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Does anyone know of a good way to keep marshmallows from melting off the roasting stick when making smores? Not just sliding off, more like when you use a hot roasting stick and then put the marshmallow on it, it just spins around the stick and does not roast well.

jhongs
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3 Answers3

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If you can, just get better marshmallow skewers/forks. If there are two prongs on the end, the marshmallow can't rotate. (And as long as you're not holding it at a really steep angle, they'll have a hard time sliding off the end too.)

You can get fancy ones with nice handles, but just plain metal is fine. And it doesn't have to be super strong, so you can probably even just make some out of reasonably thick/stiff wire or metal coat hangers.

The ones I grew up using (for marshmallows and hot dogs) looked like this:

marshmallow roasting forks

(though I always put the marshmallows on straight).

I couldn't quickly find a picture of exactly the same shape, but if you're wanting to try to make your own, this is what I'd go for:

<===>----------<===

A loop on the end to give you something to hold, then repeated twists through the middle section to make it stronger, then opening up into the two-pronged fork on the end!

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Cascabel
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Are you using a metal skewer? Metal will carry heat much more than other materials such as wood, and will cause the inside of the marshmallow where it is skewered to soften and slide under the weight of the rest of the marshmallow.

If you're aiming for a golden brown crust, then the key is to cook it quickly at just the right distance away so that the outside begins to have the maillard reaction before it burns (too close to the flame) or the insides soften too much (too far away/not a large enough flame). That really is dependent on the specific fire you're cooking it over. It will take some experimentation to get just right. Also, cook one side at a time, don't shake or spin the marshmallow as this only loosens it further.

If you're purposely 'slow-roasting' it for a more gooey effect, then also skewering a small hemisphere of screen wire (before the marshmallow) will keep the marshmallow in place even after its adherence to the skewer is compromised and make removal much cleaner as well as prevent it from falling into the fire accidentially. You can buy screen wire at your local hardware store and cut and fold it into the desired catch shape.

user27435
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    if you only have metal skewers, and don't have suitable sticks ... cook more than one marshmallow at once. You'll have less exposed metal, and even if you heat it up, only the one closest to the handle is likely to melt internally. This of course assumes that you have the marshmallows so that the metal tip isn't exposed. – Joe Sep 30 '14 at 17:38
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Like Jefromi said, having two prongs to hold the marshmallow will keep it from just spinning around the stick/skewer.

You might want to look into getting a skewer like this:

enter image description here

(I found this one on a site called outdoor roasting.com)

Having two prongs really makes all the difference! Having it wrap around like a safety fork is kind of an added bonus, keeping the marshmallow from falling off the end.

Make sure to turn slow and keep it a bit away from the fire to get it crispy and golden on the outside, with a soft and gooey inside. Waiting 60 seconds more is worth it. Sticking it straight into the fire will ruin your chances of a soft and gooey, golden brown marshmallow (for obvious reasons).

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codemonkey789
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