Vegan marshmallows in Montreal?

July 17, 2010 1:21 PM

I live in Montreal; I'm going camping in a few weeks & need some vegan marshmallows for the fire.

I found some online, but they won't ship them as they say they melt in the summer (you can get them sent overnight with an icepack for extra money, but for one pack of marshmallows, for me, that's too pricey).

So, anyone know where I can find these elusive beauties in-store, in Montreal?

(I already asked this on Chowhound, but didn't get any responses)

posted by Laura in Canada to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

Best answer: Still looking around, but Sacaharen Brothers in Montreal seems to make kosher non-gelatin (almost certainly vegan) marshmallows. Not sure whether or not they sell retail directly, but if not they might be able to tell you who in the area would carry that product:

Sacharen Bros Inc. (Frere Sacharen Inc.)
20 rue Henri-IV
Montreal, QC
Canada
[phone]
posted by kyrademon at 1:33 PM on July 17, 2010

I didn't find a store, but:

Here's a recipe.

This thread has some advice on how to make vegan marshmallows from a regular marshmallow recipe, and what to buy instead of regular gelatin.

This one comes as a kit, so presumably it doesn't have the same melting issues. You still have to make it, but it's easier than doing it from scratch probably, and you won't have to go hunting for the vegan gelatin ingredients.
posted by brainmouse at 1:40 PM on July 17, 2010

Haven't been able to find anything else directly. The only other thing I could suggest would be trying Marches Tau or a similar store. They probably don't carry what you're looking for, but they might.
posted by kyrademon at 1:50 PM on July 17, 2010

I don't have experience with a solution but was curious about the question and learned that people make their own marshmallows (Could fresh, homemade sugar blobs be worth the effort ?) and recipes are available; the veganal objection to standard marshmallows is the gelatin, but there is kosher gelatin that may answer (Jews seem to have food covered.) or agar can be used; making your own marshmallows may be tricky and is perhaps easier if you get a kit :
http://store.veganessentials.com/vegan-marshmallow-kits-by-angel-food-p2419.aspx
I remember the setting the marshmallows on fire part of toasting them. I don't remember the taste. But I guess, if you are a vegan, they still need to be gelatin free even if you only burn them.
posted by llc at 1:53 PM on July 17, 2010

Quick warning on that -- Kosher gelatin is *not* necessarily vegan. It can be fish gelatin. Some kosher marshmallows are made with substances other than gelatin, such as agar-agar or something similar, and those are vegan. But some are made with gelatin, and those are not.
posted by kyrademon at 2:03 PM on July 17, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks all so far... I know making your own marshmallows is possible, but I've also heard that it's tricky. I also suspect they won't hold up to a campfire like mass-produced ones might (I don't know why I think this).

Last year at the campsite someone brought kosher marshmallows, but they were indeed made with fish gelatin, which isn't what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the store kyrademon, I'll check it out.

Any further suggestions are still appreciated.
posted by Laura in Canada at 2:10 PM on July 17, 2010

Viva Granola in Quebec offers several brands of vegan marshmallows. I think they're only online, but if you contact them they might be able to let you know where to buy something if you contact them.
posted by kyrademon at 2:10 PM on July 17, 2010

This isn't great, but the closest stores I can find to you that definitely sell vegan marshmallows in store are:

Sweet Clover Market, LLC
[phone]
located at the Essex Shoppes and Cinema
21 Essex Way Suite 418
PO Box 9003
Essex, VT 05451-9003
www.sweetclovermarket.com

and

Natural Provisions
Address: 329 Harvest Lane Suite 100 Williston, VT 05495
Phone: [phone] | Fax: [phone]
Market & Deli Hours: 8am to 8pm Monday-Saturday and 8am to 6pm Sunday

Both are about 2 hours drive from Montreal. :P This doesn't, of course, mean there aren't stores closer to you that sell them, but I can't find any.
posted by kyrademon at 2:18 PM on July 17, 2010

If you go to an organic co-op (such as the frigo vert at concordia) they might special order these for you. To explore your kosher options I'd head up parc avenue, there's a large kosher grocer just north of st-viateur, on the right hand side. Big green awning.
posted by cmyr at 3:45 PM on July 17, 2010

I realize that this isn't terribly specific, but I've seen marshmallows at Japanese grocery stores that appeared to be vegan--they were made with agar-agar. Even though they were a bit smaller than the typical "campfire" marshmallows, they looked like they could withstand a decent toasting.
posted by corey flood at 5:17 PM on July 17, 2010

From Ms. Vegetable:
As an alternative, marshmallow cream doesn't have gelatin. It doesn't give you the satisfaction of catching a regular marshmallow on fire, but it tastes quite good.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:26 AM on July 18, 2010