Homemade Vegetarian Marshmallows: A Joyous Discovery

I've been a vegetarian since I was about 7 years old. It was my own decision - once I realized where meat came from, I slowly phased it out. McDonald's hamburgers were the last thing to go (hey, I was 7, after all), but my Dad said they didn't count as real meat anyway. :)

I have never missed meat or been the least bit tempted to return to the life of a carnivore. But when I found out marshmallows had gelatin in them, I had to seriously rethink my values. Marshmallows: fluffy little white bites of joy. Fresh from the bag, stale Easter peeps, roasted over a campfire 'til the outside is papery and charred and the innards are gooey and melted... no matter what form they take, I absolutely adore them. But, agonizing as it was, I stuck to my guns and abandoned my marshmallow-eating ways. And immediately started looking for substitutes.

I'll save you the odyssey-version and give you the novel-length adaptation: essentially there are currently two companies that I know of from which you can order vegetarian marshmallows online. Sweet and Sarah, and Dandies, both of which you can order from Vegan Essentials. But, these are fairly expensive. And besides, aspiring-cook that I am, I was infatuated with the idea of making my own marshmallows after seeing so many other food bloggers posting pictures of their successes online.

After searching for years and pouring through forum after forum (some people said using agar agar worked, others swore they tried it and it didn't... others suggested Kojel, while even more people advised against that), I struck gold. Pie of the Tiger, who shares my marshmallow obsession, posted a trial of a recipe her husband found in Texture: A Hydrocolloid Recipe Collection. I was thrilled! As I write this, there is a pan of marshmallow-goodness setting in the fridge. With any luck, by the time I get to the end of this post, I will be devouring them...

While I wait, practically giddy with anticipation, I'll share the process notes and photos:

Homemade Vegetarian Marshmallow Recipe

Ingredients
60 mL water (approximately 1/4 C)
"pinch" of cream of tartar (I used 1/8 tsp)
255 g sugar, granulated (1 1/4 C)
255 g light corn syrup (4/5 C, or about 6.63 oz)
1/2 vanilla bean (I used 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
85 g egg whites (I used 3 egg whites)
5 g xanthan (0.76%) (I used about 3/4 tsp)

It said to grind the xanthan with a tablespoon of the sugar. The xanthan gum I got looked like it was already ground, but I ground it with the sugar using a mortar and pestal anyway, just to be safe. Set this aside.


Using a saucepan or other pan with a heavy bottom so the sugar doesn't burn, heat the water, cream of tartar, remaining sugar, corn syrup and vanilla to 120º C (or 248º F). This is just barely "hard ball" stage, so I aimed for somewhere between "soft ball" and "hard ball," as I don't have a candy thermometer to gauge the exact temperature. Here is a link to more information on hard and soft ball stages if you're unfamiliar with that. Discard the vanilla bean if using one.

Whisk egg whites for about 2 minutes until still soft. (Always make sure when you're whipping egg whites not to let any yolk sneak into the whites - it will keep it from becoming fully fluffy and stiff.)


Continue whipping egg whites at a low speed while slowly adding the syrup mixture. Sprinkle the xanthan mix on top while still whipping. Turn speed up and continue mixing for 2-3 minutes, or until meringue pulls away from the sides (this only took about one minute for me - you can see how it is now the texture of marshmallow fluff: it got really thick, and started climbing its way up the beaters as I was mixing.)



Sprinkle a pan generously with corn starch and pour in the meringue. Sprinkle the top with cornstarch (not sure why, but I did just in case), cover with plastic, and leave to set for 4 hours in the refrigerator.


Now you can cut the marshmallows into any shape you want! You could even add food coloring, or another flavor besides vanilla (mint marshmallows? strawberry? The possibilities are endless!) Just remember to dip the cut sides in cornstarch or sugar, so they don't stick to everything.

And... I just checked... I have marshmallow success in the refrigerator! So, I will leave you to your baking, and I'll just be, uh... "sampling" my marshmallows here. I'll post finished pictures of the cut ones soon (if there are any left :)