How to Toast Marshmallows – A Land & Wave speciality
Sharpening sticks, gathering around the fires and toasting marshmallows is usually how the last few minutes of a Land & Wave bush craft session is spent.
The transformation from the rather dull and vaguely sweet combination of whipped sugar, corn starch and gelatine (veggie alternatives are available) to slightly charred, wonderfully browned, crispy, gooey, aromatic delight is staggering in its speed, simplicity and magnitude.
The best marshmallows to use are the archetypal white or pink kind that are about the same diameter as a fifty pence piece that usually come in large bags that can be bought almost anywhere (veggie ones tend to be more readily available on-line). Don’t be tempted to buy the colourful, unnecessary and over complicated ‘flump’; a true master of marshmallow toasting is a purist, simplicity of shape and colour are essential in obtaining the perfect finished article.
What you will need
Some marshmallows
A fire – let your fire burn down to brightly glowing coals.
Something to sit on – brilliant toasted marshmallows takes time; squatting can cause legs to ache and the job to be rushed. A suitable stump or log to sit on allows everyone to concentrate on the job in hand.
A sharpened stick – something at least as long as your forearm and somewhere between a pencil and your little finger in thickness.
What you should do
Let your fire burn down until there are few flames and lots of glowing coals.
Firmly, gently, carefully insert your point through the very centre of your marshmallow, accuracy is all – the ability to ‘roll’ your marshmallow for even cooking will give you brilliant results.
Use as much of the length or your stick as is necessary to hold your marshmallow a few centimetres from a likely looking area of glowing embers; don’t let your marshmallow touch any part of the fire, subtle texture changes should be obtained by careful crisping and NOT by picking up great chunks of charred wood and grit.
Slowly rotate your marshmallow over the embers trying to give each side an even amount of cooking time and heat, you’re marshmallow will start to bubble and brown as it cooks.
A brilliant toasted marshmallow is one that is lightly browned all over with the occasional ‘extra’ cooked area for a little more flavour and texture.
Feast on sticky, warm, sugary, caramelised goodness!
For real luxury take a packet of your tribes favourite biscuit and sandwich the molten marshmallow between two of those biscuits then enjoy, we strongly recommend a chocolate coated biscuit for this task.
Time spent in the woods around a fire is ALWAYS time well spent.
Keep looking for those pathless woods.
28 November 2015 by Owen Senior
