From the Nest

Sweet + Sara Marshmallows
It's tough being vegan in this world sometimes. Sure, there are the parades in your honor all the time, and all those 'Thanks for Not Eating Me' cards you get from the farm animals, but, in all honesty, we're missing out on a lot of pretty awesome tasting foods out there.

True, when you learn the details of what goes into the production of things like cheese or eggs or what have you, and the suffering that's brought upon the animals involved in making these things for us, and then you take into account that, no, we really don't live in a rural, small-town world when it comes to supply and demand anymore and industrialized food production is solely responsible for not only billions of animals in pain and life-long confinement, but also ravages upon the environment and human health, when you pay attention to all of that, it's 100% worth it. Why would you want to be a part of that system?

But man, cheese? That stuff was good. I feel like it almost always tops the 'Here are the Things I Miss' list for vegans. Which is why it surprised me a while back when a friend of mine was pining over the long-lost taste of marshmallows. I mean, marshmallows were fine and all, but they were no 10 year aged sharp cheddar. I don't think I really gave them much of a thought after going vegan. Then again, I don't really camp, so...

For anyone who doesn't know, traditionally, marshmallows are made with fun stuff like the hooves and bones and skin of animals. More specifically, the gelatin in marshmallows is made with the hooves and bones and skin of animals. It gives them that, I don't know, marshmallowy feel. Gross, right? So imagine my friend's joy a little while back when onto the market sprang Sweet & Sara's vegan marshmallows. Rumor had it that, not only were they cruelty-free, they were also pretty damn good. Long-time vegan Sara Sohn started the company in Queens after spending over a year in the kitchen trying to mad scientist these things up and get them just right. Turns out, all the work was worth it: the texture is superb—just enough give and not too gooey—and they actually taste better than your run-of-the-mill, buy 'em in a bag marshmallows. More along the lines of a gourmet marshmallow, which I recently realized does actually exist. Seems odd...like a gourmet Cheez-It. Oh, and the big question: How do they melt? The answer: Superbly. And not in a 'Hey, that vegan cheese melts...um...sort of alright...for vegan cheese' kind of way. In an actual, this is the way marshmallows melt way, be it over a camp fire (so I'm told) or in a microwave at 3AM between two ginger snaps with a piece of dark chocolate (Katie's genius).

Why'm I (is that a legit contraction?) talking about these things now if they've been around for over a year? Because, ever the perfectionist confectionist, Sara's now graced us with three new marshmallow products. In addition to her straight-up marshmallows and her AMAZING pre-packaged s'mores (circle of marshmallow on thick graham cracker covered in really nice dark chocolate), she can now boast three new superb sweets: Rocky Road Bark, with almonds and marshmallows in dark chocolate; Strawberry Marshmallows, for those of you jonesing for that strawberry Quick flavor of yore; and, best yet, Cinnamon Pecan Marshmallows (pictured above, before we devoured them all). The CP marshmallows boast a lovely balance of sweet and nutty flavor. Totally our favorites of the new bunch.

So if you've been robbing yourself of the wonderfulness that is marshmallow bliss so all those poor animals could hold onto their hooves and bones and skin, on their behalf, we thank you. But rob yourself no longer! Pick some of these sweet treats up. Totally worth it. And now that Whole Foods markets have started carrying Sweet and Sara nation-wide, they're easier to find than ever. And seriously, try the microwave-gingersnap thing. Best.