Dining outdoors by your gas fire pit can be fun, especially if you have elements that mimic a campfire setting in the wild open. Truly, the flailing flames of a campfire are no match to that of a fire pit, but that shouldn’t stop the fun in any way. If you have your way, you can even make your evening more fun by roasting marshmallows on a outdoor fire pit.
In this guide, we explore everything you need to know about roasting marshmallows on a propane fire pit. We answer your questions about the safety and hygiene of roasting marshmallows in a gas fire, as well. Keep reading to explore everything you need to know.
Marshmallow Roasting on Gas: How Healthy Is It?
It’s okay to think about how healthy roasting marshmallows on gas is. Ideally, when it comes to roasting on firewood or coal, you may feel confident about its safety because it’s a natural cooking fuel. Since propane gas is different from natural gas, you’re right to ask, ‘is propane gas healthy for roasting marshmallows?’ The good news is that propane gas is healthy for roasting marshmallows. The gas contains unique properties that release healthy, human-friendly fume that is great for roasting anything.
Ideally, gas fire pits are not designed for cooking or to be used as grills, but there’s nothing wrong with sticking your marshmallows in the low flame of the gas fire pit to get your desired golden-brown crisp. So, if you’ve been holding back from all the fun and exciting moments of eating your much-loved marshmallows out in the open like you would in the woods, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s absolutely safe and healthy to consume marshmallows roasted on gas.
What would not be safe to do, would be to take things beyond that and try to turn your fire pit into a barbecue. That would be you shortening the life span and effectiveness of your propane fire pit. We bet you have no such intentions.
Safety Measures for Handling Your Gas Fire Pit While Roasting Marshmallows
As much as possible, all you want is an evening of fun with friends and loved ones and not one possibly looming hazard. To keep the latter at bay, you’ve got to be conscious of certain safety measures when roasting marshmallows on your propane gas fire pit.
- Since droppings are unavoidable when roasting marshmallows, you’ve got to pay extra care and attention.
- No matter how exciting the evening gets, never get carried away while roasting marshmallows at your gas fire pit. Rather, focus on what you’re doing per time and take out the marshmallows once you’ve achieved your desired golden brown.
- Also, do not allow the marshmallows to burn off and melt into the gas burner, as it can clog up the fire ports, thus quenching the flames of the burner.
- After the evening fun, don’t forget to wipe your surfaces clean for the next use. This helps to take care of any food debris that could allow the flames to flare out of proportion.
- Have marshmallows skewers handy for your roasting sessions so you don’t have direct contact with the fire or the gas fire pit surface. This helps you to avoid instances of getting scalded or burnt by the hot surface of the fire pit. Also, your wooden skewer should be soaked in water to avoid it catching fire while roasting the marshmallows. It’s best to have more than one handy, so you can replace each one that gets dry while roasting. For metal skewers, ensure the hand is secure and won’t conduct heat to your hands.
- Also, take care to monitor kids if they’ll be roasting marshmallows at the table with you. It’s normal for kids to get naughty trying to poke something else into the flames of the fire when you’re not looking. If it’s not marshmallows, it’s a no-no.
- Even better, make them understand that it’s an affair for a careful adult, so they’ll give up trying to roast marshmallows themselves. Additionally, you should make sure that the kids don’t use the propane fire pit unsupervised so they don’t flout any of these safety rules without your knowing.
- There’s an ideal flame level for roasting marshmallows. You can well reduce the flames to the barest minimum to ensure that there are no accidents whatsoever. Place your marshmallows about an inch above the flame and not directly in it. This helps you to monitor when it turns golden brown and prevents it from melting. If you have a round propane fire pit table where you’d love to roast marshmallows, you’ll need to be even more cautious to heed these safety precautions.
- Allow your marshmallows to cool off before eating them, and avoid eating anyone that drops on the surface of the fire pit, as it might get contaminated with chemicals from the firepit’s surface coating or paint finish. Don’t forget to pay attention to avoid insects perching on them while waiting for them to cool off.
What Misconceptions Are There About Roasting Marshmallows on Propane Fire Pits?
Spending your evenings around a fire pit is bound to put some ideas in your mind. What’s an evening outdoors without something tasty to munch on? You begin to think about making s’mores and roasting marshmallows. It’s common for misconceptions to rear up in your head and make you discard those ideas because you think it’s unhealthy. We’ll take a look at those misconceptions and identify what’s actually true.
Roasting marshmallows on propane gas will get chemicals on them
Ever had thoughts that roasting marshmallows on your gas fire pit will add chemicals to it? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. Propane is a healthy alkane gas that burns cleanly and won’t add smoke or odor to your marshmallows.
If you’re concerned about chemicals, it should suffix to know that propane gas is cleaner than burning coal or firewood. So, if you’ve been more comfortable eating marshmallows from an open fire, you might want to switch to roasting marshmallows with propane gas instead, for health reasons. They contain volatile compounds and pollutants that can easily get on your marshmallows, but you don’t have to worry about all of these with your propane gas fire pit.
Roasting marshmallows on my propane fire pit will mess it up
It’s okay to worry about this when the effectiveness of your fire pit is more important than eating s’mores. Ideally, you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other, once you’re willing to pay attention while roasting marshmallows.
When the marshmallows get too hot, it melts and can mess up the surface of your fire pit. Staying conscious of this fact will help you to roast marshmallows on your propane gas fire pit without messing it up. Another thing you can do to maintain it effectively is to clean it thoroughly after each roasting session. If you do this often, you won’t need to worry about your propane fire pit table getting messed up.
Propane gas will change the taste of my marshmallows
A whiff of the smell of gas and its rotten egg-like smell will easily make you feel like your marshmallows will taste like that. Well, that’s not true. The only reason you perceive that smell is that it was added for safety in the case of leaks. Other than these, the smell cannot pass through the fire flames and get on your marshmallows. So, if this is why you’ve hesitated from making your homemade marshmallows on your gas fire pit, you now have nothing to worry about.
Fire is fire, I can cook with my propane gas firepit
If the reason you’re considering getting an outdoor fire pit is so you can cook with it outdoors. Then it’s a no-no. The fire from a gas fire pit is not designed to act as an outdoor oven where you can cook food. As a matter of fact, the heat from the firepit cannot effectively cook food or even cook it in good time, so how long do you want to wait? Well, except you don’t mind eating food that’s not properly cooked—and that’s neither a fun nor a healthy thing to do. Moreso, you don’t want to burden yourself with the difficulty of cleaning your gas fire pit after cooking on it, as it’s not designed for such purposes.
Conclusion
Roasting marshmallows on your gas firepit is a great way to spend a lovely evening with family and friends. To do this rightly, a couple of safety precautions are essential so you can get the best results while maintaining the effectiveness of your fire pit. Propane gas fire pits are healthy for roasting marshmallows and won’t ruin the taste or add chemicals to them. As long as you’re willing to do the maintenance and cleaning required for your fire pit, you can look forward to a great time roasting marshmallows on your fire pit.