Homemade Marshmallows Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the three main ingredients in marshmallows? ›

A typical marshmallow contains sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin, plus some air. That's it. “A marshmallow is basically a foam that's stabilized by gelatin,” says Richard Hartel, a food engineer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In marshmallows, the foam is made up of air suspended in a liquid sugar mixture.

Even just a couple degrees too hot or too cool makes all the difference. If the sugar isn't cooked hot enough, they'll be mushy (and possibly contribute to the "soggy" factor mentioned above). If the syrup is cooked too hot, they'll set too firm and chewy and lack volume.

In marshmallows, the foam is made up of air suspended in the liquid sugar mixture. Gelatin is probably the most important part of a marshmallow, because it serves as the scaffolding that keeps all the sugar and flavor goodness in place and gives the marshmallow its stretchy, gooey texture.

Marshmallows are made of sugar, corn syrup (sugar), water and gelatin. They can have other things added for flavor and color, but that's it. The magic is how the ingredients are combined. Marshmallows are a scaffolding of sugar and gelatin that stays rigid enough to become a network of stable air bubbles.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

In a Sealed Bag With Bread

Set the bag away from direct light and in a cool, dry place. The bread pulls moisture out of the air and away from the marshmallows to keep them fresher for longer. Get more tips about baking cookies on our Baking Tips Pinterest board.

Most commercially available marshmallows contain gelatin, which is a jelly-like substance derived from the collagen of the bones of many animals including fish, cattle and pigs. While much gelatin is derived from the bones of pigs, no meat is present in the sweet marshmallow product.

The marshmallow needs to be whipped till it makes stiff peaks. At this stage, the marshmallow can hold a soft shape for a moment before collapsing back into itself. If the mixture cannot do this, it will be too runny. If you mix past this point, you'll have a thick, rigid that doesn't spread easily in your pan.

But don't slack off, because too few or too many strokes will mess up your marshmallow. "Overmixing takes away from the fluffy texture," Barbera says. "Underwhipping is a big problem," Hergatt adds. "You want the proper aeration so that it sets nice and pillowy."

That cornstarch will absorb all of the sticky moisture on the surface of your marshmallows, which will cause them to lose their syrupy texture and smoothly separate from each other. You won't ruin the great sweet taste of the marshmallow either since cornstarch has a neutral flavor.

Can you overbeat marshmallows? ›

If it sinks back in immediately, keep beating. Here's another secret: the only time I've ever screwed up making marshmallows was when I over-beat the batter. We're not after meringue-like "stiff peaks," here. That's a wee bit too much, and you might have a giant bowl-shaped marshmallow on your hands like I did.

Unfortunately, they're not. “Marshmallows are not vegan because they contain gelatin, an animal protein derived from the ligaments, tendons, and skin of animals, such as cows and pigs,” explains registered dietician Grace Pascale.

Marshmallows are a sweet treat that many of us enjoy with hot chocolate, on top of sweet potatoes, or even shaped into peeps at Easter time. But these fluffy white puffs aren't very nutritious. Marshmallow ingredients usually include just sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin.

Marshmallows are made from sugar, water, and gelatin. Gelatin is usually made by boiling bone and hide from cattle and pigs. Hooves were also used historically, but not so much now.