Bonfires.

Bonfires. One of the greatest inventions of old. I'm not sure where the S'more originated, but if you give me a second, I'll goodsearch.com it and find out. Hold on.


Aha! The answer:

Who invented the first s'more?
No one knows. We do know the three primary ingredients (graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars) were readily available to the American public by the late 19th century and very popular in the early 20th.

American cookbooks, food history sources, and newspaper/magazine articles confirm these ingredients were used on a regular basis, but fail to provide us with a definative person, place, and date for the invention of the s'more.

Why?
Until very recently, camping recipes [with the exception of military foods] were typically passed on by personal journals and word of mouth.
The best we can do on the history of s'mores is start with the oldest documented "proof" and hopefully, in time, work our way backwards.
Where did the idea come from? Victorian-era cookbooks contain recipes for "sandwich cookies," soft sponge-cakes filled with jam or cream fillings. American cookbooks published in the early decades of the 20th century contain recipes for chocolate sandwiches (cool) and marshmallow sandwiches (warm).

American food companies were combining marhsmallows, graham crackers and chocolate in the 1910s. These were wildly popular.

From Jason Seremak, the historian for the Girl Scouts of America, I learned that the origin of this popular campfire dessert was unclear, but the first recorded version of the recipe can be found in the Girl Scout Handbook of 1927.

-The Encylopedia of Food and Drink


OH! And in case you were wondering...

HOW GIRLS
MAKE S'MORES
(1) Place Hershey bars on graham crackers.
(2) Toast marshmallows.
(3) Place toasted marshmallows on Hershey bars to melt chocolate.

HOW BOYS
MAKE S'MORES
(1) Eat Hershey bars.
(2) Eat marshmallows.
(3) Throw graham crackers at other boys.


Even though we can't figure out when, where or who invented the distinctive marshmallow sandwich S'more, it still remains a bonfire summer treat. It's all about hanging out. It's about achieving the uniform brown color of the perfect toasted marshmallow. It's about being with friends. Sit back. Relax. Roast a few.

love,

Desiree'