Gelatin = pork and beef odds and ends
Agar Agar = seaweed
Both gel things. Perfect for jello. Also perfect for marshmallows?
I’ve wanted to make marshmallows since I realized they were a thing that could actually be made, not only manufactured in big, mysterious factories. They’re really easy, but they generally involve a whole lot of high-fructose corn syrup. And cornstarch. And my all-time least favourite pork product next to tete fromagée (head cheese in English, though there’s no actually cheese involved) – gelatin.
But in walks this handy vegan substitution for gelatin. Agar agar is a powder or a sheet and it’s gaining popularity among vegans and molecular gastronomists alike for it’s ability to wobble. Not like regular jello, not like the leaning tower of jello, but not bad.
So I figured if it could make successful jello it could also make successful marshmallows. Not with the recipe I used, it didn’t, but next time, Mr. Brown, I’ll be coming to you and replacing one-for-one your corn syrup with honey. It sure isn’t the same, but it might work a little better than this recipe. I also skipped the refined sugar since I found coconut sugar. I don’t like other crystal sugar replacers (xylitol, stevia) for taste and scary chemical reasons whose long-term effects are unknown (also aspatame, sucralose, maltose, maltitol, etc).
I followed the recipe correctly ansd everything worked fine, but the final product didn’t have the texture of a marshmallow. It was more like a jelly. Like one of those cornstarch fruit gellies. Fresh and delicious, mind you, but not a marshmallow. And if you’re going to use all that honey and sugar it better be good. Light and fluffy. Well, I guess it’s my fault because I always say that vegetarian food shouldn’t try to impersonate the meat versions (vegan ground beef, vegan shepherd’s pie, vegan faux chicken) when it can do great things on its own.
I also used too wide a dish, so they were too thing. Whoever saw a short marshmallow? Stunted at birth, these were. Boy they tasted good, though. Essentially, pure honey.
So if you’re looking for fresh vanilla-honey jellies, and a less-refined sugar high, here’s a great recipe.
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