Why do we roast marshmallows when we go camping… The origin story of ‘s’more’ - 경향신문

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You need the skill to roast marshmallows well to make s’mores. pexels

When you go camping, you strangely find yourself craving foods you do not usually seek out. Ramen boiled after charcoal-grilled meat, sweet potatoes roasted over a campfire, and marshmallows slowly roasted on a skewer as the embers die down.

Bring a marshmallow close to the fire and its white surface turns brown. Wait a little longer and the outside caramelizes to a crisp while the inside softens as if melting. Layer it with chocolate and crackers, and you have the symbol of American camping: the ‘s’more’.

These days, many people in Korea also make s’mores while enjoying camping or outdoor barbecues. Marshmallows have become a must-sell item at campground stores, and now a variety of colors and shapes aimed at children have appeared. A rather intriguing history is hidden in this sweet treat.

Even the name s’more is amusing. s’more is an abbreviation of ‘some more’. It means “a little more.” The idea is that once you eat one, you will ask for another. However, the year that often comes up when telling the history of s’mores is 1927. In a Girl Scouts camping guide, a dessert called ‘Some Mores’ appeared. It introduced a method of making a sandwich-like treat using graham crackers, chocolate, and roasted marshmallows. But more recently, earlier records have been found, slightly changing the origin story of s’mores.

For a time, it was believed that a Girl Scout leader named Loretta Scott Crew created s’mores. But National Geographic recently reported that, after extensively reviewing Girl Scout records, newspapers of the time, and camp materials, they could not find any record that Loretta Scott Crew was actually a Girl Scout leader. It appears the person repeatedly cited online and in materials for years was misattributed.

So who made s’mores? The most likely figure currently mentioned is Christian Dorothy ‘Cookie’ Moore. A Girl Guide leader from the United Kingdom, Moore was invited by the U.S. Girl Scouts in 1923 to teach outdoor activities and camping at American camps. She particularly emphasized camp cookerymaking food outdoors with minimal tools. And there is a record that, in 1924 at a Girl Scout leader training event, a new dessert called ‘Some More’ appeared.

A s’more completed with the combination of marshmallows, chocolate, and crisp biscuits. pexels

The decisive record comes from 1925. In the Girl Scouts magazine <The Girl Scout Leader>, a weekend hiking menu introduced by Cookie Moore features a dessert called ‘Somemore’. The ingredients are almost the same as today: graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. You roast the marshmallow over a fire until the outside is brown and the inside is sticky, then sandwich it with chocolate between crackers. It is almost no different from the s’mores made at today’s campsites.

Subsequently, records from various parts of the United States show Girl Scouts making this dessert. According to accounts from the time, by the end of that year Girl Scout camps in 22 U.S. states were making Somemores. It was not a nationwide staple snack from the start, but it spread quickly through the girls who enjoyed camping.

The fact that s’mores appeared in the 1920s does not mean that the culture of roasting white marshmallows over a fire began then. The 1911 Official Handbook for Boys of the Boy Scouts of America also describes how to roast marshmallows over a fire. The act of skewering marshmallows and roasting them over a campfire predates s’mores by at least several decades as a camping custom.

Rather than inventing a new food, s’mores seem to have combined two ingredientsgraham crackers and chocolatewith roasted marshmallows that were already enjoyed at campsites.

Why marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers?

This combination did not come about by chance. The trio of marshmallows, chocolate, and a crisp biscuit existed before s’mores. As early as the 1910s, there were snacks that combined chocolate, marshmallows, and crisp biscuits. Thus, rather than creating a completely new flavor combination, s’mores can be seen as bringing a pairing that was becoming familiar in the United States into the campfire setting.

However, once marshmallows roasted directly over the fire were involved, the situation changed. When a cold, firm marshmallow meets the fire, its surface browns and its inside melts. That hot marshmallow melts the chocolate and, together with the cracker, creates a dessert in which crispness, stickiness, warmth, and sweetness mingle in a single bite. Few desserts are this simple to make at a campsite.

The supplies for s’mores are simple. pexels

The spelling with the apostrophe, as used today, is known to have appeared in the 1930s. There is a source showing that the term s’more appears in a 1938 summer camp guide. Over time, it was gradually shortened and settled into the familiar name.

Those who have seen s’mores often in American films or dramas sometimes shake their heads at the extreme sweetness when they actually taste one. The real charm of s’mores is not just the flavor. The making itself is part of camping. Some people stick the marshmallow in the heart of the flame and burn it pitch black, whie others deftly rotate it near the heat to a light brown. Some set the chocolate on the cracker first, while others add the marshmallow and press it down with another cracker. There is no single right answer.

More than a simple dessert, s’mores have a presence as a food that brings people together to spend time by the fire. The recent popularity of s’mores at Korean campsites may be for the same reason. You do not need special cookware, and only three ingredients are required. Above all, it gives people a reason to linger around the campfire even after grilling meat and finishing the meal.

The ingredients of a classic s’more are simple. Graham crackers may feel unfamiliar, but in the United States they are very common, plain, and crisp whole-wheat biscuits. They are also easy to find in Korea, but if unavailable, you can use plain, crisp biscuits or crackers. Milk chocolate is the traditional pairing, but you can use dark chocolate according to preference.

Rather than holding the marshmallow directly in the flames, slowly rotate it over coals or embers. The ideal moment is when the outside turns brown and the inside softens. After a few tries, you will quickly get the hang of it. Place chocolate on a cracker, set the hot marshmallow on top, and press with another crackerthat is it. An autumn night spent outdoors is filled with memories this sweet.