Taste Testers!
Just wanted to say thanks again for volunteering. I appreciate your help. Taste testing is easy but there is a method to my madness. Enclosed are three sets of marshmallows. Each has been made with similar ingredients, but in different ways. They are all Cherry, Chocolate, Pecan.
Set A is very soft. Very, very soft. I’m concerned they won’t make the trip in this heat. I didn’t worry over packaging this trip because I needed to keep them separated from each other. Plus, if they melted…you’d need an easy way to toss them or spoon them out. J I am concerned about their travel. I’m afraid the cherries will leak through, leaving them looking terrible. They’ll still taste great, but looks are important!
Each set was made with increasing levels of Gelatine. Set C should be the firmest of all. Cherries were chopped or minced. Pecans were either on top or mixed thoroughly.
Please be honest and detailed in your testing. I need to know how well they travel, and whether to dust in different mixtures or coat with chocolate (during the winter) so they travel easier. They are dusted, for handling, with confectioners sugar, cocoa and a small amount of corn starch.
The Trip:
1. Did the package arrive with all marshmallows in tact? Did they melt?
2. How was the appearance of the marshmallows? Did they look good enough to eat?
3. Of the three sets, did one travel better than the others?
4. How much time did it take to arrive? They left Texas 8/11/07.
The Texture/Taste:
1. Which set did you think had the best texture? Why?
2. Did all the marshmallows have pleasing tastes?
3. Did you prefer the chunkier cherries, or minced?
4. Would you prefer chunks of chocolate or thoroughly mixed in? Or Dipped?
5. Should the pecans be larger?
Appearance:
1. How did they look on arrival?
2. Did they look good enough to eat or had they deteriorated too much?
3. Did they melt?
4. Did they look large enough?
5. Would you prefer to cut your own? Receiving one large slab to cut yourself?
Cost:
Confections are typically sold by the pound. You received 12 marshmallows. A pound will consist of 12 to 15 marshmallows. Due to the ingredients, these would be my ‘premium’ product line. What is the most you would pay for one pound of premium marshmallows?
1. $15
2. $20
3. $25
4. $30
Would you pay more if they were dipped in chocolate?
Packaging:
I have not yet made any decisions regarding packaging.
1. Would you prefer to receive your marshmallows in a hard candy box, like a Whitmans-type box?
2. If I did not cut the marshmallows but instead sent a one pound slab, would you prefer it to be in a box, a clear plastic fancy bag tied with ribbon, or a pretty container you could keep?
Overall:
What was your impression overall of the marshmallows? Any further comments are much appreciated!
Future Tests:
In addition to the chocolate cherry marshmallows, I also make caramel, chocolate pecan swirl and an Andes Candy chocolate mint version. During Christmas I also make a peppermint candy one. Would you be interested in also testing these flavors?
Thank you so much for your help!!