The humble marshmallow is infinitely better when made at home just remember these unabashed sugar bombs should be a rare pleasure

Ive always been fairly indifferent to the marshmallows fluffy charms. Sure, there was a time when Flumps were my recreational drug of choice for a quick sugar hit, but the sticky top of the Tunnocks teacake has always been the flipside of that buttery biscuit base, while fancy restaurant petits fours never felt worth the extra calories. Rather like their close relative the meringue, the marshmallow just seemed too simple to be interesting a one-dimensionally sweet sponge fit only for binding together rice crispy cakes or burning on a barbecue, but certainly not worth spending much time or effort on. Turns out sometimes even Im wrong. This is one of those things that is infinitely better made at home the texture lighter; the flavour, well, the flavour is just about anything you want it to be, from vanilla to Sichuan peppercorn, and the process, well, its nothing short of magic.

The egg question

Marshmallows are, like many so things involving eggs, a lot easier to master once you understand the basic chemistry involved. According to Harold McGees On Food and Cooking, the secret lies in whipping air into a mixture of sugar syrup and gelatine the protein molecules in the latter collect in the bubble walls, and this reinforcement, together with the viscosity of the strip, stabilises the foam structure, keeping the air in as the mixture cools.

Egg white, though traditional, is not vital here, but does give softer, more delicate results. Indeed, several of the recipes in which I try using it are so fragile, they are hard to shape, while the sole dairy-free recipe has a pleasing bounciness about it familiar from commercial versions. Perhaps my palates been spoilt by all those Flumps.

As a bonus, the egg-free versions keep better, which can only be a good thing when so much sugar is involved. That said, the difference is surprisingly slight, so I would be very interested to hear other peoples thoughts on the matter.

The setting agent

As the name suggests, the first marshmallows were set with the mucilaginous root of the marsh mallow plant, which McGee describes as the weedy relative of the hollyhock. These days, gelatine is preferred, though agar-agar, derived from algae, is sometimes used as a vegetarian alternative. The first recipe I try using it, from the Primrose Bakery Everyday book, is a bit of a disaster because Im unable to dissolve the agar flakes in the tiny amount of water called for, giving a set, but grainy result with a very unpleasant, faintly fishy flavour I suspect a typo.

Primrose
Primrose Bakery marshmallow. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

In a nod to my recent flirtation with veganism, I also try an entirely animal-free version from the wonderfully named blog Seitan is My Motor, which uses agar-agar, xanthan gum (a binder) and the brine from a can of chickpeas, a murkily unattractive liquid with miraculous properties. Here, the agar is boiled in a more generous amount of water to dissolve it completely before being added to the mix, and the results are sheer kitchen alchemy how something Id usually tip down the sink can turn into a white fluffy cloud of deliciousness is beyond me, though I do find they dont set quite as firm as the gelatine version. I suspect this is just a matter of tweaking, though and they dont taste anything like chickpeas, I promise.

Seitan
Seitan is My Motor vegan marshmallows. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

Agar-agar yields a firm set, but lacks the satisfying springiness of gelatine, which Id recommend unless you avoid it for dietary reasons.

The sweetener

Theres no getting around it; marshmallows are unabashed sugar bombs and should be a rare pleasure. Most recipes call for a mixture of cane sugar and an invert sugar syrup to hinder sucrose crystallisation and help prevent the finished product becoming too grainy. Michael Ruhlman uses honey in his book Eggs, while a poster on the food forum eGullet by the name of Nightscotsman (whose recipe I see highly recommended elsewhere), goes for corn syrup, and the pastry chef Claire Clark goes for glucose in Indulge.

Nightscotsman
Nightscotsman marshmallows. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

Corn syrup (which, it should be noted, is not the same thing as the infamous high-fructose corn syrup) is hard to come by in the UK and, like glucose, has a neutral, rather boring flavour, while honey should only be deployed if youre looking for honey-flavoured marshmallows. Personally, however, I like the flavour of golden syrup slightly more interesting than corn or glucose, but less assertive than the bee stuff.

The temperature

Most of the recipes I try call for the sugar to be heated to whats known as soft ball stage between 118C and 120C before adding it to the mixer, but Ruhlman takes it up to 140C (hardball) and then allows it to cool to 100C before use. This leaves me completely flummoxed: if anyone with greater confectionary know-how can explain the reasoning behind his decision, Id love to know, but in the meantime, I find it harder to juggle timings without knowing how long the mixture will take to cool down to the precise temperature, so Im going to stick with the more conventional method.

Michael
Michael Ruhlman marshmallows. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

The flavouring

A blank canvas of sweetness, marshmallows can be jazzed up with just about anything you like as long as it goes with sugar, but most of the recipes I try stick with vanilla and, in Nightscotsmans version, orange blossom water (though you can find their chocolate and strawberry versions here). Marshmallows made with fruit puree might require a little bit of experimentation to perfect, given their water content, but bottled essences can be flung in with gay abandon, and lend themselves to more imaginative coating ideas, too. (And you do need to coat marshmallows to dry out the exterior, or you will end up with one big sticky mess of delicious disappointment that you will have to eat yourself. A mixture of corn flour and icing sugar is the standard choice, and I see no reason to deviate from it for this basic version, though crushed petals, freeze-dried berries, cocoa powder and so on would all make nice additions.)

Claire
Claire Clark marshmallows. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

A pinch of salt, as deployed by Clark, Ruhlman and Nightscotsman, may well help with the whipping, and also goes some small way to balancing all that sugar, flavour-wise if not health-wise. As I said, enjoy in moderation.

Marshmallows

Perfect
Perfect marshmallows. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

(makes about 100)

Oil, to grease

14 sheets of gelatine

550g sugar

280g golden syrup

1/4-2 tsp vanilla or other extract of your choice (to taste)

1/2 tsp fine salt

50g icing sugar

50g corn flour

Line a large, shallow baking tray and line with foil or greaseproof paper, and grease. Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water for about five minutes until soft, then squeeze out. Boil a kettle.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, syrup and 175ml water in a heavy-based saucepan and heat, stirring only to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then boil until it reaches 120C.

Meanwhile, put the gelatine in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir until melted to a liquid. Stir in 175ml water and the salt and keep warm.

When the sugar is approaching temperature, tip the gelatine mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and begin whisking at high speed. Then, with the motor still running, very carefully tip the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl, without getting your face too close in case it splashes. Continue whisking at high speed until fluffy, stiff and holding its shape. Whisk in the flavouring to taste.

Pour into the tray and level the top with a greased palette knife. Leave to set, uncovered, at room temperature for at least eight hours.

Whisk together the icing sugar and corn flour and dust the work surface with it, then turn out the marshmallow mixture. Grease a knife and cut into strips, then squares, and dredge each with the icing sugar and corn flour to coat. Store set slightly apart from each other in an airtight box to dry out.

Marshmallows: pointlessly sugary fluff or pure, sweet joy? Teacake or Wagon Wheel, egg white or dairy-free and what do you flavour yours with?

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