What do the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College, and marshmallow making have in common?
Mitch Greenberg, founder and owner of Mitchmallows, handmade marshmallows. We got to chat with Mitch, and here’ s what says about a “life in sugar.”
What exactly are Mitchmallows?
MG: Square-shaped, fat-free, gluten-free marshmallows. We have three dozen different flavors that satisfy a sweet tooth, but aren’t overly sweet, so kids and adults can enjoy.
So how did you go from Clown College, to a career in marshmallows?
MG: I know it doesn’t seem like a logical progression! But, since marshmallows are a kind of silly fun, the skills I learned in each of these careers have actually come in handy in the business
What draws you to the marshmallow business?
MG: I love being out in public, doing events and meeting people who all have instantaneous connections with marshmallows.
Marshmallows bring us back to childhood. Mitchmallows take the idea of these traditional marshmallows we all enjoyed as a child, but transform them like never before – and bring them into the new age.
I love meeting people who say they were “never fans of marshmallows,” but are suddenly converted once they try a Mitchmallow. The best part for me is watching peoples’ reaction and seeing how much they enjoy the product.
How did you get started?
MG: Mitchmallows actually came about by accident. I was no culinary wizard. My kitchen specialty and sandwich of expertise was grilled cheese. But I’ve always loved sweets and candy, and I was just looking for a change in scenery when I began looking online for homemade marshmallow recipes. Soon, I became obsessed. After consistent positive feedback from family and friends, I got more and more serious about my creations until one day I realized that these weren’t marshmallows I was making, but rather, Mitchmallows!
Tell us about some of your fantastic flavors!
MG: Some of our hits include pretzels and beer, ginger wasabi, churro, merlot, mojito, and margarita mallows. My personal favorite is the creamsicle flavor. That one is close to my heart, because it was the first mallow we made to combine two flavors. The banana split combines banana and chocolate, and now we’re breaking into mixing three flavors into one mallow, as in our newest release: the PB&J flavor. We also make special holiday flavors: candy corn for Halloween, pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and candy cane and eggnog for Christmas. The eggnog flavor contains a center filled with cinnamon sugar and nutmeg, and goes great in hot chocolate!
Any bloopers or deleted scenes you’d care to share with us?
MG: Of course there have been a few flavor failures along the way. The chicken soup mallow came out too salty, and the onion rings mallow was just not good! We also know how everybody loves bacon, so we tried desperately to create a bacon flavored mallow, and that failed as well – but it sparked the idea for a BLT flavored mallow, with crostini, arugula, and bacon bits, and that one is actually quite delicious!
Where can I order my own Mitchmallows?
Check out Mitch’s website! www.mitchmallows.com
Interview by: Theresa Soya