Simple Homemade Marshmallows

Make these simple, easy homemade marshmallows using gelatin, sugar and vanilla extract.

Ingredients

• 5 teaspoons unflavoured gelatin powder
• ¼ cup cold water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• ¼ cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornflour

Method

1. Place gelatin into a small bowl, add the ¼ cup of cold water and stir together.  Set aside for about 10 minutes in order for the gelatin to bloom.
2. Line a 9×9 inch tray (a few inches deep if possible) with parchment or wax paper and lightly grease with coconut oil.
3. In a large saucepan add the granulated sugar and 1 cup of water and dissolve stirring, over a low heat.  Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved.  Now STOP stirring.  Increase the heat to medium and bring  to a low boil.  Boil for 15 minutes without stirring. Keep your eye on it as it can boil up, adjust the heat accordingly, keeping at a low boil.
4. After 15 minutes pour the mixture into a mixer bowl. Be careful as it is very hot and steamy! With the whisk attachment at medium speed (4 or 6 on a KitchenAid Mixer) whisk for 2 minutes. Then add the vanilla extract and turn the mixer up to high (8 or 10 on a KitchenAid) and whip until very thick and white. It looks like meringue. The mixture will  at least double in volume.  This takes about 10 minutes.
5. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the greased tray and smooth out using a lightly greased spatula. The marshmallow begins to set quite quickly so keep this in mind.
6. Allow the marshmallows to firm up for a minimum of 2 hours.  They will still be sticky after this time so mix the icing sugar and cornflour and lightly dust the top of the marshmallow. Use the paper to pull the marshmallows out of the tray and place on a board dusted generously with the icing sugar and cornflour.  Using a sharp lightly greased knife (I used coconut oil) cut the marshmallows into squares.  Keep dusting with the icing sugar and cornflour mix to help reduce the stickiness.

Store in an airtight container for around 2 weeks.

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“Consuming gelatin can make your diet more reflective of our ancestors’ who consumed the whole animal. A more gelatin rich diet can reduce inflammation, foster better sleep, support metabolism, and slow degeneration.”

“At rest your brain and red blood cells needs sugar and they will keep burning sugar regardless of where they get it.”

“Blood sugar falls at night, and the body relies on the glucose stored in the liver as glycogen for energy, and hypothyroid people store very little sugar. As a result, adrenaline and cortisol begin to rise almost as soon as a person goes to bed, and in hypothyroid people, they rise very high, with the adrenaline usually peaking around 1 or 2 A.M., and the cortisol peaking around dawn; the high cortisol raises blood sugar as morning approaches, and allows adrenaline to decline. Some people wake up during the adrenaline peak with a pounding heart, and have trouble getting back to sleep unless they eat something. If the night-time stress is very high, the adrenaline will still be high until breakfast, increasing both temperature and pulse rate. The cortisol stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue and its conversion to energy, so it is thermogenic, for some of the same reasons that food is thermogenic.”

Ray Peat Ph,D