Dehydrated Marshmallows

[Insurance]

I just saw dehydrated mini marshmallows for the first time yesterday. That was a thrill for me because we like lots of them in our hot chocolate during the winter months. I was also thinking of all the space dehydrating them would save. But, how do I do that? I cannot find directions anywhere. I am assuming that I can pull them out of my freezer and dehydrate them without any problem, right?

[Cat]

From a discussion on Recipezaar (with some conversation out):

 

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Lovellama: I was wondering if anyone had any experience in dehydrating marshmallows. We just finished our last bag or I would try it myself, I'll have to wait until they go on sale again.

 

Lovellama: I was on a bulk food site and they had dehydrated marshmallow bits (think Lucky Charms) and I thought "What the heck! I'll try dehydrating them myself!"

 

herb princess: If you are trying to preserve marshmallows, use a food saver. In a jar. They vacuum seal down to nothing and when you open the jar, they are fresh.

 

Lovellama: I did it. I used mini ones and cut in half big ones. The outside dried out pretty quickly, but the inside stayed warm and soft for quite awhile. I left them too long I think,for as soon as I took them out of the dehydrator even with a warm soft center, they hardened up fast. Were very much like Lucky Charms marshmallows, but regular sized. For some reason I thought they would shrink.

 

Zeldaz: They would need to be compressed to shrink. The foamy structure of the sugar and albumin is sort of the architecture, and will stay the same size, pretty much.

 

Zeldaz: I can't see the point of wasting the electricity on something that dries out quickly all by itself!

 

Lovellama: They were chewy. And kinda sticky. Though they hydrated back rather well.

 

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=290890

 

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I didn't even know Recipezaar HAD a discussion area!

 

 

[CrabGrassAcres]

I like the minis dried till they are hard. They crunch! LOL

 

Don't put them in a dehydrator, just spread them out on a cookie sheet (or even a cardboard flat) and cover with a light dish towel to keep the flies and dust off. Put the cookie sheet up high somewhere, like top of a bookcase. Leave it a few days and they should dry quite well.

[Insurance]

I like the minis dried till they are hard. They crunch! LOL

 

Don't put them in a dehydrator, just spread them out on a cookie sheet (or even a cardboard flat) and cover with a light dish towel to keep the flies and dust off. Put the cookie sheet up high somewhere, like top of a bookcase. Leave it a few days and they should dry quite well.

 

Great! Can't get much easier than that can it? How long does it take to get to the "crunch" stage? But I'm wondering how the commerical dehydrated marshmallows are made. The package said they were mini and they appeared to be about 1/2 or 1/3 the size or a normal mini marshmallow and they hard as rocks.

[sassenach]

Thanks for posting on marshmellows, now I know I can preserve some. I like them in hot cocoa too!

[CrabGrassAcres]

It depends on how dry the air is. You can check them in a few days. Since they don't require power or turning, it is easy enough just to let them set till completely dry.

[Cat]

I'm guessing the "mini" marshmallows, like in hot chocolate mixes, are MADE tiny like that to begin with. They're not the half-inch minis we buy.

 

 

 

[BooBoo]

Ooooh! - this is great! - I found a partially-dehydrated bag of m'mallows in the back of the cupboard last week and I wondered if I could "help them along" somehow.

 

If I set them out on a cookie tray tonight, though, I wonder how many will still be there in the morning? (my 6'5" "mouse" may take care of a few *wink*)