Marshmallows in Hot Chocolate

I am curious to know why people like (or dislike) marshmallows in hot chocolate.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on March 23, 2011 at 5:46pm

Tradition, it's colourful and because it revives childhood memories? It's cheap for manufacturers to tart up a second rate product? In NZ there is a huge tradition of adding a marshmallow coated chocolate frog as a gift with a hot beverage. Fairy bread is equally odd. Adding artificial colours and gelatine to a quality chocolate seems absurd.

I'm also guessing that a decent marshmallow with a natural flavouring such as vanilla could be a nice complement to a coffee or chocolate. Perhaps the tradition was borne of that and has been corrupted over time.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 23, 2011 at 6:47pm

Yeah, New Zealand has a massive tradition of marshmallows and chocolate, a friend of mine was telling me that about half of the chocolate bars in NZ have some form of marshmallow in them.

Perhaps looking back to when it all started, the first marshmallow to sully a hot chocolate, that may provide some insights. I am hoping that perhaps some Americans can comment as for some reason I associate marshmallows in hot chocolate with the USA.

Personally, I find marshmallows revolting, probably on par with fairy floss (candy floss) as the most horrible confection. That said I have not made my own marshmallows and I usually find that if I make something myself the traditional way they result is lightyears ahead of the mass produced filth.

For me marshmallows are too sweet to add to a good hot chocolate and the huge vanilla hit or God forbid strawberry hit you get from adding them totally overpowers the chocolate. Perhaps you are right and a hand made more subtle variety is required to understand why it was done in the first place....or perhaps it was a sugar addict that did it!

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Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on March 23, 2011 at 7:14pm

I doubt they have seen much actual Strawberry. More likey the "natural" strawberry flavouring methyl cinnamate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_cinnamate extracted from the leaves of the Strawberry gum or Eucalyptus olida.

Crazy plant. I have some of the leaves and even after years of storage (because they taste awfull) the smell of Strawberry is very strong.

That wiki link is fascinating. I wonder if anyone actually uses marshmallow to make marshmallows any more!

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 23, 2011 at 10:43pm

I have been thinking of using Stawberry gum in chocolate making, there is a place that makes ice-cream with it in http://www.bushtuckericecream.com.au/

Do you know anywhere to get it from I know the Melbourne Food Depot does it http://www.mfcd.net/store/categories.asp?cID=4&c=244157

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Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on March 24, 2011 at 1:24am

Sure I got mine from http://www.playingwithfire.com.au/. I'd seriously warn you off trying to use the leaf directly. The steam distillation of the methyl cinnamate does not sound too unnatural or toxic but it's probably like having vanillin instead of vanilla i.e. no of the delicious complexity of reality.

If your looking for an interesting bush tucker taste have you tried the native raspberries, bunya nut processed correctly, davidson's plums, finger limes (caviar inclusions?) or riberries?

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 24, 2011 at 2:34am

I have thought about using other bush tucker flavours but not done anything.

With the strawberry gum I was thinking about grinding the dried leaf into the chocolate until the texture is indistinguisable from the chocolate itself. I have done this with coffee and cinamon with great results, perhaps the strawberry gum leaf would not be potent enough?

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Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on March 24, 2011 at 6:03am

Definitely potent enough. It's the strongest strawberry smell I've ever come across. I'm just not a fan of the lingering dried eucalyptus leaf finish :-)

Finger limes are in season and in good supply this year. Riberries are over. Bunya nuts just over. Davidsons mid way. Raspberries not started yet.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 23, 2011 at 6:55pm

Wow, I am enlightened http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallow however still no info on the first marshmallow in a hot chocolate.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 24, 2011 at 2:50am

Seems I have an answer http://www.marshmallowfluff.com/pages/history1.html. It looks to me like marshmallows in hot chocolate is a product of marketing, the marshmallow company buys a hot chocolate mix company and then promotes the use of both products together to make more sales. Makes dollars and cents.

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Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on March 24, 2011 at 6:08am

I'd love to get an original marshmallow recipe i.e. marshmalow and sugar. I'm guessing the original is nothing like the sad chemical imitation we have now and vegans would love it

Rocky road with real marshmallow and good chocolate! Maybe rosewater or real strawberry and real vanilla. We could start a revolution!

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Permalink Reply by cheebs on March 24, 2011 at 9:02am

We already do (natural) vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, mango and passion fruit marshmallows using the Valrhona recipe. They are truly delicious and are relatively inexpensive to make. No relation whatsoever to the mass-produced bag crap. Huge (huge!) sellers, both in naked and chocolate covered form.

The vanilla marshmallows, burnt a little with a blowtorch, play beautifully with hot chocolate.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 24, 2011 at 6:25pm

Well Cheebs, you are a man whose opinion I value greatly when it comes to chocolate so I will give making marshmallows a try and dare to put them with my hot chocolate. The blow torch idea is great, that would be excellent I think both visually and making that plain sugar note complex.....brilliant! What a statement.