TOP PHOTO: Elegant drops of homemade
marshmallow cream at Guard and Grace
Restaurant | Denver. BOTTOM PHOTO:
Chocolate “Fluff” from Sugar and Spice and
Everything Nice.

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff, it seems, is a popular undertaking. This first recipe is from Kimberly Reiner of Momma Reiner’s Fudge.

You’ll need a candy thermometer, ideally a clip-on thermometer or an all-purpose thermometer with a good range; as well as a stand mixer. A simple hand mixer and a bowl won’t do because you’re working with boiling syrup, and need guaranteed stability. We also recommend thick clothing and a vinyl (waterproof) apron to guard against spatters.

You can vary the flavors of the marshmallow creme beyond vanilla; for example, with lemon extract or maple extract, or a tablespoon of instant coffee or cocoa powder. A recipe for gingerbread marshmallow creme is below.

RECIPE: HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOW FLUFF

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the egg whites with an electric beater or an electric stand mixer with the whisk attachments, until light and frothy. With the mixer running, slowly incorporate 2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until soft peaks form.

2. COMBINE 1/3 cup water, the corn syrup and 2/3 cup sugar in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture boils, watching constantly and stirring occasionally. Raise the heat to medium high and cook until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, 240°F on a candy thermometer (10-15 minutes). If the hot syrup bubbles up the sides, briefly lower the heat or remove the pan from the heat. When the syrup goes back down to level, raise the heat and continue cooking.

3. WITH the mixer on low, slowly add the hot syrup to the beaten egg whites. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue beating for 6-8 minutes. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until mixture looks like marshmallow creme, 2-4 minutes more.

4. COOL and store in an airtight jar. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month. We particularly like it atop a cup of hot chocolate.

Here’s a holiday-flavored version of marshmallow creme, from Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice. She has also created a strawberry marshmallow cream.

Renni advises: “Please keep children and pets clear of the kitchen while making this. The sugar syrup reaches temperatures that can burn should an accident occur.”

Ingredients For 2-1/2 Cups

1. STIR together the sugar, corn syrup, molasses, water and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, with a clip candy thermometer attached to the side. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally, until it reaches 240°F. Meanwhile…

2. ADD the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start whipping the egg whites to soft peaks on medium speed.

3. MEASURE the spices into a small bowl or ramekin. When the syrup reaches 240°F, set the mixer to low speed. Slowly drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of the hot syrup to warm the mixture (if you add too much hot syrup at once, the egg whites may scramble.). On low speed, slowly drizzle in the rest of the syrup, the vanilla and all the spices; then increase the speed to medium-high. Beat until the marshmallow creme is stiff and glossy, 8-10 minutes.

4. COOL and use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF MARSHMALLOW FLUFF

Marshmallow dates back to ancient Egypt. The marsh mallow plant that was plentiful along the banks of the Nile has a slippery sap that forms a gel when mixed with water. The Egyptians mixed the “juice” with honey to make a confection, reserved for the wealthy and the gods.

The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder credited the sap with curing all sorts of diseases, and encouraged people to drink the juice daily, although it wasn’t very palatable (what happened to the honey?). Still, for centuries the sap was used to treat sore throats, skin conditions and other maladies.

In the mid-19th century, a pharmacist in Paris came up with the idea of whipping the sap with sugar and egg whites into a light, sweet, fluffy throat remedy. A variation soon became popular as marshmallow candy.

By the late 19th century, confectioners had determined how to mass-produce marshmallows, which included eliminating the sap entirely and replacing it with gelatin. (Prepared gelatin was patented in 1845; prior to then it was laborious to render and clarify gelatin from cattle and pig bones, skin, tendons and ligaments; and in addition to setting aspics, it was desirable as glue, a use that dates back to ancient Egypt.).

Marshmallow sauces were popular in the early 20th century (see Marshmallow History). But to make marshmallow sauce or frosting required that the cook first make marshmallow creme. It was a two-step process: make a sugar syrup, melt marshmallow candy in a double boiler, and combine them with the syrup.

In 1910 a marshmallow creme called Marshmallow Fluff was sold to ice cream parlors by Limpert Brothers, a company that still exists in New Jersey. You can see the original packaging on their website.

Snowflake Marshmallow Creme was available around 1914. The first commercially successful, shelf-stable marshmallow creme, it was produced by the Curtis Marshmallow Factory of Melrose, Massachusetts.

They ultimately bought the Marshmallow Fluff brand from the Lippert Brothers (details). Marshmallow Fluff wasn’t the first marshmallow creme, but it’s the one that endured: 94 years later, the brand is still around.

Unlike conventional marshmallows, which require gelatin (an animal product) or a seaweed equivalent to set, marshmallow creme is a kosher product made from corn syrup, sugar, water, egg whites, artificial flavor, cream of tartar, xanthan gum and artificial color.

Marshmallow Fluff is OU Kosher, Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme is OK Kosher. Ricemellow Creme, manufactured by Suzanne’s Specialties, Inc., is a vegan equivalent.