Ornamental Christmas Marshmallows - They taste terrible!

Finished Creations
1

Hi I’m John - I’m new to this and I’m having a blast.

I have a SainSmart 3018 with the 5500mW diode and after getting it to jog, test-fire and focus i decided that festive holiday marshmallows were the of the utmost importance.

IMG_20211206_085949
IMG_20211206_0859491920×1920 162 KB

I did have some strange stuff toward the end of my evening as the temperature dropped to -15C (5F). I’m not sure if it was smoke from the Ablating marshmallow or some physical reaction with a frozen Marshmallow but some letters were raised, blistered and distorted (PEACE & JOY - Top) but I’ll burn a few more for garlands and ornaments and call it good. Art done in Line - Speed is 1.5mm/sec - 80% power - Continuous power. Air assist seemed to cool the work piece too much. i think a small cooling fan and a loose air duct might work better than a nozzle and an air compressor.

My garage smells amazing - I hope the mice aren’t attracted to it.

They do however taste terrible - Much like my clumsy fire-pit experiences there is no tasty caramel golden brown… it’s raw-raw-raw-charcoal and the rapid transition seems to be part of the process with the laser. Perhaps a coloured marshmallow would be less reflective and easier to start.

Seasons Ablatings,
-JohnJohn

3 Likes
2

One thing I found works really well are Rice Crackers. I engrave seasonal patterns on one side and names of party goers on the other. They tend to get randomized if you ‘bag’ the crackers between sides. It’s great fun at a party and they actually taste pretty good with a slight smokey flavor…

1 Like
3

Thanks Tom, I’ll give Rice Crackers a try!

4

I haven’t done this on my diode laser yet, but on my K40 (33W measured output) I use 2400mm/min, 23% power.

5

Vanilla wafers at a surprisingly high power creates a mostly visible line (and fill) and the flavor is quite good, a caramel tinge to the cookie.

lasered wafer
lasered wafer1080×810 160 KB

2 Likes
7

Local supply chain issues are causing problems… very little via container ship is being unloaded. several highways washed out in the mountains between here and the coast. I have bandwidth and i can ablate comfort food… :smiley: