When people think about marshmallows they think small, they think they’re just small puffy balls of sugar. I think big, marshmallows can be part of every meal. Breakfast in your bowl of Lucky Charms. Lunch can be peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich, Elvis Presley's favorite. Dinner can have a side of sweet potato casserole. Dessert is s'mores, the marshmallow classic. Oh, and if you ever get thirsty during the day, you can have hot chocolate with marshmallows.
People underestimate marshmallows and their capacity. This post was inspired by a box that Mr. Jon Prince, the candy connoisseur himself, left for me that was full of candy. Out of all the candy products included in this delightful box of goodies, three featured marshmallows and they were all completely different candies.
One was a bag of cereal marshmallows, the ones you save your bowl of Lucky Charms. The second was the classic marshmallow peanuts. The final one was the toasted coconut marshmallows, a gourmet twist on just a plain marshmallow. I was inspired to take a marshmallow journey and compare them all to classic mini marshmallows to see how different marshmallows could really be.
First, I tried the marshmallow peanuts and, oh my, I never want to partake in eating them again! (Disclaimer: I do not really like the taste of bubble gum) I bit into the peanuts thinking they would be airy and soft regular marshmallows, but instead, they had a bubble gum flavor (at least to me they did).
They aren’t supposed to be flavored like bubble gum but I think they taste exactly like it. On the other hand, my grandma loved them. They reminded her of her childhood and she said they still had the classic taste that they had when she ate them as a child. Next up were the cereal marshmallows.
This was not my first time dabbling with cereal marshmallows, in fact, I have them for breakfast in my cereal at least once a week. This is my favorite manifestation of the marshmallow. They are crunchy, sweet, and tasty (they taste even better in milk).
Finally, I tried the toasted coconut marshmallows, and let me tell you my Dad absolutely loved them, I did too. They were, I would say, a gourmet twist on the classic marshmallow and if you love coconut confections then you will love them.
Comparing them all to the classic mini marshmallows got me thinking. Obviously, all of the marshmallow candy products tasted very similar but they each twisted the marshmallow flavor in their own way.
The peanuts were very sweet (too sweet for me), the cereal marshmallows were crunchy, and the toasted coconut marshmallows were rich.
By trying all these different manifestations of marshmallows it made me wonder about the classic sweet and how it can be used in many different ways. Marshmallows can be used as an ingredient in sweets but are also sweet themselves that’s why I like to call marshmallows a “flexible sweet”.
A “flexible-sweet” is a sweet that can be sweet by itself, it can stand alone, but it can also be a part of another sweet. It can present itself in many different forms like for marshmallows they can be toppings, a filling, or a centerpiece of a confection.
An example of a “flexible-sweet” is chocolate. Like marshmallows, chocolate can be an ingredient, the main feature, or a sauce on top of a confection. A “non-flexible-sweet” is sour candy. Sour candies are rarely used in other desserts and they don’t transform into other confections well.
Through it all, I learned how much I love marshmallows and will never underestimate my friend the marshmallow because it will always surprise and prove you wrong.
