A resounding “Bravo!” went out to the marshmallows from Gateau et Ganache of Palo Alto, California. Above, their Blackberry marshmallow. Photography by Dhanraj Emanuel | THE NIBBLE.
|
STEPHANIE ZONIS is a Contributing Editor.
|
|
November 2007
Updated March 2009
|
|
Marshmallow Madness ~ Part II
The Best American Marshmallows
CAPSULE REPORT: In Part I of this article, we reviewed the history of the marsh mallow (yes, that’s two words), the evolution to modern marshmallows and the rise of gourmet confectioners who create elegant, refined marshmallows that have nothing to do with spongy supermarket brands. Here in Part II, we get to taste the best marshmallows in America. This is Page 1 of a 12-page review of gourmet marshmallows. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.
You’d think this would be a dream assignment: Find the best marshmallows in America and eat them. I tasted (and I will be frank here) far too many different brands and flavors of marshmallows. There’s actually quite a lot out there, flying the banner of gourmet marshmallow. Some of it is good, some isn’t. We screened out all but the best.
Introductory Notes
The research for this article was done in September. Unusually hot weather throughout the month precluded some orders—it was just too hot to ship and the boutiques did not have warm-weather packaging (ice packs and styrofoam boxes). All marshmallows were tasted by themselves; none were toasted during the tasting.
Despite my having sampled so many different products, with reviews of the 24 best companies below, there are yet more companies making upscale marshmallows that we could not include in this article. We hope to do an update at a future time, and further explore products from these producers:
 Chocolate-covered and chocolate-coconut-covered marshmallows are the order of the day at Bridgewater Chocolate. - Mitchell’s Fine Candies, has Vanilla, Chocolate, Mint, Coffee and Nutmallows, vanilla marshmallow squares topped with nuts and dipped in chocolate.
- Little Flower Candy Co., whose excellent (albeit very large) coffee marshmallows I’ve tasted previously, was in the process of relocation as I wrote this article. They were not yet back in production, although they now are, with Cinnamon, Coffee, Vanilla and a Chocolate marshmallow made with Valrhona cocoa powder.
- The mother of all chocolate-covered marshmallows may well be the fudge-covered marshmallow from Momma Reiner’s Fudge (not chocolate, but real fudge), a favorite treat at THE NIBBLE headquarters. Because it was just reviewed in last month’s issue, we did not include it here.
- Some of our favorite top chocolatiers, like Michael Recchiuti, make marshmallows, that are as wonderful as their chocolates.
And there are others yet to be discovered. There are plenty of enthusiastic, committed confectioners making good-quality marshmallows.
Continue To Page 2: Purchasing Tips
Go To The Article Index Above
|
