There’s something so nostalgic about a marshmallow. The soft and pillowy texture and white cylindrical shape are so iconic, it transports you right back to your childhood. Bonfires that light up the dark sky, aromas of burning sugar that crackle and flicker as you drop your roasting stick a little too close to the fire and the melty square of chocolate that gets squished between two graham crackers before stuffing your face and getting sticky goo everywhere.
North Fork Roasting Company in Southold is putting all those feelings straight into a latte launching next week — the s’mores latte. And at the foundation of a good s’more is the marshmallow. I was able to get a behind the scenes look at how they create their homemade, yes, from scratch, marshmallows in house.
The process is surprisingly easy. If you have a hand mixer and a few sweet ingredients, this is something you could make at home, and the flavor is so much better than a store bought marshmallow. To start, chef Yessenia Sanchez brought corn syrup, sugar and water to a boil. That is mixed with a gelatin-water mixture and the hand mixer does the rest of the work — about 15 minutes of work to be exact.
As the beaters are beating air into the mixture, it changes slowly from a clear, watery consistency to soft peaks of pure white. About halfway through, Sanchez adds the vanilla. She also mentioned this would be the time to add in any other extract (think orange extract, almond extract, maybe even booze … the possibilities are endless). And if she’s feeling creative, she will add food coloring to make pink marshmallows.
After the 15 minutes of mixing is up, Sanchez pours the thick ribbons of fluff into an oiled container that has been sprinkled with cornstarch and powdered sugar to give the ‘mallows that matte effect. From there, it goes into the refrigerator to set overnight. Once set, the giant marshmallow gets plopped onto a cutting board and sliced into giant squares.
“We’ve been making them since we opened,” lead barista Claudia La Du said. “Some people just order a few to eat on their own.” If you can’t wait for the imminent launch of the s’mores latte, you can add a marshmallow to any drink order for $0.50.
They are oh-so-worth it: soft and supple without that artificial flavor the store-bought kind have. The flavor is extra vanilla-y to bring you right back to those summer bonfire nights, and the texture is a little denser because they are made by hand. But as it melts into a warm hot chocolate or coffee, it softens up to perfection.
