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Little Lab Coats: Marshmallows

Writer's picture: Maria WheelerMaria Wheeler

Updated: Jan 10



home made marshmallows

Hot chocolate is a popular treat all over Europe and the US. France has a particularly strong reputation for delicious hot chocolate. The most common toppings of hot chocolate are marshmallows and whipped cream. Homemade whipped cream is very easy to make but marshmallows are a little more difficult and interesting to make.


The most important ingredient in marshmallows is gelatin. Gelatin is an animal product and comes from the thermal denaturalization of collagen found in animal bones. It is a clear substance that consists of glycine, proline, and 4-hydroxy proline residues. Gelatin is used in food products, makeup, and many other products as an act of preservation. You can buy it at a grocery store in a couple of different forms; powder, sheets, and gel. To use gelatin you melt it down to add to food or other products. When it cools to form a substance it becomes a signal molecule and is unable to form hydrogen bonds.


When you use gelatin in a recipe you have to prepare it in different ways. When you make jello you use powdered gelatin and dissolve it in hot water. When you use it to make many other gelatinous foods you use a different kind of gelatin. The sheets of gelatin are used in restaurants and bakeries and for more complex replies. Heat it in water and let it bloom. This marshmallow recipe uses powdered gelatin to make it simpler.


You are going to need an adult for this recipe.


 

The materials


  • 14.5 oz white sugar

  • ⅓ cup agave syrup or 1/4 cup corn syrup

  • ½ cup water increase water to ⅔ cup if you’re not using agave or corn syrup

  • ½ cup water for the gelatin

  • 7 tsp gelatin (3 packets of Knox gelatin 21. 6 g)

  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

  • Dusting powder

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar sifted

  • ½ cup cornstarch (cornflour)


 

The Recipe

  1. Put the sugar corn syrup and water into a pot and stir it until it's mixed.

  2. Heat over medium heat until it starts to boil. Don't stir the pot but swirl it.

  3. Cover the pot and let it cook for two minutes then clip a thermometer to the side of the pot and wait till it is 245 degrees Fahrenheit.

  4. Put half a cup of gelatin in the ½ cup of water and let it bloom for 10 minutes. Put it in your stand mixer.

  5. Pour the sugar mixture into the side of the bowl to not overheat the gelatin.

  6. Whisk the mixture on medium for 3-5 minutes until the mixture has doubled in size and is very fluffy and smooth. Mix for another 3-5 minutes unless the mixture has cooled down.

  7. Put parchment paper in the baking dish you're going to use and cover it with a lot of butter.

  8. Put the marshmallow mixture in the prepared pan and smooth it.

  9. Let it sit for six hours and use an oiled knife to put the marshmallows into their shape.

  10. Use the dusting powder to keep the marshmallows from sticking.



 


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