Artisan Marshmallows & Giveaway

A friend of your Chocolate Priestess gave me some artisan marshmallows from an Indiana company called 240sweet back at the end of September.  She gave me the Chocolate Chocolate Chip kind and they are huge.  So  I contacted the company to let them know that one of my readers recommended them.  They responded  by not only sending me three samples but also offering my readers a gift.  We'll get to the giveaway in a moment.

My friend, Razzle, gave me the first threesome.  All the marshmallows come in hot sealed bags and they can be found in some stores around Indiana or you can go directly to 240sweet in Columbus, Indiana, to find them.  I think Razzle said she got these at our local co-op, Bloomingfoods, where I have a membership, too, but I've never seen these in there.

240sweet sent me these three flavors: Caramel Swirl with Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Chipotle, and Chocolate Caramel Swirl.  On their website they mention that the swirls are only available November through February of each year.  Of the four flavors I'm going to reveal to you, they are all large but vary widely in size.  The Caramel was the largest in terms of width and height while the Chocolate Caramel Swirl the shortest.  Since these are handmade and small batch made the size may vary so I don't want to give exact dimensions that might mislead you, Sisters and Brothers.  They are all much bigger than the average store bought, every day marshmallow.

The Caramel Swirl with Chocolate Chips stuck to the seal plastic wrapper a bit after I cut it open but they came out in one piece.  There was a light caramel and sugar scent to them and they were not sticky at all to my fingertips but seemed lighted dusted.  They were easy to separate and with three of us about to make smores with them, we decided to try different ways.  One of us cut his into three pieces and laid them on three graham crackers and put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  As you can see they melted too much.

The next one of us just cut the marshmallow into two pieces and placed them on graham crackers.  After microwaving for 10 seconds they looked good and the report was that they tasted very much like caramel and sugar with a crunch and a charge of chocolate when the eater got to the chips.

I did a more traditional smore by cutting my marshmallow in half and then placing it on top of a chocolate bar.  Then I microwaved at 15 seconds, more matter to go through means more time for the radiation to work, and they turned out great.  Now the marshmallows were so thick that with one half I had to watch it as it tended to squish out around the edges.  Overall a very nice change of pace for the smores.

The Chocolate Chipotle came out of it's package more easily since it was a bit smaller the Caramel Swirl.  It has a strong scent of chipotle and a light chocolate scent.  If you looked at it however you'd see only a cocoa color to the marshmallows.  We decided to add these to hot cocoa in an attempt to make a Mexican or spicy version. The intense scent should have been our clue that one marshmallow per cup would be too much for me but about right for the Milk Chocolate Acolyte.  I used sugar free cocoa mix so that any sweetness would come from the marshmallows and not the cocoa.  When I first took a sip, it tasted just like decent hot cocoa, nothing I'd cross the street for but that I'd buy in bulk for home use everyday.  Then when I swallowed my eyes went wide.  That's when the heat hit.  I tried holding a sip in my mouth and no heat reaction until I swallowed.  The heat lasted for minutes and minutes.  Now, different parts of our tongues and mouths react to different sensations and flavors so I think this is what happened here.  Let me clear: If you don't like a lot of heat, cut your chipotle marshmallow in half or less to use in hot chocolate.

The Chocolate Caramel Swirl marshmallows were sampled in two ways.  The first two we toasted, or attempted to toast, over the flame on the top of our gas stove.  Warning: Just like regular white marshmallows you can find in any store these will catch on fire but fastest because I think the sugar in the caramel caught on fire for me.  No, no pictures of the fire, it was just a corner.  The caramel started to melt but the body of the marshmallow didn't puff up like the traditional ones can over a camp fire.  The result was a very gooey and warm treat. The last marshmallow I just ate as it was in the bag and I really like that too. Definitely sweet but it clearly had the bitterness of the cocoa and the tang of the caramel as well.  Overall the scent was mostly the caramel and again they were dusted so my fingers didn't stick until I toasted one.

That leaves us with the flavor that Razzle gave me for my birthday: Chocolate Chocolate Chip. I was all ready to try these in the sugar free hot cocoa plus a smore when I cut open this bag marked "Best by: 12-9-10".  I tried this yesterday but I received about six weeks back.  On them were signs of fuzzy green mold that made me cry.  These looked so good with a chocolate marshmallow and mini chocolate chips.  Let this be a lesson, Sisters and Brothers: Eat these quickly!

The artisan marshmallows I could try were very tasty, clearly head and shoulders above any other marshmallow I've ever had.  You can use them in a variety of ways but just make sure you consume them with a week or two please.  The result is a worthy Sacrament for those of you who like a sugar rush with your cocoa buzz.

The good folks at 240sweet are offering one lucky reader a $15 gift pack of artisan marshmallows that they can either have sent directly to them or as a gift to someone else.  With several winter holidays right around the corner, I think you'd be crazy to not want to get this gift.   Here is how you can get a chance to win, the steps will look very familiar to you all.  Sorry, only people in the continental USA can win.

1.  You must be a public follower of The Chocolate Cult because I will check.  Three ways to follow -- blogspot itself, Facebook, or Networked Blogs. You can find these three ways on the right hand bar at the top.  Also make sure you have an email set so I can contact you if you should win.

2. Leave a comment telling me what flavor of 240sweet marshmallow looks the best and the most questionable to you.  You can find that list here.

3.  You must leave your comment and be a public follower by midnight on Friday, November 26, 2010.  The winner will be contacted by email.

Spread the word about the giveaway please and keep reading and commenting on our posts.  Your appreciation gives us all the energy to keep bringing you reviews and news about chocolate. Thanks you 240sweet for entrusting us to reveal your products to the world and for offering this giveaway.