How to make marshmallows at home with agar-agar?

Good day, dear guests of our site! Today we will make marshmallows at home.

The ancestor of this dessert is the well-known marshmallow. In the 15th century, egg whites began to be added to marshmallows, and cooks from France replaced honey with sugar. That is why this delicacy has a French name - marshmallow.

To make marshmallows, applesauce is most often used, since apples contain a large amount of pectin. Also, the necessary ingredients are egg whites, sugar, agar-agar or gelatin. All of the above ingredients are the basis of classic marshmallows, but now there are quite a lot of recipes using other fruit purees, and some prepare marshmallows without sugar at all. Below, we will step by step analyze several of the most popular recipes for making marshmallows, both with a classic set of ingredients and with modified ones, but in no way inferior to the original in taste and quality.

Choosing the right agar-agar

These marshmallows hold their shape perfectly and look like your favorite treat from the store. Using natural ingredients at home you can get a healthy and tasty product.

The strength of agar-agar, which is sold in retail chains, varies. Some manufacturers indicate the recipe. However, what is written does not always need to be believed.

Agar-agar is seaweed ground into a powder. They are based on agarose and agaropectin . Cold water does not dissolve these components, but allows them to swell.

That is why before using it, you should fill the contents of the bag with cold water. If the product is new and untested, then it is better to use 1–2 g more powder. Otherwise, we may end up with overly soft marshmallows even if the recipe is followed.

That is why sometimes agar-agar is measured not in grams, but in a heaped teaspoon. There is no point in doing a lot at once. Try a small portion. Once you are sure of good strength, you can increase the amount of components.

How to choose agar-agar for marshmallows

Typically, agar-agar is available in three types - powder, flakes and strips. The most popular and easiest to use is powder. Although other types have the right to use. Here you will have to experiment and decide for yourself what you like best.

A more important issue is the quality of agar-agar. You can identify it by color. It is believed that the highest grade ingredient should be white or light yellow, sometimes a slight grayish tint is allowed. But if it is dark yellow or even close to brown, then the quality is slightly lower.

It is difficult to give advice on brands without creating advertising for individual companies. Let's just say that experienced chefs do not like Kotanyi agar-agar, which is found in most hypermarkets. And they recommend using the brand “Greenagar 900”, but it can only be found on the Internet.

Homemade applesauce marshmallows

Apple marshmallows with natural vegetable agar-agar will be a good dessert for vegetarians. You can prepare high-quality marshmallows at home with agar-agar from apples, strictly following the technology.

Recipe Ingredients

• apples – 3–5 (after peeling you should get 250–300 g);
• water for puree – 30 g, sugar – 100 g;
• chicken egg white – 1 pc., sugar for syrup – 200 g;
• agar-agar – 8 g, water for syrup – 60 g, citric acid – 1 g;
• mixture of starch and powdered sugar 1:1 for sprinkling the finished product - 50 g.

The step-by-step cooking process can be represented in stages:

1. Preparation of agar-agar.
2. Making applesauce.
3. Boiling sugar syrup.
4. Whipping the marshmallow mass and depositing it.

Place sugar, agar-agar into a saucepan and add water. Set aside to steep for 50–60 minutes.

Making applesauce

To prepare the main marshmallow mass, you first need to:

1. Peel the apples and cut into random equal pieces. Place them in a saucepan, add water and put on fire.
2. When the slices turn into a soft mass, beat them with a blender. You can grind everything through a fine sieve. Select 130 g and add sugar.
3. Boil over medium heat, stirring for 5–8 minutes, until the sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Cool the mixture to just below room temperature.
4. Place the chilled puree and the white of one egg into a mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed until the mixture turns white.

