At this year’s Natural Products Expo East we saw Hudson Valley marshmallows that had gelatin in the ingredients and was labeled OU D (kosher). When we asked the exhibitor, we were told it was kosher beef gelatin, so not vegetarian. Their promotional materials said it was dairy-free, though manufactured in a facility that processes milk. An OU-D (U in a circle) symbol means the product contains dairy or has been on dairy equipment.

Though there may be an assumption that a beef product couldn’t be kosher and consumed with dairy, according to https://oukosher.org/blog/consumer-kosher/gelatin-revisited/ “due to the method of processing the hides, gelatin produced from all parts of the hide are considered pareve and may be used with dairy.” So if you are vegan and/or vegetarian, if a product is kosher and contains gelatin, you should check the source of the gelatin.

Also at Natural Products Expo, we saw Smash marshmallows, which their promotional materials marked as containing kosher certified gelatin. The exhibitor told us this contained bovine gelatin.

When getting warm with vegan hot chocolate on a chilly day, you may want to check out Dandies:
http://dandiesmarshmallows.com/ They too indicate their marshmallows are kosher, but do not contain gelatin and are vegan.