How to Roast Marshmallows

Roasting a Marshmallow

Build a fire. Ideally, start this an hour in advance so you have time to get perfect roasting coals. There are three successful ingredients to a good campfire (plus a safe fire pit and a way to light it, of course): A pile of dry tinder, such as paper, grass, dryer lint, or char cloth. If you didn't bring any and the weather is wet, collect pine cones or take shavings from inside a split log. Small twigs to use as kindling. Build it gradually outward and upward from small to large, leaving plenty of space for air. Dry branches about the size of your forearm, added gradually once the fire catches.

Choose your roasting sticks. These should be about as long as an adult's arm, sturdy, and pointed. Try one of these: Metal stakes or kebab sticks. These can get too hot to touch, so choose ones that are extra-long or have a wooden handle Hardwood sticks, sap-free and whittled to a blunt point. Storebought marshmallow roasters

Poke a marshmallow onto the stick. Make sure the stick goes all the way through the marshmallow to prevent slipping. If the marshmallow can slide easily along the stick, you'll have to be careful not to tip the stick down into the fire. You can stack on several marshmallows at once, but it's easier to get a good toasted surface with just one at a time.

Roast your marshmallow over hot coals. Once your fire has been burning for a while, some of the wood will burn out and turn it glowing coals. A spot right above these coals is the perfect area to roast marshmallows. The heat from this makeshift oven will caramelize that sugar perfectly, and there are no gouts of fire to ruin the majestic white goo.

Turn gradually. Rotate the stick as you go so the heat toasts the marshmallow evenly on all sides. You'll see the outer surface turn brown as it cooks. You can either keep up a steady rotation until the marshmallow is light brown all over, or cook one side until it's done, then rotate and start again on another side. Sometimes, the marshmallow will sag down and fail to turn when you rotate the stick. Stab it or prop it up with a second stick to fix this.

Expect charcoal if you put the marshmallow directly in the fire. Sticking a marshmallow into the flame will cause it to catch fire. You can blow it out, but you'll end up with a bitter, black layer of charcoal. Unless you love to set your toaster to 11, try to avoid this. Never shake the stick or jerk it back violently when the marshmallow catches fire. Silly though it sounds, a flaming molten marshmallow can cause a painful burn.

Take care when holding marshmallows above a flame. Unlike the coals, which just radiate heat, the flames also send a stream of hot gases traveling upward. This second type of heat (called convection) will burn your marshmallow much faster. So even if the flame is well below your marshmallow, you can still end up turning half of it black or even setting it on fire. Usually it's worth the extra minute or two to cook it over coals instead.

Eat the marshmallow. Some people like to pull off the crisp brown layer and eat it first, then devour the hot goo inside. If your marshmallow accidentally burned black, you can pull off this layer and throw it in the fire instead. And of course, some of your friends have already finished scarfing the entire jumbo marshmallow in one bite while you were reading this. Careful — the marshmallow will be very hot. Wait at least 30-60 seconds after pulling it out of the fire.

Variations and Extra Recipes

Roast marshmallows under the broiler. European nobles probably kept a fireplace in every room just so they could eat marshmallows on a whim. In these dark days of the central heating unit, you may need to rely on your oven's broiler setting instead. Lay the marshmallows in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place on the middle rack under the broiler and watch it like a hawk. Once they brown – within a minute or two — rotate them with a spatula and toast the other side. Move the sheet to the upper rack if the marshmallows aren't browning.

Toast on a gas stove instead. This method gives you the fun of holding a marshmallow roasting stick, but there are downsides. It will be difficult to get an even toast, and if you overcook them the goo can make a mess dripping on your stovetop. Hold the marshmallows at the edge of the flame to avoid dripping onto the pilot light or other mechanisms. You can use a fork to toast them, but it may blacken if it gets too hot. And remember the fork will be scalding hot before you stick it in your mouth.

Make S'mores. This American classic is a kid's favorite, and super easy to make: Break off a square of graham cracker about the size of your marshmallow. (Substitute another crisp, sweet biscuit if graham crackers are not available near you.) Cover with a square of chocolate. Drop the fresh-toasted marshmallow onto the chocolate. Press down with a second piece of graham cracker, squishing the hot marshmallow down. This will partially melt the chocolate and make a delicious, gooey mess.

Make a banana boat. Here's another quirky way to enjoy your marshmallows: Slice a long slit through the skin of a banana. Scoop out a trench from the banana along this slit. Fill the trench with mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips. Wrap in foil and place on campfire coals, on a grill, or a baking sheet in a 300ºF (150ºC) oven. Cook for 5–15 minutes, checking frequently. The longer you wait, the more brown and caramelized the banana will get.

Drop your marshmallows onto hot cocoa or dessert. If you thought normal marshmallows were decadent in cocoa, you may need to sit down for the toasted variety. These also work great on ice cream or milkshakes, especially vanilla or chocolate.