Syrup and marshmallow mass

1. Place a saucepan with agar-agar and sugar set aside on the fire and bring to a boil. The boiling process will take 5–6 minutes. The finished syrup should have a stretchy consistency. When you remove the spoon, caramel threads should trail behind it.
2. Gradually add the mixture to the whipping protein-apple mixture. Continue running the mixer until stiff peaks form.
3. Place homemade marshmallows from apples in an envelope with a nozzle and set aside to dry for 1–2 days. Sprinkle the dried products with a mixture of starch and powdered sugar.

Apple marshmallows on agar agar, which always works (simple recipe)

This delicacy is easy to prepare. Subsequently, you can easily experiment with flavors. Just follow the step-by-step description and you will get great results!

Ingredients:

• Applesauce – 125 gr.
• Raw egg white – 1 pc.
• Glucose syrup – 80 gr. (or 80 grams of granulated sugar)
• Water – 80 gr.
• Granulated sugar – 220 gr.
• Agar-agar, capacity 900 - 6 g.

From this quantity of ingredients you can make 9 double marshmallows.

Preparation:

1. Apples need to be sour. Antonovka, Granny Smith or other similar varieties are ideal. To obtain 125 grams of puree you need 250-300 grams of fruit.

2. Wash the fruits and cut them into 4 parts. Cut out the core with the seeds.

There is no need to peel the skin. It contains a lot of pectin we need, which will help the dessert become denser.

3. Place the quarters on a baking sheet. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes until soft. They should be easily pierced with a knife, without crunching. After cooking, cool them.

You can boil them in water or cook them in the microwave. But it's much easier to do it in the oven.

4. Now transfer the apples to a colander. We, in turn, put it in a deep bowl. Place it in the refrigerator overnight. This design will allow all excess liquid to drain.

5. Blend the apples with a blender into a homogeneous puree. To get rid of dense pieces of peel, rub the mixture through a sieve. The puree should be very dense, thick and stable.

If you see that it is a little liquid, boil it further until it thickens.

6. Now we immediately prepare a place for planting marshmallows. The thickener quickly stabilizes and there will be no time later. Line a baking sheet or any large tray with a sheet of parchment.

7. If you do not find 900 power agar, take 2 times the specified amount. Pour water into a saucepan or saucepan with a thick bottom. Add granulated sugar, agar-agar, and glucose syrup. Place on medium heat.

8. At the same time, transfer the puree into the mixer bowl. Add egg white to this. At medium speed of the mixer we achieve lightening of the mass.

9. Heat the syrup to 110 degrees. Can be determined by consistency. When the mixture turns slightly yellow and a thick stream flows from the spatula, you can turn it off.

10. Pour syrup into the whitened, thick apple mass in a thin stream, without stopping the mixer. You need to introduce it slowly, trying not to pour it onto the rods of the working whisk. Until the substance doubles in size.

11. Transfer the contents into a pastry bag. In this case, I have an “open star” attachment. Starting from the center, we form the products with scrolling movements. Let it dry in this form for 7-8 hours.

When they stabilize and stop sticking to your hands, you can glue them together. We find the 2 most similar marshmallows and glue them to each other. If desired, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Homemade coffee marshmallows

Having enjoyed the classic product, you can begin to improve the delicacy. To prepare a coffee dessert you need instant coffee.

If you use the previous recipe for marshmallows at home with agar-agar, then you should add coffee powder at the time of preparing applesauce. The cooking process is as follows:

1. Place a saucepan with a mass of 125–130 g on heat, add sugar – 100 g.
2. Add instant coffee powder - 1 teaspoon, mix and boil until sugar and coffee are completely dissolved.

A beautiful coffee color and aroma can be obtained by adding instant chicory. In this case, you get a caffeine-free dessert with a healthy additive.

If the use of instant coffee is unacceptable, then brew a natural drink and use the same amount of coffee instead of 60 ml of water for syrup.

Why is agar-agar better than gelatin or pectin?

