Thanks byu.edu for the borrowed internet image.
I love sturdy marshmellows, but they aren't available where I live. There are two choices of marshmellow in my vicinity, soft or soggy.
I've tried every variation of soft, raw, chocolate covered, even roasted over a nice fire, turned lovingly when I thought it was just done perfectly, all puffed up and toasty. I've even flame blasted some, but then I taste, Nope. Yuck.
I dislike that squishy sigh that fresh marshmellows make as my teeth sink in. It's just as distasteful as soggy marshmellows; these are the ones that I have attempted to "force harden" and failed.
But sturdy marshmellows? Perfect! Like al dente, just hard "to the tooth." Tough enough that it takes effort and a jerk of the head to bite into the tough exterior and then a twist of the remaining puff to pull off a piece. It's still chewy in the center, not Lucky Charms hard, like chalkboard to the teeth hard, but just the perfect hard.
You can't buy them like that. If you buy them from the store already solid, that's bad. These mallows are stale not sturdy. There is really no other word that fits them. They've been abandoned, left alone on the shelf, neglected until it's too late. The best that can happen to those is to be buried in a fruit salad.
So, I attempt again to make sturdy mallows, and resolve to be more diligent. I open the bag and watch them carefully, turning and tending, while they sit and absorb atmosphere overnight. I've even stuck them in the freezer hoping that the "frost free" method would harden, yet dry simultaneously. But, no luck. I just don't have it in me to force production in this environment.
I have to send them to a different place, a dry, arid, less than ideal in every other way, place. And out there alone, it seems that sturdy marshmellows seem to happen almost accidentally. You fling them usunder, into the world in casual abandon, without protection, into the air to let them toughen up. And then you wait patiently and given time, (it seems like overnight,) they become something different. Their whole texture changes and they improve.
And when I get back to them, they are just as sweet, but deep down... better, so much better.
Let's hope it works with kids.
I love sturdy marshmellows, but they aren't available where I live. There are two choices of marshmellow in my vicinity, soft or soggy.
I've tried every variation of soft, raw, chocolate covered, even roasted over a nice fire, turned lovingly when I thought it was just done perfectly, all puffed up and toasty. I've even flame blasted some, but then I taste, Nope. Yuck.
I dislike that squishy sigh that fresh marshmellows make as my teeth sink in. It's just as distasteful as soggy marshmellows; these are the ones that I have attempted to "force harden" and failed.
But sturdy marshmellows? Perfect! Like al dente, just hard "to the tooth." Tough enough that it takes effort and a jerk of the head to bite into the tough exterior and then a twist of the remaining puff to pull off a piece. It's still chewy in the center, not Lucky Charms hard, like chalkboard to the teeth hard, but just the perfect hard.
You can't buy them like that. If you buy them from the store already solid, that's bad. These mallows are stale not sturdy. There is really no other word that fits them. They've been abandoned, left alone on the shelf, neglected until it's too late. The best that can happen to those is to be buried in a fruit salad.
So, I attempt again to make sturdy mallows, and resolve to be more diligent. I open the bag and watch them carefully, turning and tending, while they sit and absorb atmosphere overnight. I've even stuck them in the freezer hoping that the "frost free" method would harden, yet dry simultaneously. But, no luck. I just don't have it in me to force production in this environment.
I have to send them to a different place, a dry, arid, less than ideal in every other way, place. And out there alone, it seems that sturdy marshmellows seem to happen almost accidentally. You fling them usunder, into the world in casual abandon, without protection, into the air to let them toughen up. And then you wait patiently and given time, (it seems like overnight,) they become something different. Their whole texture changes and they improve.
And when I get back to them, they are just as sweet, but deep down... better, so much better.
Let's hope it works with kids.
2 comments:
It's creepy how similar our writing is.
Creeped out, Dia.
I bet you could make some really sturdy marshmallows in Silver Peak. Our humidity is around 4% most days. Perhaps they would get too crispy, I don't know. If marshmalows were gelatin free, I could test some for you, but I am trying to reduce the amount of hoof in my diet:)
John
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