The Science of Toasting Marshmallows
If you've ever spend a few nights out camping with a roaring campfire you may have the extraordinary experience of toasting a marshmallow. Some would say that all you have to do is put a marshmallow on the end of a stick and put it over your fire and that's that. But to make that perfect marshmallow there is a hidden science behind it.
Paica (2012) gives us an insight into this hidden world of perfect marshmallow toasting; the trick seems to be picking the right spot in the fire. It is important to have your marshmallow over the glowing hot coals but also a small amount to the side of the flames. Cate states that the hot coals give off radiant heat and we have convection heat from the hot gasses of the flames; this is partly why we want to be careful of getting too close to the unpredictable flames. WiseGEEK adds that you should also rotate your marshmallow to allow for an event exposure to the flames so you can create that golden brown delicious coating.
But it's not just down to that. We also have to consider the stick to use for our marshmallow. WiseGEEK suggests to select a straight as possible stick so when you rotate your stick the marshmallow rotates with a centred orientation and give the most optimal exposure needed. They also suggest whittling the stick to reduce possible germs.
Just in case you want to start from scratch with your marshmallow as well, Kidspot has come up with a list of cooking ingredients and a method to make your very own marshmallow.
Wildomar has come on marshmallow radar and has been picked up by The Press-Enterprise as they discover Sixth-grade students have made their very own solar roasters at Sycamore academy of Science and Cultural Arts. This could be a very novel way to roast a marshmallow but would it be perfect?
Eat Sleep Science gives a little insight on what is happening to marshmallow whilst it is toasting. They state that the sugar (known as sucrose) breaks down due to the heat of the fire and water molecules in the sugar are evaporated; this gives us the carbon crunchy outside of the toasted marshmallow, which holds the juicy liquid inside for us to enjoy.
What do you think is the 'perfect' marshmallow?
Biography
Cate, C. Science Around the Campfire: Science off Center [Online]
Available at: http://www.scienceoffcenter.org/news/496-science-around-the-campfire (Accessed 5th April 2013)
Eat Sleep Science [Online]
Available at: http://eatsleepscience.com/ess/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:marshmallow-science&catid=34:ess-details&Itemid=50 (Accessed 6th April 2013)
Fun Zone. Toasted Marshmallows [Online]
Available at: http://www.kidspot.com.au/omofunzone/cook-toasted-marshmallows+3470+569+sponsor-recipe.htm (Accessed 9th April 2013)
Palca, J. Summer Science: The perfectly Toasted Marshmallow: NPR. [Online]
Available at: http://www.npr.org/2012/06/12/154781777/summer-science-the-perfectly-toasted-marshmallow (Accessed 8th April 2013)
The Press-Enterprise. WILDOMAR: Students use science to roast marshmallows [Online]
Available at: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/wildomar/wildomar-headlines/20120926-wildomar-students-use-science-to-roast-marshmallows.ece (Accessed 5th April)
WiseGEEK. How Do I Roast Marshmallows? [Online]
Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-roast-marshmallows.htm (accessed 5th April)
I have been trying for ages to get vegetarian marshmallows. Any idea why I can't get them???
ReplyDeleteLyon (2013)gives us a very interesting recipe for some vegan marshmallows, which can be down here: http://www.inhabitots.com/how-to-make-homemade-vegan-marshmallows/3/
ReplyDeleteEat Sleep Science previously reference tells us that before we moved on to making marshmallows gelatin we first used mallow root. Apparently this plant was medically in since the Middle Ages.