S'mores

[ralphmelton]

Louie's snuggling up on my lap and I don't want to disturb him, so I'm looking for computing to do without disturbing his head from my mouse hand.

So it's time for me to talk about s'mores. The canonical s'more is made with a square of Hershey's chocolate, topped with a toasted marshmallow, between two graham crackers. But my sad experience is that such a s'more usually fails to live up to my vision of what a s'more should be like.

One problem is that toasting a marshmallow is harder than it looks. I used to take the simple route of just igniting the marshmallow and waiting until the flames burnt out. That produces a wonderfully warm, gooey inside, but I've gotten tired of the burnt outside. So now I try to toast them more gently, but that makes it hard to get the insides really warm and melty.

The second problem is the chocolate. My ideal s'more would have the square of chocolate slightly melted from the warmth of the marshmallow--not liquid, but softened like a chocolate bar left in a car on a warm day. But even a flaming marshmallow cools pretty quickly, so I don't end up getting this effect.

I think I have a solution for this second problem, though: instead of a square of Hershey's chocolate, I want to try a generous swirl of Nutella. If this goes according to plan, the chocolate part should start out soft, and therefore have the texture I seek.

It's likely to be a while before I try s'mores again, though. If you are intrigued enough to try this idea, please let me know how it works out.

Comments

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

I should post this in my own journal, I suppose ;)

Way to get a really squishy-melty-gooey marshmallow: nuke it.

Really. Make the s'more, put on a plate, nuke for between 15-30 seconds, depending on strength of microwave. Remove and squish. Chocolate also tends to melt from the nuking process.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

This is a good idea, and I'll try it sometime. Not very campfire-compatible, though.

[cellio]

True, but you can give that a positive spin: the yummy s'more experience, year-round, from the comfort of your kitchen! :-)

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

The best way to melt the marshmallow over the fire I've found is you have to find the place where the outside looks like it's ready to catch on fire, but doesn't. Hold it there, rotating it, for about a minute. If it looks like it's starting to slide off, park it on the cracker quickly. Usually I can get a soft-inside, slightly crispy outside without the scorched bits. It does take some paitence.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

I just received the LJ e-mail about this comment. Ah, the joys of the internet.

[cellio]

My LJ email has been very slow for about the last two days. Some arrives promptly and some takes 24 hours or more; I haven't determined a pattern yet.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

This post explains that one of the LJ mail servers died: http://www.livejournal.com/users/news/72431.html?nc=172

[magentamom.livejournal.com]

If you and Lori come out for a visit, we will share with you the latest in meaningless gadgetry. We own a S'more maker. It's a little bunson burner sort of thing with holders for the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers, all on a Lazy Susan. I agree that it is difficult to get the chocolate to melt, but I remember it doing so during my brief stint as a Girl Scout. We could have S'mores for every meal until we perfect it? ;)