People Are Divided Over The Correct Way To Toast A Marshmallow

Kasia Mikolajczak
marshmallows roasting over a fire pit on sticks
Unsplash | Leon Contreras

Let me ask you something — do you like to sit by the fire and roast some marshmallows? That sounds like a good time, no? We actually do this all the time now that we have a fire pit.

But not every roasted marshmallow is created equal. As it turns out, there's a madness to the methods, and people are very divided about what makes the perfectly roasted marshmallow. So let's dive into this subject a little deeper. Shall we?

Here's the thing.

Twitter logo
Unsplash | Alexander Shatov

Somebody on Twitter started this whole marshmallow debate, and I had to get in on it. They posed a question to their audience asking what makes the perfect marshmallow roasting technique, and lots of folks chimed in with their advice.

They even showed a visual.

A chart showing different toasted marshmallows.
twitter | @StuntmanStu

Check out this marshmallow roasting chart. You can clearly see where the roasting starts and where some people take it. Oh my goodness, that's a whole range here, no? No wonder this is such a heated debate. Going from 1 to 10 is quite extreme.

I'm not even touching #1.

woman gesturing with her hand saying "let's move on."
Giphy | Sara Dietschy

That's not a roasted marshmallow at all. Neither is #2 so let's move on. In #3, you're starting to see some crust forming, but it's still not good enough for me. I don't know about you, but something about that slightly burned taste appeals to me.

But let's look at some of the other people's comments.

Ha, ha, I love that. I, too, wait until the marshmallow gets set on fire. Then, I let it burn for just a couple of seconds, and that's pretty much when it's done. What do you think of that?

How about this?

I'm laughing so hard. But I agree with this person wholeheartedly. 1-2 isn't a roasted marshmallow. I do eat them raw sometimes, too, though. And then once you get to 9-10, you've already lost me. That's pretty much burned, okay?

What do you think of this train of thought?

Hmm, I like where she's going with #8, but once you get to #9 you're crossing the line. Now, you're stuck with a very burnt outer layer and gooey center. In my opinion, it's just a little too burned, for my liking.

I like this strategy, too.

Doesn't that sound about right to you? I don't know if I would go as far as #9, though. I still like to eat that crusted outer layer. But once you get to #9 is pretty much burned. So I wouldn't go that far if I were you.

Check out this explanation here.

Oh my goodness, people seem to take this debate so seriously, lol. As I said, there's a method to this madness of roasting a perfect marshmallow. And if you can perfect it, then you're the fire pit master, hee-hee.

Here's another option for you.

Oh yum! That looks so good to me right about now. Forget the whole deal of sticking that marshmallow on a stick and do this instead. It sounds good to me. Now, who's going to make this for me, huh?

This seems like a popular opinion.

I tend to agree with this train of thought, too. I think I would prefer to have my marshmallow a little on the undercooked side than totally burned. Eating something like that can't be good for you. Am I right or what?

See what I mean?

There are more lovers of the #7 method of roasting marshmallows. Everything they say makes perfect sense to me. I like the middle ground too. There's no way in hell I would ever attempt to eat #10. That's pretty gross to me.

Oh, yes — more visuals.

This looks pretty good to me. You can see that this toasted marshmallow has that perfect crust, and the center is nice and gooey inside. That's exactly what I like. And now I want one, ha, ha. I guess this means we're doing a campfire this weekend. Alright!

Here's a lover of method #4.

But they have their own set of directions for you all. I totally agree you need to rotate the marshmallows, so they roast evenly. That's the correct way to accomplish that even crust on the whole outer surface.

Make sure this doesn't happen to you.

Oh, yes. I've been there, so I totally get it. That's why you need to get your timing right, or you'll end up with a burned marshmallow. This is the time to learn some patience and go steady at it. Am I right?

How about what this guy had to say?

Tweet about marshmallows
twitter | @andylidholm

Come to think of it, I agree with him. You can't go from 7-9 just like that. I feel like something is missing there. What do you think? I would add an extra image or two into that area of the chart.

There were some marshmallow haters out there.

Oh, wow! Come on now! They're not that bad, especially if you get those gluten-free or no-gelatin varieties. Those are so delicious. Trust me — you really need to give them a chance. They'll grow on you. I promise, hee-hee.

And then there's this lady:

She claims to be some kind of marshmallow roasting expert, hehe, and says that she studied the thermodynamics of marshmallows for years. Huh? There's such a thing, lol? Who knew, eh? That must be a fun job to have. Don't you think so?

Here's a winner for me.

I couldn't agree more with what this guy had to say here. This is exactly the method I use. This way, the marshmallow is perfectly roasted on the outside and nicely cooked inside. Bravo! You said it, man! Trust me — this is how you do it.

Who knew there were so many opinions on how to roast a perfect marshmallow, huh?

woman looking at a burned marshmallow
Giphy | Universal Music Finland

Haha! I had no idea this would be such a heated debate after all. So what's your verdict? Which final product do you prefer? I'm sticking with #7, but it needs to have that even crust all over. And forget anybody who will eat #9-10. You guys are crazy, lol.