You've Been Roasting Marshmallows Wrong This Whole Time

Roasting marshmallows is a summertime rite of passage. S'mores around the campfire? That's pretty much mandatory for June, July, and August. But if your marshmallow roasting skills aren't up to par, you may be in for a scorched, sloppy mess rather than a sublime, oozy treat. We get it, there are fire and sticks and it's oh-so-tempting to just plunge your skewered marshmallow directly into the flame. But you know, or at least you'll find out, that your marshmallow will behave like kindling to that flame and it will go up in charred, inedible smoke.

Unless you're that weirdo who likes their roasted marshmallows to look like a torched cinder block and taste like a bucket of ashes, sticking your marshmallow directly into or over the flame is the wrong way to do things. There's a better, more gentle method of achieving roast-y, toasty marshmallow goodness, and all it requires is a little extra patience. We can all manage a little restraint when the payoff is a perfectly golden brown, caramelized marshmallow with a melty, creamy center. Grab a stick and a bag of Jet-Puffed and let's get to it.

As we said, patience is the name of the game, and that begins with your fire. Chowhound says to allow your campfire to die down a bit before commencing with marshmallow roasting activities. Remember, tall, leaping flames are not a friendly environment for evenly toasted marshmallows. Instead, you'll want a low, concave spot full of glowing embers that are still plenty hot but not actively on fire. 

Slide your marshmallow onto the end of a sturdy, sharpened stick or a skewer and hold it about five to eight inches above the embers. You can rest the stick on a rock for steadiness if needed. Next, focus on rotating your marshmallow for even browning. If you're a city-dweller and don't have access to an outdoor fire or just don't like to leave the air conditioning, you can also (carefully) toast your marshmallow over a gas or electric burner. 

Chowhound says to rotate your marshmallow-roasting stick a quarter turn about every 20 seconds but you can turn more or less frequently depending on how quickly your 'mallow is caramelizing. KOA recommends a constant rotation, like a rotisserie, and says the roasting process should take about five minutes. You want your marshmallow to be evenly brown all over and it should start to sag away from the stick a bit. If it somehow catches fire, don't panic. Just pull it back from the fire and carefully blow on the marshmallow until the flame goes out. 

Once you've achieved golden, roasted marshmallow perfection, Chowhound calls on patience once more and says to let your prized 'mallow cool sufficiently before going in for a taste. We know this will be the hardest part so maybe just use that time to focus on building the perfect S'more, which ideally would include something both chocolatey and peanut buttery in our opinion.