Toasting marshmallows is fun, but reloading the stick is difficult, sticky, and a waste of time!
Now, imagine a caulk gun loaded with marshmallow. You squeeze a little out and hold the tip near the fire. Eat the resulting toasted circle, squeeze out a little more and repeat the process. Proceed without pause until the desired degree of hyperglycemia is achieved.-- AO, Sep 22 2003 Marshmallow fluff http://www.marshmal...m/htm/welcome.shtml [kbecker, Oct 04 2004] Fry it instead! http://www.halfbake...Fried_20MarshmallowTHe next step for crispy/gooey crunchiness... [goff, Oct 04 2004] Because everyone likes marshmallow http://www.halfbake...shmallow_20lifeboatmore shameless self promotion [schematics, Oct 04 2004] Tuccelli Marshmallows http://www.marshmallowtemptations.comfluffy & puffy confections - please do not fry [thecheese, Jun 29 2007] This worked for me: Take marshmallow fluff (link), put it into an icing syringe and squeeze on a sheet of aluminum foil over the fire.
I also have a toaster where you can take off the bottom panel to clean out the crumbs. I always wondered if it is possible to let the marshmallow string from the syringe hang through the toaster (bottom panel removed) and have toasted marshmallow come out at the bottom. Never had time to try it.-- kbecker, Sep 22 2003 I'm thinking extrusion mold s'mores... there's no way this could be a bad thing.-- waugsqueke, Sep 22 2003 I like it. +-- half, Sep 22 2003 waugs, an extrusion with a graham-cracker shell, a chocolate lining and a marshmallow core could probably be done with the same machine they use to make Combos®.
kbecker, I hope you have a fire extinguisher near your toaster.-- AO, Sep 22 2003 Yeah, this needs a conveyor belt.-- phoenix, Sep 22 2003 this whole toasting marshmallows is alien to me but this seems a really clever idea. (are USian marshmallows the same as the ones in uk? little square soft, pink and white cushions of sweet nothingness?)-- po, Sep 23 2003 Square?
Our marshmallows are ingeniously sliced, cylindrical confectionary clouds of decadence. Definitely more hip. <g>-- Tiger Lily, Sep 23 2003 They come in all sorts of shapes in the UK including twisted like ropes in multi colours (flumps). We don't toast them though. The only time they get near heat is floating in hot chocolate and that doesn't happen too often. It doesn't live up to the hair shirt, picknicking in the rain UK mentality. Far too decadent and foreign.
I can picture it though, if I concentrate very hard, and while I think it would make me feel a bit sick, there are people who like to stuff themselves with sticky goo so I'll give you a plus.
By the way, what happens to the marshmallow when it's toasted? Does it melt or does it go crispy on the outside? Does the inside melt and, if so, doesn't the molten goo take the skin off your tongue?-- squeak, Sep 23 2003 People that have never toasted marshmallows exist? What's this world coming to?!
It's typically more of a camping tradition than a picknicking one, squeak. If you get it right, it should be a little toasty on the outside, and nice and gooey on the inside.-- RoboBust, Sep 23 2003 I like 'em burned to a crisp on the outside. That way you can suck off the charred skin and repeat until you are sucking a blackened stick.
mmm... carbon.-- madradish, Sep 23 2003 mmm...splinters-- squeak, Sep 23 2003 mmm...what [madradish] said.
Caution: don't use metal skewers in your toaster.-- Tiger Lily, Sep 23 2003 //We don't toast them though//
Speak for yourself!-- yamahito, Sep 23 2003 O.K. [yamahito]. And get you! How cosmopolitan.-- squeak, Sep 23 2003 [Squeak] Me Too! Ah but UB, if you've never had one - what happens when you toast it is that the outside turns into a slighlty chewy crust, and the inside turns into sugary liquid goo so that it oozes down your throat like some sort of sugar laden hot McDonalds Thick shake. And they're low in calories and healthy too apparently!-- goff, Sep 23 2003 *Phlegm* is an oyster on the half shell --raw.-- Tiger Lily, Sep 23 2003 <reading bliss' mind> ...hot, salty phlegm... </rbm>-- FarmerJohn, Sep 23 2003 The key to reducing the phlegminess of a toasted marshmallow is to eat only the toasted circle on the end and leave the gooey raw material for another round of toasting. I can’t stand it when people toast just one layer and then eat the whole thing.-- AO, Sep 23 2003 <toasting one layer and eating the whole thing> Oh, oops! </tolaetwt> +-- k_sra, Sep 23 2003 come on [AO], surely half the joy of toasted marshmallos is the contrast between the crisp blacknd outer coating and the soft guey centre?-- afrocelt, Sep 23 2003 [AO], meant to compliment you for extruding another great idea. Kudos.-- k_sra, Sep 24 2003 I prefer to toast 'em to a nice golden brown, peel off the skin, and then toast the gooey innards again to create another skin before they fall off the stick and into the fire. More challenging that way.-- RayfordSteele, Sep 24 2003 afrocelt, the guey-crispy contrast is an integral part of the toasted marshmallow experience, but I feel that it’s important to maintain the proper gue:crisp ratio. A single toasting followed by 100% consumption makes that ratio way too high. There is also the fun challenge of multitoasting that Ray mentioned.
