Caramel apple marshmallows from A Little Bit Of Sweet. Photo by River Soma | THE NIBBLE.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

STEPHANIE ZONIS is a Contributing Editor.

 

 

March 2011

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Candy

The Best Gourmet Marshmallows

Page 3: Need A Recipe With Marshmallow?

 

This is Page 3 of a 4-page overview of gourmet marshmallows, followed by reviews of our favorites marshmallows in Part II. Click on the black links below to visit the other pages.

OVERVIEW

PART II: THE BEST GOURMET MARSHMALLOWS

 

Recipes With Marshmallows

Potential customers question what they would do with gourmet marshmallows. Everyone understands that marshmallows are great in a cup of hot cocoa and a requirement for s’mores.

I can tell you from experience that some of these marshmallows are great in hot coffee or tea, homemade rocky road, or atop a sweet potato casserole, and you can often incorporate them into bars with butter and crisp rice cereal. But people are constantly asking what else they can do with them.

I asked half a dozen producers for their suggestions, and some were innovative indeed

  • Topping a slice of warm apple pie with a cinnamon or caramel marshmallow
  • Topping a warm brownie with a compatibly-flavored mallow
  • Using marshmallows to garnish alcoholic drinks
  • Floating them atop a bowl of soup (think of autumnal flavors on a hot pumpkin or sweet potato bisque, or a springtime flavor on a bowl of strawberry soup
  • Melting marshmallows to use as a dessert sauce
  • Giving them as baby or bridal shower favors

An extreme suggestion came from Stewart & Clark Fine Foods, in which a multiple-layer chocolate ganache cake was topped with their Chocolate Chip Marshmallows and slathered in homemade caramel sauce (before you call the Diet Police, recognize that this was concocted for a pregnant woman who adores chocolate, caramel and marshmallows).

Ginny O’Neill, proprietor of DreamPuff Marshmallows, has given this question a lot more thought than most other people I asked. Her responses for what one can do with marshmallows ranged from:

  • Include gourmet marshmallows on a holiday cookie tray
  • Fresh fruit brulée (topping fresh fruit with gourmet marshmallows, then reaching for a handheld torch to toast the marshmallows)
  • A simple presentation in long-stemmed glass bowls, to her own take on beggars’ purses (beggars’ purses are crêpe or phyllo dough “pouches” with fillings; Ginny suggests filling the pouch with lemon marshmallows, a few raspberries and white chocolate, heated in the oven for a few minutes and dusted with powdered sugar)

More:

  • Crumbles Cookie Factory has a Toasted Brûlée Dipping Sauce into which you can dip their marshmallows.
  • A very adult use for upscale marshmallows was suggested by Samantha Aulick, owner of 240Sweet Artisan Marshmallows. 240Sweet makes enormous marshmallows that are chewier than others I tasted for this article, but that solid structure makes them ideal for Samantha’s purpose. She hollows out one of the company’s Avocado & Lime mallows to use as a shot glass for tequila!

But most importantly, these fine confections should be enjoyed on their own, like a quality caramel or a piece of chocolate. Hopefully, given the hard work by the artisans, gourmet marshmallows are on the verge of a similar breakout.

I tried some wonderful marshmallows in researching this article. Those of you who have read my other extensive reviews know that my favorites tend to be few and far between. By comparison, I have a large number of favorites here.

I hope that what you read will inspire you to try marshmallows new to you, because there are artisan manufacturers of this confection who deserve your business.

 

 

Continue To Page 4: What’s New in Artisan Marshmallows

Go To The Article Index Above

 







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