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| HAPPY NATIONAL S'MORES DAY!!! Jenn McKinlay: Y'all, one thing I do every day is to check the National Day Calendar to see what's the haps. I mean I don't want to miss National Donut Day (there might be free donuts out there) or Stay Home & Snuggle Your Dog Day (that would be tragic). You can imagine my joy when I saw today was National S'mores Day! Then I realized I don't know much about s'mores, so I read up (librarian!) and I actually discovered some hilarious and shocking facts - which is why I called this blog "Not What I Expected!" 1. S'more comes from the hyphenated name Some More. I sort of knew that but it was nice to be reminded, although no one is clear on when the hyphen became the norm. 2. The very first marshmallows go all the way back to Ancient Greece and Rome and were derived from the juiced roots of a plant called Althaea Officinalis and were used medicinally (laxative!). 3. The French were the first to make marshmallows into a treat (of course, they were) and by the end of the 19th century they replaced the plant juice with gelatin, making it much cheaper. 4. Here's where it gets good! The graham cracker was invented by Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, who believed human beings were going to hell in a hand basket because of their obsession with carnal desires. He felt certain that a bland dry cracker would curb people's sex drives and thus invented one, which he named it after himself (well, duh). What a legacy! 5. The first official recipe for the Some More was published in the Girl Scout guidebook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts in 1927 (naturally, it was the Girl Scouts - clearly, a precursor to their future cookie pushing endeavors). The recipe is credited to Troop Leader Loretta Scott Crew (and we are forever grateful!). Personally, I don't use graham crackers (carnal desires be damned) because I toast my marshmallows until they are brown on the outside (not charred) and gooey in the middle. Then I slide the marshmallow off the stick and put the piece of chocolate inside to let it melt. It makes a perfect marshmallow cup of chocolate. So good! How about you, Reds and Readers, do you love s'mores? What are your memories of making them? |
Okay, I'm laughing about the minister who invented the graham crackers . . . the Greeks and Romans could have kept the marshmallows, though. My very own S'mores recipe: graham crackers and chocolate . . . no marshmallows. [When I was a Girl Scout, I always got the one with no marshmallows; a friend had graham crackers and marshmallow, no chocolate . . . we were really good at considering each other's likes and dislikes!]
ReplyDeleteI love that you had an opposite buddy and here I am throwing away the cracker. LOL.
DeleteIf you give me a little bit of graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate, I can eat it. If it's the normal size seen, it is too sweet for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm embarrassed by how many I can eat in one sitting. Let's not count. Ha!
DeleteThanks for the excellent research on this important topic!
ReplyDeleteIt's scary to learn this holiday coincides with my birthday: what if I just go crazy & eat s'mores all day?
Happy birthday Becky Sue !
DeleteDanielle
Happy Birthday, Becky Sue!
DeleteHappy Birthday! And, Becky Sue, it’s YOUR birthday…just do whatever you want…that is my family’s tradition! Cheers, Elisabeth
DeleteHappy, happy birthday!
DeleteHappy Birthday, Becky Sue! Go crazy, it's your s'moreday!
DeleteMaybe I am missing out, but I have NEVER eaten S'mores!
ReplyDeleteLike JOAN, I am not a fan of marshmallows.
Maybe it’s more an American thing than Canadian. I never had one either.
DeleteDanielle
Me either (Margo here away from home). Apparent!y the kids follow the hype and think they have to make them if there is an outside fire..Still not appealing even though I like all the ingredients separately..
DeleteHmmm, interesting. Our family didn't go camping or cottaging (where there would be an outdoor fire), so there wasn't really an opportunity to make/eat S'mores.
DeleteI did see s'more making kits at the Walmart in New Minas, N.S. so they've arrived in the true north.
DeleteSo fun, and perfect for summer! I was a twelve-year Girl Scout, so of course I knew about the name and how to make them. Also about Graham and his crazy ideas, but how fun to learn about marshmallows and their history.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't had one in years until last week at the lake with Hugh's family and five kiddos under eight. The graham crackers seemed inferior and the Hershey's chocolate just plain awful. If I were to make them again, I'd use dark chocolate and get really good grahams. Otherwise, gimme a marshmallow toasted to golden brown all by itself. (Hugh's sisters and I also showed the kids how to pull a marshmallow between your fingers until it becomes creamy and stretchy. Alice, the oldest great, agreed that it tastes different that way.)
