Marshmallows |
||||
| Ingredients | Notes |
|||
| 3 sachets Dr Oetker unflavoured gelatine 2 cups granulated sugar 4 cups icing sugar 1/4 cup water 157mils (2/3 cups) Dr Oetker liquid glucose (Corn syrup) ½ cup of water (to rehydrate gelatine) Red food colouring (This is optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
Cooking Time: | Prep Time | ||
| Ready in: | ||||
| Method | ||||
| Have all ingredients ready. You’ll need a 9inchx9inch square pan lined with parchment or wax paper sprinkled with icing sugar, a candy thermometer, mixing balls, a large 4qt pan, an electric mixer and some spatulas. 1. Prepare equal amounts of cornstarch and icing sugar into a bowl. Set aside. 2. Pour gelatine into a mixing bowl. Add ½ water. Give it a stir and set aside. 3. Combine 2 cups of granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water and 2/3 cups corn syrup in a small saucepan. 4. Bring mixture to a boil. Insert candy thermometer and let it register 244ᴼF. 5. Immediately remove from heat and pour sugar mixture into the gelatine mixture. Add a pinch of salt Mix thoroughly for about fifteen minutes. 6. Once mixture is fluffy, add vanilla extract and food colouring. Pour the mixture onto the prepared square tin. 7. Leave to set overnight at room temperature. In the morning, once set, cut into squares. Dip the squares of Marshmallows in 4 cups of icing sugar and place in a container. |
||||
| Additional notes | ||||
| Tip: It’s a good idea to oil spatula, spoon and hands to smooth the marshmallow fluff in the pan. To cut your marshmallows into squares you can use a pizza cutter or large kitchen scissors. I find these tools great to cut marshmallows, especially the scissors. Marshmallows make a wonderful gift. You can also use cookie cutters to cut the marshmallows into all sorts of whimsical shapes. |
||||
Did you know that Marshmallow is actually a plant? No? Well it actually is. The scientific name for the marshmallow plant is Althea Officianalis, a plant that originated from Africa. The plant was mainly used for medicinal purposes. The plant was a great anti-inflammatory. The Egyptians used the roots of the plant to make a confection in medieval times that led to our modern day Marshmallow.
Leave it to the French in the 19th century to come up with this fluffy confection we now call Marshmallow. The French made the first Marshmallow as a throat lozenge that resembled a bon-bon. French cooks used the fluffy root extract of the Althea Officianalis plant and combined it with egg yolks and sugar to make a pasty, fluffy confection. In later years French cooks replaced the plant roots and used gelatine instead. Thus, the modern-day Marshmallow—that soft, fluffy, ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ confection we have grown to love was born. In 1917 Marshmallow crème was invented by Archibald Quakery
The Moon Pie, a chocolate-covered graham cookie with marshmallow fluff in the middle, was invented in the 1925 and helped to glamorise Marshmallows. The Fluffer nutter sandwich was invented in 1925 along with the invention of Marshmallow Fluff. This sandwich consisted of two whole wheat slices of bread. One slice is topped with peanut butter and the other with Marshmallow Fluff. It wasn’t until the 1960’s, however, that the Fluffer nutter spread like wildfire amongst the people of the United States.
