Marshmallows
Marshmallows were originally made with the sap of the root of the marsh mallow plant instead of gelatin. The sap was cooked with egg whites and sugar and whipped into a foam. This foam hardened when cool and was cut up and used as a type of throat lozenge (marsh mallow sap reportedly acts as a cough suppressant). In the late 1800's, the marsh mallow sap was replaced with gelatin, and egg whites were phased out of most mass produced recipes.
Ingredients
- 3 envelope Knox Gelatin
- 1/2 cup Water Cold
- 2 cup Sugar
- 2/3 cup Corn Syrup Karo
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Prepare a 9x13-in. glass baking pan by greasing it with butter and sifting powdered sugar over it to coat the bottom and sides.
- Pour the water and gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer to allow the gelatin to bloom. Allow the gelatin to bloom for ten minutes.
- Add the Sugar, Corn Syrup, and Water, and boil until it reaches 250 degrees F (hard-ball stage)
- Run the mixer at low speed while drizzling in the boiling sugar syrup. Once the syrup is mixed in, turn up the speed a little and added about 1/4 tsp. salt.
- When the mixture begins to fluff up, scrape down the bowl and turned up the speed to high.
- Once the volume of the marshmallow stops increasing, add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Stop the mixer after it is mixed in.
- Pour the marshmallows into the prepared pan and allow to sit uncovered overnight.