Gary and Charlene Nicolson of Orkney Marshmallows are sometimes working until one in the morning making the sweet treats in time for Christmas.
“It started off as a little bit of a hobby during lockdown,” Gary, 33, explains.
“We never ever thought it would get to the stage that we are now – selling marshmallows around Scotland and posting them to England.
“We’re really happy with how everything has gone.”
The response from customers who have tried their marshmallows has been encouraging.
“We always have samples at the shows so people can see what they think of them,” adds Gary.
“At all the shows we’ve been to, we’ve sold out at most of them.
“That’s really rewarding seeing that; we go there with loads of stock and then come back with nothing.”
‘There are a lot of late nights’ perfecting Orkney Marshmallows
The duo both work other jobs at the moment. Gary works as a chef on the Flotta oil terminal, and Charlene is a DYW school instructor.
The couple behind Orkney Marshmallows enjoy the lead up to Christmas the most, but it isn’t without its challenges.
“It’s nice at Christmastime, going along to local shows and having a bit of fun.
“We’ve made up some quirky flavours like Irn-Bru, pistachio and white chocolate.
“Being able to play about with that and seeing people’s reactions is really fun.”
In order to prepare enough marshmallows, though, while working two jobs and looking after their four children, is a bit of a juggle.
“Especially at the moment, in the lead-up to Christmas, there are a lot of late nights,” says Charlene.
“Gary will come home from work and I’ll be getting the kids ready for bed, and he will start making marshmallows.
“I can hear the mixer going sometimes until one in the morning!”
How do Gary and Charlene make the marshmallows?
Gary talked me through how he makes their toffee swirl marshmallows.
“You make a hot sugar syrup, and you take it up to 118 degrees.
“Then you add that to bloomed powder gelatine.
“You whisk that up for about 10-15 minutes, and it grows in volume until it fills the 20 litre mixing bowl.
“You add your flavours to that, and hand whisk in the caramel through it.
“We put it into our trays lined with parchment paper, and let it set for 24 hours.
“Then we hand cut it to size the next day. And then we dust it with a mix of cornflour and icing sugar.
“We let that cure for another 12-24 hours, and then package it up.”
The process from start to finish takes around three days.
And has making so many marshmallows made the couple lose their love for eating the sweet, fluffy treat themselves?
“No, we still eat them,” laughs Gary.
“We probably wouldn’t have as many as we would’ve when we started, but we still enjoy them.”
Conversation