Marshmallows

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of your bag of marshmallows? With all of our food allergies, I sure have.  This is the list:

Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Modified Corn Starch, Water, Gelatin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate (Whipping Aid), Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color (Blue 1).

Because of our corn allergy, this is obviously a food we should not be eating. Plus, no one really needs to be eating chemical binders, modified food, and artificial flavors and colors. Anyway, it is not a food we ate a lot, but every now and then, a marshmallow or two would be nice in some hot chocolate or rice crispy treat, you know? So I set about to figuring out how to make them myself.  Of course, my first stop in a recipe search was with Alton Brown! His recipe for marshmallows can be found here. I'm sure they turn out great, but they still have corn on top of corn with a side of corn. ::sigh::  Then across my blog reader came this post from The Nourishing Gourmet! I got excited about trying these right away.  Not only is there no corn or artificial anything, I like using honey instead of refined sugar when I can.  I had never made marshmallows before, but I decided to dive right in!

First I assembled my cast of characters:

And of course, I gather my helpers, too!

Then we put the gelatin in water to soften.

Then we put the honey, water, and salt in a pan to start to boil it together.

It takes a while to get up to 240 degrees, but me and my helpers kept a close eye on it knowing it would have to come off right at 240 on the dot.

After it gets to 240, start the mixer on the gelatin and slowly drizzle the hot liquid into the gelatin until it is incorporated.

Then turn the mixer up to high.

After about 10 minutes, it looks like marshmallow fluff!  I'm wondering if at this point it could be used for a fudge recipe that calls for a jar of marshmallow fluff...

Pour it into a greased pan lined with greased wax paper, then let it sit for 3 -18 hours.  It took all night for mine to get firm enough to slice.

Of course, you have to let the littlest helper lick the beater!

I cannot wait to try these in all kinds of things!