel is obtained on the outside, and an airy, viscous mass is formed on the inside. Try taking a pack of marshmallows to your next picnic. Your children will definitely be delighted.

In this video you can learn how to cook marshmallows over a fire, although the video is in English, you can still clearly see what happens to marshmallows when heated:

The marshmallow melted over the fire is then often placed between two cookies or crackers, often with an additional piece of chocolate added. This sandwich is called a s'more, and no camping trip with children in America is complete without this dessert.

In principle, the same can be done at home using an oven or microwave. All you need to do is put a marshmallow between two crackers and melt it in the microwave. Fast, tasty, effective, even a child can do it!

Decorating cakes and cupcakes

Small sweet lumps of marshmallows, white and multi-colored, are widely used by confectioners and housewives to decorate various desserts. The decoration can be simple, but effective - just throw snow-white marshmallows on the surface of the cake in a contrasting color. But you can come up with something more complicated.

Small, neat marshmallow pieces are also great for decorating small portioned desserts. For example, take a look at these cupcakes.

Marshmallows are also used to make more fancy decorations, for example, for children's parties. White lozenges make excellent sheep and snowmen.

Cocoa with marshmallows - recipe

Cocoa with marshmallows practically does not change in taste, except perhaps acquiring some sweetness, but it becomes more impressive in appearance and attracts a much more children's audience than a drink without additives. In a hot drink, marshmallows melt without a trace, creating a certain intrigue that children especially like.

Ingredients:

• cocoa – 30 g;
• milk – 200 ml;
• sugar - to taste;
• marshmallow – 15 g.

Preparation

1. Milk is mixed with cocoa, sweetened and whipped using a coffee machine.
2. For traditional use, cocoa is poured with hot milk and stirred until lumps dissolve.
3. Before serving, add marshmallows to the cup of drink.

Cheesecake with marshmallows without baking

Knowing that marshmallows are such a versatile treat that can be used as an alternative to gelatin, you can create an incredibly delicious cheesecake without resorting to baking. Instead of soft cottage cheese, you can take mascarpone, which is used to create an original dessert.

Ingredients:

• cookies – 300 g;
• butter – 120 g;
• sour cream – 330 g;
• cottage cheese – 600 g;
• marshmallows – 400 g;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp. spoon;
• jelly for cake.

Preparation

1. Grind the cookies in a blender.
2. Add butter, 30 g of sour cream, mix and form the base for a pie with a bottom and sides from the mass in a springform pan.
3. Beat cottage cheese and sour cream in a blender.
4. Heat the marshmallows until melted, mix with the curd mass and lemon juice.
5. Pour the cream into the mold and refrigerate for 4 hours.
6. Pour the cheesecake with marshmallow jelly and let it harden.

Pros and cons of drinking coffee with marshmallows

The advantages , of course, include the incredible taste. You can also come up with many variations of coffee with marshmallows, meaning almost everyone can create something to suit their taste. The advantage of the drink is that even those who don’t really like coffee can drink it, because the sweet soufflé will add a creamy and delicate taste, overpowering the bright astringency.

But there is also a minus - calorie content. Both marshmallows and sugar in coffee are quite energy-rich. In addition, such an abundance of glucose may be harmful to certain groups of people.