Country Life Experiment

Simple Country Living

Cooking From Scratch – {Recipe} Marshmallow

I was driving home on Friday afternoon, listening to 702 Sydney. It is always a little scratchy, but I enjoy listening to the traffic reports, imagining where the incidents are, and then continuing to drive at 100k/h back to the farm – the only traffic jam is when there are sheep on the road.

Anyway…

On the radio, they were discussing foods that taste best when made from scratch, and those foods which taste better bought from the shop. I think that nearly all food tastes better when made from scratch. We never buy pre made meals, and I do make a lot of things from scratch (check out my recipe page) but there are still quite a few things that I just buy (like bread and pasta). As I was driving I was thinking about the foods that are really easy to make, but I still don’t make. I decided that over the holidays, I was going to have a go at making some of the things I rarely make myself.

One of the easiest lollies to make is marshmallow, and the home made version is much nicer – a softer texture, and better flavour. I often make it with my students and then put it into ice cream cones (less mess for kids), but I have never made it at home, so yesterday I decided to give it a go.

Ingredients
6 tsp of gelatine
1/2 c cold water
2 c sugar
3/4c hot water
1 tsp vanilla (you could use any flavour you like)
few drops of colouring (optional)
1/4 c cornflour to coat the marshmallow
Method
1. Soak the gelatine in the cold water for a few minutes.
2. In a saucepan, add the sugar, gelatine, and hot water.
3. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring occasionally until the sugar has melted.
4. Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, and add in the vanilla.
6. Use an electric beater to beat until thick and creamy (about 10 minutes). Add the colour if you want to.
7. Pour mixture into a square tin lined with baking paper.
8. Refrigerate over night.
9. Use a knife dipped in hot water to cut into squares.
10. Place cornflour in a small bowl, and toss a few squares at a time in it.
11. Serve.
The kids love it – I have to ration it out – and it definitely tastes better than the shop bought version.
Do you agree that cooked from scratch tastes better?
What else should I have a go at making?
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