Marshmallows

Roasted marshmallow by Fran W.

Marshmallows were once made from the root of the marshmallow plant and were used to help sore throats!


Activity: S’mores…with a twist

Choose your favorites…

Cookie – graham cracker cookies, Nilla Wafers type cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or another cookie of your choice
Marshmallows – mini, large, flavored, fluff or cream, homemade
Milk chocolate bars – with crispies, nuts, coconut, dark chocolate, or another kind
Other suggestions – peanut butter, Nutella, toasted coconut, chocolate morsels (or another flavor), nuts, fudge, fudge topping, pretzels, melted chocolate

S’mores are typically made by roasting marshmallows over a campfire and placing it, along with a piece of milk chocolate, between two graham cracker cookies…but in our family we like to put a little twist on an old favorite by adding some of our favorite things to this well known treat.

Tip: When we’re unable to roast our marshmallows over a campfire, we have used: a fireplace, a toaster oven, microwave, or our kitchen stove with good results.

Note: When using a kitchen stove (electric or gas), or a fireplace, use a long fork to roast the marshmallows and keep a close eye on it if you do not like burnt food.

Here are some of the things we do:

S’more reinvented…
Using a Nilla Wafers type cookie, smear a little peanut butter on one cookie, roast a marshmallow on the stove until golden brown and push a piece of cool chocolate into the marshmallow before sandwiching it between two cookies.

No cook s’more….
When we want a quick snack that is a little less messy, we take graham cracker cookies, smear a little fluff on one side, and place a small piece of chocolate on the fluff before placing the other cookie on top.

Stuffed s’more….
Cut a hole in the top of the marshmallow – about half way down, press a piece of chocolate in it and place in the toaster oven, chocolate side up. Remove when the marshmallow is lightly golden brown. Place the stuffed marshmallow between two of your favorite cookies and enjoy.

S’more pretzels….
After toasting a marshmallow, place it, and a piece of chocolate, between two mini pretzels. As an alternative, toast a marshmallow and place it between two chocolate covered pretzels.

Have fun being creative!

Research Questions…

What is a marshmallow plant?

Other than helping sore throats, what else is the marshmallow plant good for?

How are marshmallows made?

Can I make my own marshmallows?

What can you do with a marshmallow other than eat them?

Research Resources…
Herbs2000Marshmallow Plant – Offers information about the medicinal qualities and uses for the marshmallow plant.

AboutThe History of Marshmallow – Information about the plant and the history of commercial marshmallow candy, including Peeps, and Fluff.

How Products Are Made: How marshmallow is made – Site offers the following info: History of marshmallows, what’s in them and how they are manufactured.

Wikipedia: Marshmallow – Offers historical information about the plant and the candy.

HowStuffWorks: How do they make marshmallows? – Site offers an very brief explanation and a recipe.

Food Network: Alton Brown: Homemade Marshmallows – Site offers a recipe for making your own marshmallows. Offers a 3:06 video recipe after commercial.

This New Zealand site will have you doing mass, volume, estimations and more with marshmallows!

Steve Spangler Science: Marshmallow Masher – An experiment performed with marshmallows. Site offer a video of this experiment as well.

Exploratorium: Monster Marshmallows – Science experiment done with a microwave with explanation of what’s happening and why.

eHow: Marshmallow Science Projects – Site offers 4 science projects: An air pressure experiment, a microwave experiment, a recipe, and an edible project.


Videos



Name/Time

How To Make Marshmallow 5:46
Campfire® Marshmallow Mystery Tour 3:35


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