The Best Spot For Roasting Marshmallows Over A Campfire

The simple s'more — graham cracker, chocolate, and a pillowy marshmallow — is a hallmark of the summer camping trip. The recipe is easy to customize — you can use storebought marshmallows or make your own at home, you can swap out a favorite chocolate candy bar for the traditional square of chocolate, and you can even add a delicious spoonful of peanut butter to your graham cracker before stacking the other ingredients on top of it.

That said, any s'more lover worth their salt knows that despite the simple assembly of this treat, there is definitely some strategy behind roasting the perfect marshmallow. If you want a marshmallow that has a toasted but not burnt exterior and a sweet, melty interior, it all comes down to the positioning. The ideal s'more depends on the even heat of the coals, not the open flame, for its signature taste and texture.

One risk you run in roasting marshmallows is that they can catch on fire. When that happens, quickly and carefully blow it out. Usually, this happens because the marshmallow was held too close to an open flame. The result is a marshmallow with a burnt exterior, but still cold and firm on the inside. The secret to perfectly roasting a marshmallow without it catching fire is to roast it slowly over the hot coals, not the flames. 

You can either wait until the fire has died down to just coals, or you can find a spot within the campfire where coals are easiest to access. If you can safely separate some coals from the flames, that will work perfectly. Hold the marshmallow about six inches over the coals. Coals that are small and glowing red are ideal because they radiate heat evenly and won't easily ignite your food. Once you've found a good spot, slowly rotate the marshmallow over the coals for about five minutes until you see the telltale signs of a perfectly toasted outside.