Is it possible to eat marshmallows on a plant based diet?
You are familiar with the scene.You are at a campfire with your friends and family.Maybe you are telling ghost stories and enjoying the smell of smoke in the air, because the fire crackles bright against the dark sky.Someone offers marshmallows, after all, what's a campfire without roasting a marshmallows?Wait!You paused.Are marshmallows vegan?
We are going to try to help you answer that question today.We are going to talk about whether or not marshmallows are vegan, what types of vegan marshmallows there are, and where you can buy them.
Before we talk about whether or not marshmallows are vegan, we need to know what marshmallows actually are.
The traditional use of the mallow plant resulted in the name marshmallows.The first recorded consumption of marshmallows was by the Ancient Egyptians.The root of the mallow plant was used, and the resulting food was often mixed with fruit or nuts.
When French confection makers began whipping the mallow plant with egg whites and sugar in the 1800s, they created the first marshmallows.The vegan community runs into a problem because the traditional mallow sap was replaced with gelatin.
Most marshmallows are made with a mixture of corn syrup, sugar, water, and gelatin.A light fluffy texture is given to the marshmallows when they are pushed through long cylindrical tubes.The little snacks are made from the cylinders of marshmallows.
The main difference between marshmallows and marshmallows first invented by French confectioners is the addition of gelatin.The gelling agent is derived from animal skin and bones.
It's most likely not a vegan if it has gelatin in it.See my "Is Jello vegan?" post for more on this ingredient.
Jet-Puffed marshmallows are advertised as being dairy-free, but this is a question that is often raised.The ingredients of the marshmallows listed on the website are corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, dextrose, water, gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, natural and artificial flavor, blue 1.
The fact that jet puffed marshmallows are not vegan is due to their appearance on this list.
You love those treats, but you are disappointed to learn that they are not vegan.There are actually vegan brands of marshmallows.Some vegan marshmallows are made with sugar and a gelling agent.Agar agar and carrageenan are derived from seaweed.
There are a lot of vegan marshmallows on Amazon.Dandies are one of my favorites.These marshmallows are vegan and kosher.They are soft and fluffy, and they melt just like regular marshmallows.
Dandies marshmallows have ingredients.They contain a variety of ingredients, including cane sugar, tapioca syrup, and carrageenan.The choice seems obvious when you compare those ingredients.Not only are Dandies vegan marshmallows, but they are also non-GMO verified, and they don't have any of those corn syrup nasties.
You could even make your own vegan marshmallows.The Vegetarian Baker has a video.
They are not a health food, but they are better for you than store-bought marshmallows.You need to treat them as a treat.?
We covered a lot today.We talked about the origins of marshmallows, whether or not they are vegan, and how traditional marshmallows are made.There are a few vegan options.
There is a website where you can read a more detailed history of marshmallows.There are plenty of vegan marshmallows on Amazon.The marshmallows come in a variety of flavors.
What do you think about marshmallows, vegan or otherwise?Do you like a brand?Have you tried to make your own?Let us know what you think in the comments.
Lisa Williams is a vegan and passionate animal welfare advocate.
She started happyhappy vegan.com because she felt there was a need for more straightforward information about plant-based living.She wanted to change that, that too many sites seem to concentrate solely on recipes or be too intimidating for the v-curious.The landscape is very different now.