Marvelous Marshmallows

Jacob and I made Marshmallows. I believe that this is one of the coolest things I have done so far in my life. Jake has only been alive four+ years so I can safely say it is top on his list of cool things as well.

Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

I love the Food Network. Alton Brown hosts a show called "Good Eats" which takes a very scientific approach to cooking. Jacob really enjoys watching it with me. Recently the show devoted to marshmallows aired. We recorded the show with our DVR so we could refer back to it as we attempted to make the little white fluffy wonders.

We watched the episode again just before we left for the grocery store. We were missing a few ingredients. Jacob was so excited that he held the recipe we had printed off the Internet and was reading off all the items that we needed over and over. He helped me fill the cart and then put them all on the check out belt. He told everyone that would listen all about our plans to make homemade marshmallows.

After we arrived home we placed all of our ingredients on the counter so we could take an inventory and make sure we had all the right tools.

This recipe assumes that you have an electric stand mixer. I'm sure it can be done with a hand mixer it just means more work for the person doing the cooking. By the way it is very much worth the effort.

Once we had everything we needed we began the process. The sugar and corn syrup have to be cooked on the stove until they reach a specific temperature. I was taught by my mother and grandmother the old ball method. Which meant that you would check what stage the syrup was at by seeing how it reacted when a small amount was dropped into cold water. This was the first time I have actually used a candy thermometer and I did not stir the syrup while it was cooking. Not stirring was very hard. But I was trying to be a good student of Alton's and follow his instructions exactly.

My obedience paid off. After the syrup reached 240 degrees and was untouched by me. I placed it very carefully into the mixer with the gelatin. The mixer then took over. With the whisk attachment and turned all the way to the highest setting it ran for 15 minutes all by it's self.

The next step is very time sensitive. The instant the mixer stops spinning the marshmallow starts to setup ... or harden. You have to get the mixture out of the bowl and into the pan super fast. And it is very sticky.

Jake had a great time taste testing the marshmallow goo before it was set up. The four hours we had to wait before we could cut them into marshmallow size pieces was almost too much to bear.

Well we followed instructions very well and the marshmallows turned out perfectly. I mean PERFECT. I have never had a better tasting marshmallow in all my life. I will never purchase them from a store again.

Here is a shot of the finished product. Yes they are a little green. Jake wanted green marshmallows so we added a little bit of food coloring to them. Obviously not enough for a deep green ... but a nice light sage. He ate them anyway.

I had to roast one ... of course. I am very thankful I have a gas stove! :)

I can't wait for Thanksgiving! I am excited to put my homemade marshmallows over my candied yams!! YUMMY :)

I won't use the green ones.