How To Make The Perfect S'more
The S’more: everyone’s favorite campfire snack. They’re timeless! S’mores are very nostalgic to me. I grew up camping (you can read all about that here), and s’mores were almost always on the menu for our camping trips. They are the cause of happy tastebuds, late night sugar rushes, and sometimes heated debates on how to properly make them. I worked at a summer camp for many years before moving to Utah and the s’mores debate was always a hot topic at our opening campfires each week.
I like to think of the s’more debate like the “does pineapple belong on pizza?” debate. Everyone has an opinion on it, everyone thinks the other side is wrong, but the debate topic is so silly and does not actually matter. The main topic of debate regarding s’mores, and arguably the most crucial part, is how you roast the marshmallow: golden-brown or burnt. When I was leading campfires at summer camp and explaining how to make a s’more to the staff and campers who may have never had one before, the first thing I mentioned was how to roast the marshmallow. I would project my (very correct) opinion that golden-brown is the way to go and that led into an uproar by all the veteran s’more-makers, shouting their opinions and trying to persuade the person next to them to get on their side.
National S’mores Day is August 10th, and I decided to get other Liberty Mountain employees’ takes on how to make the perfect s’more. To get these opinions, I decided to take a less chaotic route and just send out a survey via email. The first question determined the quantity of marshmallows in your s’more. I remember growing up being told that we were only allowed 1 marshmallow, but once I got older and looked at the nutrition label, I discovered that the serving size for marshmallows was 4-5, depending on the brand. I took a moment to be upset that I had been lied to all these years, then thought about how 1 marshmallow was already a lot of sugar for a small child, and I got over it. Now I am an adult who can handle more sugar and can make my own decisions, so I, very happily, put 2 marshmallows in my s’mores. Looking at the survey results, putting just 1 marshmallow in your s’more won by a landslide, but I am content with being in the minority on this one.
The next question was the most important one: how well done is your marshmallow? I was expecting the results to be a bit more even, given that the golden-brown vs burnt debate was always pretty even when I worked at camp. Golden-brown took the majority with just over 70% of the votes, burnt took just under 30%, while both not-roasted and barely roasted got no votes.
The third and final question was a fun one, which was how you set up your s’more. While I think it’s fun to mix up the elements of the s’more, I am a big fan of the classic: graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate. The classic s’more took the win on this one too, but a good amount of people voted for another way to set up the s’more. If someone selected “other,” they got to write in what s’more substitutes they use. Get ready for your mouth to water because these s’more setups sound fantastic.
One person put a twist on the sandwich-style setup and instead puts mini marshmallows and chocolate in a sugar cone, wraps it in foil, and warms it up next to the fire. I have never heard of this technique, but I am so intrigued and will for sure be trying this out next time I have a campfire.
Many people said that they’ll use Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Rolos instead of Hershey’s, or Chips Ahoy cookies instead of graham crackers. I have had s’mores with both substitutes and can confirm that they are delicious!
Another intriguing technique is to use bread and dark chocolate with the marshmallows and cook it using a pie maker.
One person’s technique I am naming the “Smoosh” because they said, and I quote, “smooshed in a bowl with vanilla ice cream – graham crackers, Reese’s marshmallow and/or Thin Mint cookies, marshmallow and ice cream smoosh.” This is another one that I am very intrigued by.
Perhaps the most interesting set up in the mix was using a strawberries and cream “SmashMallow” instead of regular marshmallows and a Caramello bar instead of Hershey’s. This is another one I will be adding to my list to try.
While it’s fun to get heated while debating who’s s’more technique is better, you really can’t go wrong when making a s’more. I mean, it’s all just ooey-gooey sugary goodness right?
We want to hear your take though, so leave a comment with how you like to make s’mores, and next time you make a s’more, share it with us on Instagram @peregrineequipment!
And for the record, pineapple does not belong on pizza. ;)