Marshmallow taffy pull? I must try this!
DeleteJenn, I like the way you make your s’mores. If I wasn’t intolerant to chocolate I would try one.
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Thank you! Sorry about the no chocolate. Heath first!
DeleteI was a girl scout and so were my daughters. It wasn't a campfire without s'mores. Great research, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It made me laugh.
DeleteI can't say I'm a fan of s'mores. I have never in my life been able to stand marshmallows so it kind of rules out the treat for me.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that I actually did like graham crackers growing up. Well, at least I wouldn't turn them down. And given the prevailing availability of adult content on the Internet and red light districts in cities and such, I'd say the religious dude's attempt at curbing carnal desires was a spectacular failure. :D
Agreed! Also, I'll never be able to look at graham crackers the same way again.
DeleteDefinitely had smores on all Girl Scout and family campouts. Our youngest son said marshpillows instead of marshmallows when he was little so that is what I’ve called them forever after. Introduced many an exchange student to them at neighborhood bonfires when our kids were in high school. Also, our daughter’s HS grad party was a bonfire and the menu was her two favorites s’mores and watermelon. Simple and fun!
ReplyDeleteJenn, if you like caramel, you might like “shutter-uppers”. You put the marshmallow on your stick and then you put a Kraft caramel cube on your stick. When the marshmallow is toasted you pull it off with the caramel inside. I was introduced to those at a church women’s retreat of all places.
I love caramel sometimes more than chocolate - I have to try this!!! And the name is hiiiilarious!
DeleteInteresting research, Madame Librarian.
ReplyDeleteI loved s'mores when I was a kid and definitely ate them at countless campfires with the Brownies and the Girl Scouts and family cookouts. I do not remember if I felt sick afterwards and didn't know why. I have been allergic to honey my whole life, but only as an adult, did I begin to read labels. It is very difficult to find graham crackers that do not have honey as an ingredient. So, were I to eat a s'more facsimile, it would not be one with graham crackers.
As for toasting marshmallows, I do not like a burned flavor (no French Roast for me!) I became positively fastidious about just how "tan" I like my marshmallows, to the point that others might consume 5 or of those blackened beauties to my carefully toasted two. LOL
Jenn, I sure am glad that there are people who check their calendars for all important days. Imagine missing out on "Hug Your Neighborhood Cop Day!" What a lot of misunderstandings could occur!
I just snorted coffee through my nose. Misunderstandings, indeed. LOL!!!!
DeleteThanks for the research! I remember eating them at Camp Namanu (Sure to shine! All of the time!). Such a delicious treat. We also made banana boats (you slice a canoe shaped piece out of the length of the banana and place 3 squares of chocolate and a couple of mini marshmallows in the boat and wrap it in foil and put it in the campfire. Yum. Don't get me wrong, I like graham crackers--and used to eat boxes of them as a teenager--but there's something about the ooey gooey chocolate, marshmallow and banana that was so yummy!
ReplyDeleteAaaaaand, I'm going to have to try that, too! Brilliant!
DeleteJENN: Before Spare the Air Days, I have wonderful memories of using the fireplace at home to make s'smores. We would roast the marshmallows in the fireplace, then make s'mores. We used Hershey's chocolates and Graham Crackers. This is among the wonderful memories from my childhood.
ReplyDeleteAlas, now with allergies to dairy and wheat, I can only get gluten free chocolate crackers from my local organic grocery shop. Cannot use fireplace anymore. I tried to bake a s'more pie in the oven. Major Fail!
I've tried variations of s'mores recipes, too. They're never quite right.
DeleteYum - but I admit, I like your idea better! Who needs Rev. Graham's crackers!
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteI'm with Edith, use the good ingredients! And Dru, I also find them too sweet, unless I use dark chocolate.
ReplyDeleteRev. Graham was a dry old stick. It makes me happy to know the joke's on him!
Me, too! LOL.
DeleteWhat a great list of S'Mores trivia! I was first introduced to them at Girl Scout Camp Merriwood when I was 12 years old. What great memories! Later in life, my husband built houses on that property! Yet, the craving for S'Mores continues! Thanks for stimulating that happy memory!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I can't ever remember not being happy when s'mores were involved. LOL.
