Uncategorized
S’Mores! A Historically Beloved Dessert…
By: Ann Kyle
Posted on:
What contains only three ingredients and has its own national day of adoration? Believe it, or not, the S’more is celebrated yearly in the United States on August 10! Often spelled, smore, and stemming from the phrase “some more” this non-complex dessert is a traditional night time campfire treat in both the United States and Canada.
The Campfire Girls have received credit for creating the recipe and the Girl Scouts weren’t far behind in discovering the chocolatey goodness. The first recorded version of this recipe can be found in the publication Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts of 1927. The origin of the s’more folklore indicates it was discovered by the campfire when after eating one a young child chanted “gimme some more!” Or, could it be that the abbreviation was birthed from sticky mouthed campers unable to properly say, “some more, please” or even that s’mores are so delicious there just isn’t time to say the whole phrase.
The three basic components of a gooey S’more are: graham crackers, marshmallow and chocolate.
The Graham Cracker: named after its inventor, in 1829, Sylvester Graham created the cookie as part of a vegetarian diet high in fiber, slightly sweet cracker made with whole, unrefined wheat flour. He is also credited with having the first bread brand to be enjoyed world wide, but, Graham was not worldly loved. He rallied against tobacco, meat and alcohol and was regularly assaulted in the street.
The cholocate bar: by far, the most extensively researched ingredient of the three. The rich history of the chocolate bar dates back to its sister ingredient the marshmallow’s time more than 4,000 years ago in 2000 B.C. Chocolate originated in the Amazon and has been used all throughout history by almost every culture ever known at some point in time, it was even once a currency in Spain. Chocolate wasn’t forged in to a bar until 1847 when Joseph Fry created a paste from chocolate that could be pressed into a mold. Without a doubt, we love, love, love chocolate for its medicinal purposes…yup, that’s the reason…
The marshmallow: discovered by squeezing a mallow plant in Egypt over 4,000 years ago it had been reserved for only gods and royalty. The more common appearance didn’t come about until the 1800’s. French candy makers whipped the plant extract into egg whites and sugar to make not treats, but, medicine. Used to treat sore throats, marshmallow could suppress coughs and help heal minor cuts and burns. The medicinal popularity developed the need for a quicker production and unfortunately put an end to the use of actual mallow in marshmallow, and, resulted in the modern recipe of corn syrup, corn starch, sugar and gelatin. Modern marshmallows do not have a medical use, but, we Americans still purchase more than 95 million pounds per year.
Now, with nearly everything else, someone has to take the original to alter it, update it, expand upon it and an adult version created. In the June 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping the front cover depicts the Grown-Up SALTED CARAMEL S’MORE – and made with bourbon I say! In the Smorstix, The Perfect Marshmallow Stix kit the reverse side of the package contains s’more recipes in both French and English.
SOME MORE S’MORE RECIPES FOR YOU TO EXPERIENCE
• The “Frosty’ S’more – 1 marshmallow, 2 graham cracker halves and 1 Junior Peppermint Patty.
• The “Hawaiian” S’more – 1 marshmallow, 2 graham cracker halves, 1 piece of white chocolate, 1 thin slice of pineapple.
• The “Peanut Butter Dream” S’more – 1 marshmallow, 2 graham cracker halves, 1 peanut butter cup.
• Grown-Up S’mores – heat ½ cup of sugar in a 3-quart saucepan on medium until sugar melts. Cook, swirling pot (do not stir), 6 minutes or until dark amber. Stir in 4 tablespoons of butter, cut up, ¼ cup of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of bourbon (optional); cook, stirring two minutes. Off heat, stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla and ½ teaspoon of salt. Sandwich 1 tablespoon between graham crackers with toasted marshmallows and bittersweet chocolate bars, broken into squares. Serves 8.
Photo and recipe courtesy Of: Good Housekeeping magazine; Smorstix, The Perfect Marshmallow Stix; Yahoo.com; HolidayInsights.com; Wikipedia.