Why Jet-Puffed Marshmallows Change Color: The Science Explained

I’ve always been captivated by foods that feel almost magical—anything that changes color, shifts flavors, or promises to be ever-lasting. So when I stumbled upon Jet-Puffed Color Changing Marshmallows, I knew I couldn’t pass them up.

These sugary confections promise to transform from blue and pink to orange and green when roasted over a campfire absolutely delighting the inner child in me.

However, the more mature part of me (who has several degrees in Food Science) knew better than to think this trick was magic. With my curiosity fully piqued and my Food Scientist hat on, I began investigating the secret behind this mesmerizing marshmallow.

And the funny thing is, I thought about this marshmallow?a lot?when really the color shift comes down to some basics we all learned in preschool.

Ingredient Sleuthing

I was in school until I was nearly thirty so I’ve taken more exams than any one person should. Luckily, many of these tests taught me how to break down a food’s ingredient statement for clues.

This was the first place my investigation took me.

I went right to the end of the list of ingredients since anything like a color or flavor will be added in very small amounts to these products.

My eye caught a slew of artificial colors — Blue 1, Red 40, Red 3, Yellow 6. These colors are synthetically made and incredibly stable. They can undergo freezing, heating, exposure to light or oxygen and still never change their hue.

These colors are probably too stable for this color-changing act, and were simply used for the initial colors of the marshmallows. Blue for the blue marshmallow (obviously) and a mixture of the reds and yellow to give the pink marshmallow.

No funny business here.

Delving into Turmeric’s Colorful Quirk

Back to the ingredient statement I go and right before the artificial colors is something quite intriguing —?turmeric oleoresin.

Now this got my attention.

Many spices and herbs are used by the food industry to act as natural colorants and turmeric is one of these. It contains a natural pigment called?curcumin, which can lend products a yellow-orange shade.

Natural colors have a reputation in the food industry for being finicky. Unlike those artificial colors from before, natural hues easily change with temperature, pH, or oxygen levels. Basically, a product developer’s nightmare.

Plus, we already have a more stable yellow pigment added — remember Yellow 6?

And that’s when my spidey senses started tingling.

The Magic of Encapsulation

Enter the world of encapsulation — a technique used to shield or delay the release of certain components.

This is a common trick the food industry most often uses to shift the flavor of a product over time.

For example,?Stride’s Shift Gum?used this tactic to change the flavor of a piece of gum. You only experienced the flavor change once an encapsulated, second flavor was released thanks to your saliva.

I think Jet-Puffed pulled a very similar stunt using colors.

They encapsulated the turmeric oleoresin so that the yellow color would only be released later when the marshmallow was exposed to a campfire.

By the way, don’t get thrown off by the term?oleoresin. It’s simply an oil-based ingredient (instead of water-based) and holds the color and flavor molecules extracted from turmeric.

But now the big question is, what on earth about a campfire could release the encapsulated ingredient and elicit the color change?

Triggering the Spectacle

Two potential catalysts for this color reveal emerged from my research.

My first thought about the fire was that it generates heat, obviously. This got me thinking that if the protective shell melted away it would set the yellow pigment free.

This only works if the shell is made from ingredients that have a melting point near the temperature of a burning fire.

When I went to the literature, this seemed like a plausible explanation as?gelatin?is often used to encapsulate many food products including turmeric oleoresin.

And if, like me, you’ve made the mistake of leaving a bag of gummy bears in the car on a sunny day, you unfortunately know that gelatin melts.

Alternatively, a second idea I had was that the color change was started by moisture dissolving the shell of the encapsulated turmeric. This could be due to the inherent moisture in the marshmallow, or more likely, the act of combustion which generates water as one of its products.

This means that if water-soluble ingredients were used during encapsulation, such as?gum acacia?and?gum arabic?in these studies, it’s really the act of water dissolving the shell to release the yellow color.

It could even be these two processes — moisture and heat — that together give the marshmallow its color-changing ability.

Back to Preschool

The grand reveal: the color change is basic color theory.

If we have a blue marshmallow and add a layer of yellow coloring to it, what do we get? A green marshmallow!

The same can be said for that pinkish-red marshmallow. We release that yellow color and get an orange marshmallow.

These color-changing marshmallows are more reminiscent of my preschool art classes than I ever expected!

So there you have it — the marvelous science behind those elusive color-changing marshmallows.

A blend of synthetic and natural colors, encapsulation techniques, and the perfect combination of heat and moisture culminate in this whimsical transformation.

Who knew a simple marshmallow could hold such scientific marvels?

This type of stuff makes me love being a food scientist.