DeleteWe had toasted marshmallows more than s'mores as a kid. Mom always incinerated hers. Why? I have no idea but she would light up the gooey mess. I did have s''mores as a scout. I remember being a sticky mess afterwards.
ReplyDeleteThere's always one who has to make charcoal. LOL.
DeleteI love s’mores! My mother made them for us over the stove when we were kids.Then I made them over a campfire as a Girl Scout. Yum! I haven’t had one in many years. I don’t like marshmallows on their own, but when prepared as part of s’mores, I love them. I like graham crackers, but haven’t had any in a couple of years. I think I’ll be buying them again soon! Thanks, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteOh, I read that today is also National Lazy Day. Perhaps we can consider sitting around, making and eating s’mores. Or get someone else to make them for us!
DebRo
This so works for me.
DeleteI hadn’t had s’mores in years until I went to the Family camp at UC Santa Barbara in 2015 with my son and my sister’s family. One night was a cookout on the beach, ending with s’mores. I was so excited - and then so sadly disappointed. They were just so sweet. I also realized I am not a big marshmallow fan. Oh well, I will relegate s’mores to happy childhood memories! (Thanks for the research, Jenn.) — Pat S
ReplyDeleteIt's sad when we outgrow things but as adults we also enjoy new things. FOr me, it's olives. Hated them as a kid, love them as a grown up.
DeleteNo wonder I hate graham crackers! I haven't made s'mores in years but if I were going to, I'd use dark chocolate and McVite's Digestive Biscuits--for those non-Anglophiles, digestive biscuits are a whole lot better than they sound!
ReplyDeleteDeborah, they'd almost have to be better than they sound, wouldn't they?
DeleteLove McVitie's! And lol, Jay.
DeleteS'mores are yummy but I haven't had one in years. Of course my first were made at camp. I don't remember if it was Scout camp or not but it certainly was in later years. Girl Scouts excel at s'mores. The graham cracker was simply something to hold the lovely melted mass together.
ReplyDeleteSo true. You gotta have a base.
DeleteI enjoy S’mores, but my Girl Scout campfires were all about the Banana boats. Sliced banana in aluminum foil and add your favorite. Chocolate or butterscotch chips, mini marshmallows, and strawberries.
ReplyDeleteI want to join YOUR troop...
DeleteI can't believe I've never had one of these!!!
DeleteWell, my day job is clergy (not Rev Graham''s denominational recipe) and I would vote for the occasional liturgical use of dark chocolate and marshmallows.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Maren!
DeleteDark chocolate--check! Toasted marshmallows--check! IMO, the graham cracker is the framework or delivery system for the other gooey goodness.
ReplyDeleteI have never tried dark chocolate. Must correct my error immediately.
DeleteI was a Girl Scout for a while so there were s’mores then. Now we take the makings on our camping trips so I get them 2 or 3 times a year. Sometimes I just toast a marshmallow and don’t bother with the rest.
ReplyDeleteOne time we made a s’more for my grandfather. He had a major sweet tooth and loved all the components but had never had one. He had chocolate from ear to ear, wish I had a picture.
I have made S’mores cupcakes before. I’ll put a picture in the Facebook post.
Aw, I love that story about your grandfather.
DeleteFascinating! So much stuff that, well, who knew??
ReplyDeleteI first had s'mores at overnight camp (Camp Tocaloma near Sedona AZ). They bookended a day when breakfast was campfire eggs and bacon on toast with a circle removed from the middle, cooked on a massive griddle over an open fire. Fond memories. We also had Kool-aid to drink which I detested but the water was so mineral-tasting. I was a little hot house flower.
Ha ha! I see you as more of a wild flower, Hallie.
DeleteWhat a hoot about the preacher inventing graham crackers! I can't help but think of a couple having an evening together outside by a fire and after eating their S'mores with graham crackers having a wild night of ravishing one another. How about that, Rev. Graham. The last time I remember having a S'more is at girl scout day camp. Believe me it's not as much fun as it is at night. I just remember my kids roasting marshmallows.
ReplyDeleteNight time does seem to be required.
DeleteI love marshmallows. And I love s'mores. I'll eat a couple of marshmallows while roasting my marshmallow to put in my s'more. I go with the traditional fixing in mine.
ReplyDeleteWell, of course, you have to test the marshmallows first. LOL.
Delete