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June 10, 2009
Adventures in candymaking
So last night I tried another new marshmallow recipie. I used the one found in the book Homemade Gourmet Marshmallows by Eileen Talanian. I should talk about the book later.
As for the marshmallows, boy, did I screw them up.
I followed the instructions and ended up with marshmallows that are more like taffy than marshmallows. Not that it's really a bad thing, just not what I was aiming for.
I think I lnow what I screwed up, and it's kind of basic. In the beginning, the author has you make a something she calls "marshmallow syrup" (better than light corn syrup, because you know, no corn). You are supposed to cook it to 240 degrees. My guess is that I over cooked it. I base this idea on Alton Brown's show on candy making. If you over cook the sugar syrup, it becomes crystallized. As the "syrup" I made continued to cool, it became more and more like rock candy. Again, not a bad thing, just not what I was going for.
The mashmallows made from the "syrup" taste good, but they are not marshmallows per se.
So I'll try again. I'll cook the syrup to a lower temp (the recommended fix for this sort of issue) and try again.
Posted by Matt at June 10, 2009 2:23 PM