Marshmallows
Practical Action
• If using the starch moulding technique transfer the bowl containing the mixture to a
boiling water bath and heat sufficiently to allow the batch to be poured into the starch
mould. A large icing bag is very useful. Allow pieces to set. Pack in polypropylene.
Polythene is okay but the shelf-life is shorter.
• If using the oiled and floured tray technique the additional heating method using a water
bath may not be necessary. Therefore, pour mixture in the prepared tray. When set,
process as in the flow diagram.
As can be seen from these two recipes there is no blueprint recipe for making very good quality
marshmallows. Different climates, different equipment and different qualities of raw materials
in different countries around the world are reasons for this. Hence, it is emphasised that
although the above recipes will produce acceptable marshmallows, the small business person or
group should continually strive to improve their products. Although an element of this will come
through increased familiarisation with the ingredients and process over-time, making deliberate
small changes to the recipe and recording these changes and the quality of the final product will
result in positive steps towards the development of a product with optimum quality
characteristics.
* A note on invert sugar
The normal sugar which you can buy in the shops has the chemical name of sucrose and is
composed of two different sugars: one unit of glucose joined to one unit of fructose. The
inversion of sugar is the chemical breaking of the link between the glucose and fructose units
which results in a mixture of: sucrose units, glucose units and fructose units. This mixture is
known as invert sugar. (Complete inversion to glucose and fructose has special applications in
the food industry.)
In certain food processing activities this inversion process is very important. For example in the
case of marshmallow the inversion process is necessary to increase the storage life of the jam by
minimising the chance of the sucrose going back to its crystalline form which is unsatisfactory
for good quality marshmallows.
References and further reading
Snack Foods a selection of Practical Action Technical Briefs
Food Chain Journal No 22 – Jan 1998, ITDG
Marshmallows y Gomas Practical Action Latin America
Marshmallows y Gomitas Enriqucidos Uña de Gato, Practical Action Latin America, 2002-03 -
21 ISBN 9972 47 082 2
Practical Action
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Practical Action is a development charity with a difference. We know the simplest ideas can have the
most profound, life-changing effect on poor people across the world. For over 40 years, we have been
working closely with some of the world’s poorest people - using simple technology to fight poverty and
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