The main advantages of agar-agar, a product made from a special type of algae, include the complete absence of any foreign taste or smell. Gelatin, obtained by long-term evaporation of cartilage tissue and bones, even the highest quality, always has the taste of meat. Another disadvantage of gelatin is its excessive calorie content, so it is not advisable to use it when preparing dietary desserts.

In the production of pectin, used in cooking as a sweetener, preservative and thickener, cheap sugar beets are mainly used, less often apples or sunflowers. Therefore, when using it, dishes can also acquire an extraneous, and not always pleasant, taste. Plus, most types of pectin, as well as gelatin, cannot withstand repeated heating - the jelly immediately becomes liquid. In addition, excess pectin can provoke fermentation in the intestines and flatulence.

Dishes made with agar agar differ even in consistency. The jelly with it is denser, but at the same time very tender. It can be reheated without fear that the dish will turn into a liquid mass, and it hardens at a temperature of 40°C, much faster than gelatin or pectin. This is why agar-agar is so valued in cooking. It is widely used in the preparation of canned food, desserts, condensed milk and even beer.

The main advantages of agar-agar, a product made from a special type of algae, include the complete absence of any foreign taste or smell

Advice! The price of agar-agar differs significantly from the cost of gelatin. For example, 100 g of a quality product will cost 400–450 rubles. But, since very little is required, this amount will last you for a long time. Moreover, its shelf life is unlimited.

Homemade plum marshmallows

To make plum marshmallows on agar-agar, you need ripe fruits. Plum puree is prepared from them. The variety doesn't matter at all. However, white plums will not turn marshmallows pink. Its color will be yellowish. Dark blue, ripe fruits will give the product a pink color. To prepare, do this:

1. 300–400 g of plums are placed in the pan. There is absolutely no need to remove the seed or cut the fruit; just add 40–50 ml of water.
2. Cover with a lid and place on low heat for 15–20 minutes. When the plum softens, grind the mass through a sieve. The seeds and peel are separated.
3. Take 125–130 g of puree and add 100 g of sugar and boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, the product is ready for further use.

The technology for boiling syrup and depositing marshmallows at home is completely no different from the previous recipe.

Cooking process

First of all, you need to decide what flavor of marshmallows you will use. There is a little secret here - the more pectin in fruits or berries, the better the dessert will keep its shape. And the leaders in this regard are apples and black currants. And then, in descending order, there are plums, apricots, strawberries, peaches and oranges.

Let's take the most popular ingredient, apples, as an example. To make homemade marshmallows, it is better to use green varieties - Antonovka, Semerenko or Granny Smith. First you need to cut out the core and tear off the tails. But regarding the peel, culinary experts have different opinions. Some advise cutting it off. Others, on the contrary, should be left, as they contain a lot of pectin. Decide for yourself.

The process of making homemade marshmallows is as follows:

• Apples (4-5 pcs.) need to be boiled - on the stove or in a double boiler, this takes about 20 minutes.
• When the fruits have become soft, they are pureed. To obtain a homogeneous mass, you can use a sieve.
• Applesauce is mixed with sugar at a ratio of 1 to 1 and a bag of vanilla sugar is added. All this must be thoroughly mixed and then put in the refrigerator.
• Mix the cooled puree with the white (1 egg) and beat with a mixer until the mass becomes fluffy and thick.
• Prepare sugar syrup. To do this, mix agar-agar (3-4 tsp) with sugar (400 g) and put it on the stove to cook. It is necessary to keep it on the fire until fluffy foam appears.
• Mix both mixtures and beat with a mixer. This takes approximately 10 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag and squeeze out small marshmallows.
• The finished dessert must be allowed to completely harden; this is done at room temperature. This may take from several hours to a day. At the end, all that remains is to sprinkle the marshmallows with powdered sugar to remove excess stickiness.

If you don’t want to bother with preparing purees, you can purchase ready-made ones at the store. Products for children are best suited in this regard, since they do not contain sugar and use natural vegetables and berries.

