Candy Review: Mitchell Sweets Vanilla and Chocolate Caramel Marshmallows

Thursday, June 25, 2009 - by Laurie

I seriously love marshmallows. Maybe it’s their association with summer and autumn campfires, hot cocoa, and Rice Krispie squares. Or maybe it’s just their incredibly light, fluffy, gooey texture and delicious vanilla flavor. (Though “vanilla” is often used as a shorthand for “boring,” is there honestly anyone who doesn’t like the flavor?)

So I was totally jazzed to discover Mitchell Sweets All Natural Chocolate and Vanilla caramel-coated marshmallows at Hammond’s Candies’ All Candy Expo booth – one of the nicest-looking booths at the show, I might add – alongside an array of gorgeous handmade candy canes and lollipops. Because if there’s one thing I love more than marshmallows, it’s caramel. And chocolate. (OK, that’s two things.)

Individually wrapped in waxed paper, the rectangular marshmallows have a chunky, rustic look, bearing borders of vanilla and chocolate-flavored caramel respectively. They have the appearance of having been cut from a big log of caramel-coated marshmallow (and if you can think of a stickier, messier job than coating a log of gooey marshmallow in hot, sticky caramel, I’d like to hear it). The ingredient list is pretty simple, but not as simple as you’d expect from something bearing the name “all natural” (which, admittedly, doesn’t mean an awful lot these days). Are coconut oil, corn syrup, and invert sugar “natural” products? For that matter, is gelatin? Regular sugar? Who knows?

Vanilla: The caramel tastes like cream and sugar, just like it’s supposed to. It’s also got a little molasses edge, though there’s none listed on the ingredients. It reminds me a little of that Halloween molasses toffee in the orange wrappers.

Chocolate: This was very stuck to the waxed paper – I hope I didn’t eat too much paper with my marshmallow. It has a nice mild, slightly salty chocolate flavor that comes from chocolate liqueur, not cocoa. It’s a very different flavor and texture experience than the chocolate-covered marshmallows I’m used to – chewy rather than snappy, with a flavor that’s closer to a Tootsie Roll than real chocolate. It’s not at all bad, just different.

The marshmallow centers are firm and pillowy, a little dry on the outside, and quite chewy for marshmallow. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be this dry or if mine have gotten stale already in the month since the All Candy Expo. This is definitely not a bad thing, though – the denseness of both the caramel and the marshmallow were a really good textural combination. I liked how substantial they felt in my mouth. (I don’t think I’m alone in this – just look at how many people won’t eat Peeps unless they’re good and stale.) They have a nice long chew for marshmallows, without being too heavy or sweet like a pure caramel.

In all these are definitely a tasty treat, and I’m really wishing I’d grabbed more than the couple of samples. If you’re a marshmallow (or caramel) junkie like me, you really owe it to yourself to give them a try.

• Hammonds’ Candies Website

Buy Hammond’s Candy Online:

• at Candy Crate
• at Amazon.com