It’s a long weekend, so I’m experimenting with 2 new marshmallow variants.
The first is straightforward, a collaboration with a local maple syrup maker we know, who also happens to be my beekeeping mentor. As with all things homegrown, the depth of flavor in the syrup from McCullen Family Sugar Shack blows away anything you buy at the market.
It’s been on my list for a long time to make a batch of maple marshmallows with this stuff, so I’m excited.
One feature of the garden is a big champagne currant bush. I’ve had a thing for currants since I was a child growing up in Montana. There was a huge currant bush growing wild in a field that I loved to visit. When we first moved here, many years ago, I started 3 varieties of currant. Only the champagne currant bush remains from that time, but it is very well established.
This year I made currant syrup from these berries, so the other experiment I ran this weekend was currant marshmallows, using that syrup.
Both batches whipped up and poured nicely. The next day brought the moment of truth. I cut out a test section from each pan, and gave them both a try. Well, the maple marshmallows did not disappoint; they are incredible, and I’ll be adding them to the store soon. Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the currant marshmallows. The currant flavor only comes through as a tanginess, kind of like lemon. They’re not BAD, mind you, but just not up to snuff.
So all in all, a successful test run, not just because of a new entry in the store catalog, but also because I learned that the currant option is not worth it. In science, and in marshmallow alchemy, an experiment isn’t a failure just because you get a negative result.