10 Things You Didn’t Know About S’mores

The recipe is one we all know: Sandwich a toasted marshmallow and a hefty square of chocolate between two graham crackers. Eat and repeat. Craving one already? While s’mores are fit for any occasion, National S’mores Day—Sunday, August 10—provides the perfect excuse. While celebrating, impress your campfire companions with some little known facts about s’mores.

1. The Merriam-Webster dictionary, which defines s’mores as “a dessert consisting usually of toasted marshmallow and pieces of chocolate bar sandwiched between two graham crackers,” suggests the first known use of the word was in 1974.

2. It appears the treat was a campfire staple long before the dictionary officially recognized it: The first known s'mores recipe was published in the Girl Scouts handbook Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts in 1927. The snack was originally called “some mores.”

3. Campers at Deer Run Camping Resort in Gardners, Pennsylvania recently built what could just be the world’s largest s’more. Weighing in at 267 pounds, the supersized sweet was comprised of 140 pounds of marshmallows, 90 pounds of chocolate, and 90 pounds of graham crackers.

4. According to The S’mores Cookbook, Americans buy 90 million pounds of marshmallows every year. It’s estimated that, during the summer, approximately 50 percent of marshmallows sold are roasted for s’mores.

5. If you don’t have access to an open fire, there are still plenty of ways to make s’mores. The S’mores Cookbook explains how to cook the tasty treat on the grill, in the broiler, with a kitchen torch, in a microwave, or over a gas stove, candle, or Sterno.

6. Perfect your technique: According to S'mores: Gourmet Treats for Every Occasion, marshmallows cook faster on a metal rod or coat hanger than on a wooden one, and coals tend to cook the snack faster and more consistently than flames.

7. The popularity of the original s’more has inspired American food manufacturers to create other chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker treats, including Pop-Tarts, cereal, ice cream, and even Goldfish.

8. Restaurants are also trying to capitalize on the dessert’s popularity with some downright unique iterations, like s’mores French fries, martinis, macarons, and more.

9. Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker in 1829 in Bound Brook, New Jersey. The original graham cracker was a health food recommended as part of a diet intended to help suppress sexual desire, which Graham believed to be unhealthy.

10. According to a release from The Hershey Company, the company produces more than 373 million milk chocolate bars each year, enough to make 746 million s’mores.

To satisfy your craving, try Raspberry S'mores, Mexican S'mores, and more.