|
NO
ARTIFICIAL COLORS • NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS
• NO ADDITIVES |
The
Birth of the All Natural Marshmallow
How Plush Puffs Got their Start
By
Ellen Walsh
What
are marshmallows, anyway?
There are a lot of fond memories wrapped around marshmallows.
We always had them over an open camp fire. Back then,
when yards were large and old oak trees were in full
supply, we'd rake up the leaves, burn them at the curb,
but not before running to the kitchen for the marshmallows
and finding just the right tree branch so that we could
roast them over the open flames.
We
had friends who were a lot fancier. They made S'mores,
by melting the marshmallows between two graham crackers
and a square of chocolate off a Hershey bar. You'd bite
into them, and the crackers would break off and fall
down, and the chocolate would dribble down your chin
and ruin your clean shirt, but no one minded. After
all, we were roasting marshmallows. It was our right
as a child.
You
never really thought of marshmallows as food. You thought
of it as a tradition. They were just there. Did we have
any idea what they were made out of? I don't believe
that "back then" any of us gave it much thought,
until we became label readers, and saw all the added
preservatives and chemicals in it. Slowly, marshmallows
were weeded out of our consciousness, and I don't believe
my own children have ever participated in the marshmallow
ritual, because as tots with hyperactivity issues, we
stuck to the Feingold diet. (No artificial colors,
flavors, or preservatives)**
However
as I was weeding marshmallows out, private chef and
health food caterer Ann Hickey was weeding them back
in, only with an eye to the All Natural market. Blending
her own background as a former health educator at University
of Southern California with her new found career as
a healthy ingredient oriented chef, Ann first came up
with the concept for an all natural pumpkin marshmallow
while still in culinary school. Made with all natural
ingredients, no artificial colors or flavors, and the
highest quality sugars she could find, a career was
launched to the sounds of rave reviews. Moving on to
a chocolate marshmallow, the concept of Plush Puffs
was born. That brings us back to my original question
- what is a marshmallow, anyway?
"A
marshmallow is inverted sugar," says Chef and Plush
Puffs founder Ann Hickey. "It's reduced sugar and
water, so it turns into caramel during the heating process,
but you stop it before it gets to that point, and start
whipping it. Then, during the whipping process, you
add in gum, egg whites, gelatin.. Mostly gelatin is
what I do, with a tiny bit of gum. But the real trick
is keeping it all natural."
And
keeping it all natural was the challenge indeed.
Utilizing
spec sheets from all the vendors, Ann made natural ingredients
her priority over the easier route of including less
expensive ingredients in her final product, an issue
that all new manufacturers have had to face squarely
in the face. "If this product had artificial colors
or flavors in it, I could have an additional 15%-20%
on my margin. As it is, my price is higher than other
gourmet dessert products. But I receive so much encouragement
and appreciation from people who have allergen restrictions
for either themselves or their children, that I stick
to my guns and keep it all natural," Ann comments.
"There are a lot of issues that the FDA just doesn't
enforce, making it extra time consuming to make sure
the ingredients I select have no added chemicals, preservatives,
or artificial anything. For example, sugar. Sure, sugar
is natural. But is there an ingredient or a process
that isn't natural used to keep it white? It's hard
to find out! What are the discrepancies that we don't
know about in a product that the law doesn't require
that they disclose?" Ann questioned. There is a
lot of un chartered territory in the natural and organic
manufacturing world, and it is up to each manufacturer
to investigate thoroughly the criteria they are interested
in for the production of their product, and Plush Puffs
does that. Often times this journey comes with its surprises.
Natural marshmallows have more difficulty in holding
their shape so through trial and error they settled
in on the square shaped presentation. Ironically, the
unique presentation of its shape has attracted the attention
of some notable chefs.
Mary
Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of L.A.'s Border Grill,
created "Sweet Potatoes S'mores" for their
menu utilizing the Plush Puff marshmallows. A number
of other chefs, hotels, and gourmet food & coffee
shops have started carrying Plush Puffs, recognizing
their unique opportunity and interest.
For
a complete list of where to find this product, visit
their web site at http://www.plushpuffs.com