The campfire s’more is a gooey mess:
saccharine, certainly, but also sentimental, stuffed with
childhood memories.
اضافة اعلان
“When you get older, you still love them,” said Kena
Peay, a cook who shares her hiking and camping recipes on social media. “But
then you’re like, ‘Uh, this kinda could be improved.’”
Beloved for its simplicity, a s’more is best known
as a roasted marshmallow and a piece of bar chocolate sandwiched between graham
crackers. But, really, the perfect campfire s’more is one you enjoy. For some,
that can be a roasted Peep with a Reese’s cup tucked into two gingersnap
cookies. The potential for customization is endless.
The s’more’s origins are as hard to pin down as its
oozing center. The first published recipe is often attributed to the 1927
guidebook “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts,” where it appears under
the name “Some More.” But a similar recipe for “Campfire Marshmallow Graham
Cracker Sandwich” from the marshmallow brand Campfire can be found in a recipe
leaflet that
Michigan State University dates to 1924. And a year later, The
Norwalk Hour newspaper wrote of the introduction of “some-mores” to Girl Scouts
at Camp Andree, about 48km north of New York City.
Roasting marshmallows around a fire had, by then,
long been fashionable (the confection became commercially available in the US
in the early 1900s). “Marshmallow parties are coming into favor,” The New York
Times reported on July 6, 1902, adding that partygoers would “build fires and
toast marshmallows, and occasionally, it is said, burn their fingers.”
These days, iterations on the s’more abound, on
blogs and cookbook pages and restaurant menus. In New York City alone, you can
dig into an ice-cream-stuffed frozen s’more at Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo,
a s’mores-inspired chocolate cake at Speedy Romeo in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn,
“Grahammaster Fluff” ice cream at The Social and campfire s’mores at Olmsted,
both in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Around a wood-burning fire, preparations vary from
camper to camper. According to Lauren Reichstein, manager of camp and adventure
programs for the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, the ultimate s’more starts
with not one, but two marshmallows. (You could, of course, opt for a single
jumbo marshmallow instead.)
To Megan McDuffie, who runs the camp-cooking blog
Fresh Off the Grid with Michael van Vliet, the key to the perfect s’more is all
in slow roasting. They believe that toasting a marshmallow should be an
exercise in patience.
But Greg Baxtrom, the chef at Olmsted and a former
Boy Scout, just goes for it.
“Despite my rigid culinary profession, I am more of
a ‘Just stick it in the fire until it burns and blow it out’ kind of guy,” he
said.
Recipes |
Instructions |
S’mores |
> Step 1: Expertly assemble and ignite a campfire (watch a how-to video if you need).
> Step 2: Procure roasting skewers: Metal skewers are the way to go, as they will not leave bits of tree bark behind in your marshmallow. (Flammable twigs and wooden skewers are not the safest options for younger kids.) Double-pronged roasting sticks designed for marshmallows will keep marshmallows secure as they soften over the flames, but extra-long metal skewers work just fine.
> Step 3: Make a s’more: With a paper towel, rub a little neutral cooking oil over the end of the metal skewer where the marshmallows will go; this keeps the sugary pillows from sticking. Skewer two regular marshmallows or one jumbo marshmallow onto the rod.
> Step 4: Top a cracker with one or two squares of chocolate, depending on size and personal preference. Sprinkle a little salt over the chocolate, if you like.
> Step 5: Roast your marshmallows: Resist the urge to immediately plunge them directly into the flames. Hold the marshmallows over the top of the flames, and roast, rotating often, until the marshmallows are golden, gooey in the center and slumped slightly down the skewer, two to three minutes. Lower the marshmallows into the flames, let them catch fire briefly and then carefully blow them out. A perfect marshmallow is still a burnished marshmallow, after all.
> Step 6: Immediately place the charred, skewered marshmallows, on the chocolate-topped cracker. Take the unadorned cracker and press down as you pull out the skewer so that the gooey marshmallows ooze over the chocolate and peak out of the edges of the crackers. Devour immediately. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
|
Serves: As many as you like |
Total time: 30 minutes |
Ingredients
Neutral cooking oil, such as canola.
Regular or jumbo marshmallows.
Graham crackers, split into even squares, or saltine crackers.
Milk or dark chocolate bars, at room temperature.
Flaky or coarse salt (optional) |
At Olmsted, the toastiness of the marshmallow is up
to customers, as they are equipped with coffee cans of coals for tableside
roasting. Baxtrom’s s’mores kits feature what he calls “cheffy graham crackers”
and “cheffy marshmallows,” but he says his customers have drawn the line at the
chocolate, preferring Hershey’s bars over any confections made in-house.
Still, if you would not happily nibble on the
Hershey’s chocolate, skip it. Reach for what you enjoy, even if that’s
chocolate with nuts — but especially if that’s chocolate sprinkled with sea
salt. Or forgo the bar chocolate altogether.
“It never fully, completely melts, which drives me
absolutely nuts,” Peay said of bar chocolate. She’s experimented with Hershey’s
Kisses, finding that they succumb to the marshmallow’s residual heat better
than bar chocolate does, but ultimately prefers to spread Nutella onto her
graham cracker for even distribution.
The graham cracker needs all the help it can get,
after all.
By design, graham crackers do not provide much in
the flavor department, serving simply as sugar shuttles to hungry mouths. So
consider a base like a saltine or a Ritz, which can keep the s’more out of
cloying territory, countering all that sweetness with a touch of saltiness. And
for real salt fiends, there’s Dan Whalen’s preferred base: a ruffled potato
chip.
“Sometimes graham crackers, after sitting out for a
minute, can be instantly soggy or stale,” said Whalen, a food blogger and
author of “S’mores!: Gooey, Melty, Crunchy Riffs on the Campfire Classic.” The
potato chip, he added, gives it “a little more crunch.”
And for graham-cracker haters with an insatiable
sweet tooth, Peay offers this suggestion: Cut a Rice Krispies Treat into two
thinner planks for even more marshmallow flavor and crunch.
While just about everything in a s’more can be
tweaked, there’s one nonnegotiable — making memories in the warmth of a roaring
fire alongside people you adore.
“You are with your friends, maybe you don’t have
your shoes on, you have your feet in the grass,” Whalen said, “and there’s a
lot to remember about the moments.”
S’mores recipe
The perfect campfire s’more
is perfect because it’s a reflection of you: Maybe you reach for dark chocolate
rather than stick to milky bars or swap in cookies or saltines for the graham
crackers. But there are a few best practices, including tool and setup tips
from the camp-cooking experts Megan McDuffie, Michael van Vliet, and Kena Peay,
that ensure the marshmallow roasts to gooey, charred excellence and the
chocolate surrenders to the heat of the marshmallow, melting but not
liquifying. While delicious s’mores can be achieved at home with a microwave,
broiler, gas stovetop, or even a candle with some fight in it, a campfire or
fire pit imparts a nostalgic woodsy smokiness. Add-ons like jam, peanut butter,
chile flakes, or fresh berries are fun to try out. What’s nonnegotiable is that
you enjoy s’mores with friends, fellow campers, grandchildren, or whomever you
love.
Read more Good Food
Jordan News