(Thanks k!)-- AO, Sep 24 2003 Why can't more things be roasted this way? +-- sartep, Sep 24 2003 NOT hotdogs.-- Tiger Lily, Sep 24 2003 We toast marshmallows at home over candles. Mmmm... goey.-- Detly, Sep 24 2003 Peeps. Those sugar-coated marshmallows in the shape of chicks and bunnies. They go on sale after easter, yet seem to stay "good" forever. Take some on your next camping trip and roast them - the kids love the bright colors and cute shapes, and the sugar melts into a hard candy shell.-- Worldgineer, Sep 25 2003 Do they throw sparks?-- thumbwax, Sep 25 2003 Hey, I've just had an idea....[link]-- goff, Sep 25 2003 [tw] Sorry, must have dozed off there for a few months. Nope, no sparks. You do have to be careful as the melted sugar can do real damage to your hands or tongue - wait until it hardens before biting in.-- Worldgineer, Apr 13 2004 Having moved to the UK and had lots of experience with US marshmallows, I am qualified to inform readers that UK marshmallows are usually different from those sold in North America. First of all they often flavour marshmallows in the UK - vanilla and raspberry etc - and by the way, it's not a good thing. Secondly, the marshmallows here seem to be softer (more air?). Thirdly, there are not as many camping trips, and the rain means fewer campfires, so there's not much point in having marshmallows then, is there?! I tried to toast some a few weeks ago over my gas fire, and despite doing a fairly good job considering the circumstances, it still just isn't the same. Those who have the good fortune to be in a position to toast and consume, please have several for me!-- Ph_S, May 13 2004 For inside use, I like using an unscented candle, minimarshmallows and toothpicks, like detly. I don't have an indoor fireplace, unfortunately.
Around campfires, I turn them into sugar torches, and once they're extinguished, they've, uh, ultra carmelized-- schematics, May 13 2004 One of my favorite tricks is roasting for size. I've been able to more than double to volume of a marshmallow purely by slow roasting. It takes a steady hand, a good eye for uneven roasting, and a lot of patience.-- 5th Earth, May 13 2004 Bigger size, bigger thrill. One minute thru-the-window Peep show: a marshmallow in the microwave.-- P4, May 18 2004 OOOOH! I like the idea for toasting Peeps. [Worldgineer] They're gross on their own, but they might actually be really good toasted!-- PinkDrink, Jul 18 2004 Have you guys never microwaved marshmallows? They grow and grow, and turn sort of sticky-toffee-ish on the outside. Gorgeous! Keep an eye on em, tho, don't let them burst into flame. Not pretty.-- araminty, Jul 18 2004 People that have never toasted marshmallows are the same people that never learned how to whistle.-- thecheese, Jun 29 2007 //Toasting marshmallows is fun, but reloading the stick is difficult, sticky, and a waste of time!//
What is difficult about pushing a marshmallow onto a stick? Sticky, maybe, if you take the old "what's brown and sticky" gag too literally. And a waste of time? It's not a production line, pal. You don't have a quota. Take it easy dude, just relax. It's a nice night by the campfire, enjoy it, don't get all worked up about how much marshmallow you can injest in a given amount of time.-- theleopard, Jun 29 2007 I'm thinking continuous marshmallow feed, you dump in a bag of [marshmallow ingredients] into a hopper, they get combined, extruded onto a moving "chain-link" conveyor belt over your heat source, only to come out in 1 loooooooong string at the other side :p-- cpf, Jul 02 2007 random, halfbakery