On Gods and Chickens

Reader Cynthia writes in to ask a very cool question: why are eggs and chicks associated with Easter? They have no strict religious significance (i.e. they don’t occur in the Bible anywhere) so…what gives?

The reason I like that question is because just about everywhere you see it asked, the response is the same thin gruel of warmed-over paganism. The goddess Eostre etc., etc., symbols of fertility yadda yadda, cycle of renewal blabbity blabbity. It’s all so much thoughtless gibberish.

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Sugar Crystals, Fat Crystals

Reader Rainey writes in to ask me to expound a little on the phenomenon of crystallization, specifically in sugar (marshmallows) but also in chocolate. Those who know me know that if there’s one thing I like to do, it’s expound. So let’s take the first part first.

Sugar crystals can be a blessing or a curse depending on the outcome you’re after. They’re great for, say, rock candy, but not so great for marshmallows. Marshmallows are made from table sugar (sucrose), which is especially crystal-prone for the simple reason that its molecules are so similar to one another. When you have a lot of similar molecules in very close proximity to one another you get a sort of LEGO effect: the molecules stack up on each other and whammo: crystals. To prevent that from happening you need to bring some random flotsam and jetsam to the party: molecular junk that will get in between those very small, similar molecules so they won’t be able to lock together. This is the service that corn syrup performs. It’s made up of a hodgepodge of longer-chain sugars which get in between those little sucroses, preventing them from arranging themselves in orderly stacks.

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Hangin’ with the Peeps

The thing I love about piping peeps is, every one ends up with a different attitude. Some are elegant and swan-like, some aloof, some have deep, deep self-esteem issues. It’s my piping inconsistency that does it, but what I lack in piping skill I make up for in the diverse cast of characters I create. You can almost make up a play with them right there at the dinner table.

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The Mysterious Secret Ingredient

Reader Lilly writes:

What is the ineffable thing that gives marshmallows that almost chalky mouthfeel that they have? Egg whites? No. Sugar? No. Gelatin or vanilla? Couldn’t be. But that’s everything that’s in a marshmallow except for the water, so where does that texture come from?

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What’s the Science of Marshmallow?

That’s a good question, reader Jay. Marshmallow is one of the simpler foams, but still an interesting object to contemplate. It’s primarily a sugar syrup with lots of air whipped into it, though it wouldn’t hold up for terribly long if it didn’t have some sort of support. That support is usually gelatin.

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The Original Peep

Reader Rainey writes:

For years I’ve wondered about the Peeps of my childhood in the 50s. I distinctly remember marshmallow chicks that were molded. They actually resembled chicks standing on legs. They were ever so much more attractive than the blobby current offerings. And they actually did get stale producing a wonderful crunchy crust. But it’s affirmation of the molded chicks I’m after and no one else o the bloggosphere seems to remember this.

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But, but, but…?

Doesn’t corn syrup or glucose help to prevent crystallization in marshmallow? Indeed so, reader Lauren. Those individual sugars work almost like little ball bearings, getting in between the sucrose molecules and preventing them from stacking up on each other like LEGOs and forming crystals. The things is, in a Peep a little crystallization isn’t such […]

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Marsh + Mallow = Marshmallow

Made-from-scratch marshmallow is truly a creation to be celebrated. Tell people you make your own and they’ll stare at you in disbelief. How is it that a mere mortal can dare to make something so ethereal, so elemental at home? Next he’ll be telling he makes his own small-batch artisan air! Truly, for many, to presume to make one’s own marshmallow is to try the very patience of the gods. In point of fact marshmallow is no big whoop. If you have a stand mixer you can make it easily. Nothing more than a sugar syrup and egg white foam reinforced with gelatin.

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Marshmallow for Peeps

The thing about a Peep is, it needs to be able to stand up. The head of a Peep needs to stand fairly tall and the beak needs to stick out without drooping too much. Thus standard marshmallow isn’t really up to the task…the egg white and corn syrup make it just a bit too fluid. This one is pretty much just sugar and gelatin, which makes for a more erect Peep.

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