Berry marshmallows (from currants or cherries)

This delicacy can be easily prepared at home. It will be tender, aromatic and tasty. You can use the basic recipe. The only difference is that instead of applesauce you need to make it from black currants or cherries.

The step-by-step preparation method is as follows:

1. Blackcurrant berries (200 g) should be washed. Grind using a blender or meat grinder until pureed. The cherries must first be pitted.
2. Add 0.2 g of citric acid to the mass to stabilize the color. Place on heat and bring to a boil. During the boiling process, the skin will soften and release its pectin substances.
3. Since the consistency is not dense, there is no point in adding water. Grind the berry puree through a sieve and select 125–130 g.
4. Place the selected part into the pan and add 100 g of sugar. Boil over low heat with constant stirring until the crystals of the sweet product dissolve.
5. The berry mass from black currants or cherries should be cooled at room temperature. Next, it is better to transfer the product to the refrigerator.

Well-prepared, chilled puree can be used for work. Further preparation of cherry marshmallows on agar-agar or with black currants is no different from apple dessert.

Dietary option according to Dukan

• Cooking time – 120 minutes.
• Product preparation time is 15 minutes.
• After cooking, you will receive 10 servings of curd marshmallows without sugar, 50 grams each.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Ingredients:

• Low-fat cottage cheese – 200 grams.
• Skim milk – 1 glass.
• Gelatin – 1 tablespoon.
• Sweetener or sweetener – 1 tablespoon.
• Flavoring of any type – 2 drops.

Recipe:

It’s much more convenient to cook with photos, so the recipe is duplicated with photos.

To begin with, it should be noted that such marshmallows will be dietary, since all the rules according to Dukan are followed here.

To give the marshmallows a banana flavor, you can add no more than 1 banana or use the appropriate flavoring.

The delicacy's younger friend is marshmallow: marshmallow mastic used to decorate cakes.

Useful video

Homemade marshmallows without sugar

The usual sweet, airy product can be prepared without sugar. Of course, its taste will be different. If you add sweeteners, you will feel the sweetness in the taste, but it will not compare with the classic.

You may not use sweeteners, but it is advisable to choose sweet varieties of apples. Use sweet pear, ripe summer apples or banana. The technological process for marshmallows at home with agar-agar, but without sugar is as follows:

1. Prepare traditional puree. Grind and boil it for 10–15 minutes, but without sugar. Add pre-soaked agar-agar and bring to a boil.
2. Beat the egg white and gradually add thick puree. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. We plant the marshmallows.

Any of the selected recipes will appeal to fans of airy dessert.

Marshmallow does not freeze - what to do?

If your marshmallows “don’t want” to harden, there can be only two reasons. The first is that you have come across poor quality agar-agar. This means you'll have to buy another one and start all over again.

And the second reason is that a mistake was made during preparation. Most often it’s about the wrong puree. It should be very thick. To make sure of this, just look whether it flows from the whisk or not. The same test can be repeated after mixing the puree with syrup.

Description of the dish.

Hello, dear readers, welcome to the page of my website!

Today I want to share with you a recipe for delicious homemade marshmallows made with agar-agar. This dessert turns out airy and incredibly aromatic; once you try it, you won’t be able to go back to the store-bought version.

To create this dish, you will need to be patient so as not to eat it before final preparation, since drying the marshmallows takes quite a lot of time - from 8 hours to a day and a half. But the result is worth it and you will receive a divine delicacy that, like a breath of “light breeze”, as its name is translated from French, will suddenly cover you with a delicate taste and disappear, melting in your mouth, leaving behind only memories and a pleasant aftertaste.

Despite the fact that this sweet contains a lot of sugar, it can be considered one of the low-calorie desserts, since it contains no fat, and the pectin contained in marshmallows helps digestion and allows you to remove undigested products from the body and not put them on our sides .

I won’t bore you with a description of all the properties of this dish and will move on to its immediate preparation...