eating like a yooper: s'mores (part 3 of 3)

this is a three-part series on u.s. food i found on the upper peninsula of michigan, also called u-p, which is pronounced yoo-pee. the people there are called accordingly yoopers. to anticipate any objection on the title, yes, i know that fudge & s`mores are not only a culinary delight of the u-p. but for me they are linked to every trip "up north", as the upper peninsula of michigan is often called by the people "down state" , the other mitten-shaped part of michigan. so try my personal u-p menu, today: s´mores.

a summer camp classic in the united states, for me, s'mores have come to be one of my culinary highlights whenever visiting the upper peninsula of michigan.

a s´more is a rather small sandwich made of a soft yet crunchy cracker, half-melted chocolate, and a sugar cloud commercially known as marshmallow, which is roasted into a caramelized goo over a campfire.

"up north", long empty stretches of forests provide enough fallen branches to build the one or other smaller or bigger bonfire to produce this sweet treat, that for me is truly u.s. american.

contrary to my preferred location of s´more production, the facts on file encyclopedia on words and phrases by robert hendrickson defines it as a southern u.s. tradition. it was named so because "they are so delicious you want s'more" -- short for "some more". i can easily eat two or three but many people quit after one.

to build a s'more is actually trickier than you might think. what is a common activity for kids in camp, i found again and again to be more like a chemical science task. but see for yourself:



















first find your trusted grocery store that surely stocks the simple, but set-in-stone trinity of s`more ingredients: graham crackers, kraft brand jet puff marshmallows, and hershey`s chocolate. during bbq season you can usually find them grouped together on one shelf as this small supermarket did.

now forget about set in stone and consider the alternatives:

graham crackers are the leading brand but are rather expensive. any other neutral to sweet tasting cracker will do. in germany i would use an ordinary Butterkeks, a butter cookie, since crackers are not prevalent in german grocery stores. (which my favorite american considers a profound and incomprehensible shame when he eyeballs the multitudes of more affordable cheeses from france, switzerland, the netherlands, denmark etc. on german chiller shelves and the easiness to buy wine to your gusto of an equal number of european fermented grape juice producers. how could we germans have cheese and wine without making the common u.s. snack triplet complete with some crackers???).

as for the sugar clouds, any marshmallow will do. but i´ve been told kraft brand is the real deal and to better stick with the cheerful orange, blue, and green jet puff logo for that part of the gooey sandwich. i´ve seen marshmellows in the german supermarket chain Kaufland but you´ll probably also find them elsewhere.

the chocolate: hershey´s is why lots of people think u.s. chocolate is made of wax rather than cocoa beans. absolutely digress from the set in stone recipe on this part. giradelli squares work conveniently as they obediently break into said squares fitting on a piece of cracker without making too much of a mess by smaller tidbits of other kinds of chocolate. plus, giradelli tastes like chocolate and comes in milk and dark varieties. i prefer milk chocolate but am usually surrounded by dark believers, i mean, believers in dark chocolate, meaning at least 60% of cocoa content. i also tried cadbury chocolate. tasty, but more chaotic to chisel a right-sized piece. germans should try eszett brand Schokoladenschnitten. i don`t remember their taste -- let´s trust the stereotype of good german chocolate -- but they are thin and thus more susceptible to melt when they merge with the hot caramelized sugar cloud. they also come in the right shape and size.

now that we have the ingredients...













...we need to build a fire. let it burn until its initial rage is over and it becomes a tamed collection of flames and hot coal ready to serve our delicate cuisine. (other than this photo suggests, you absolutely don´t need heavy technical equipment for a bit of heat. some people obviously like to play with big fires, a hobby that, by the way, transcends national borders.)
















make sure you brought the trinity of the sacred s´more.




















before you start to roast your sugar cloud make sure you line up its other two companions. once the sugar cloud is transformed into a caramel cloud you need to act fast. therefore, put down the base, build the chocolate layer -- a good example on the left, a bad one on the right -- and place another two empty crackers next to them.




















poke the innocent looking calorie bomb with a sturdy stick until it sticks. while chopping wood for the fire you should find your weapon of choice easily.




















approach the flames and let the games begin.




















the trick is to let the flames warm your soft sweetie without consuming it...
















...as happened here, clearly detectable by a fine black crust of carcinogenic caramel...




















...or in this case, in which the outer most fragile shell of the mushy marshmallow broke open after burning.




















after a few burns, i tried a gentler approach leaving me with a half-raw slightly puffed pillow not wholly fit for a brief life in a s´more.




















that one was going well until the heat of the fire soften my sugar sweetie so much that it gave into its structural weakness to rest on a smooth bed of ashes.




















this one gave up before reaching the ground. obviously another case of burn-out syndrome and structural weakness.




















finally, a perfect evenly caramelized marshmallow, golden yellow blistery brown around all sides, slightly puffed but firm enough to remain on the stick to transport this beauty back to the bench to build a s´more. unfortunately, i didn´t author this delicious diabetes invitation, my favorite u.s. american did. maybe one needs to be born to master this u.s. skill?




















obviously this is not the same perfect caramel cloud. nevertheless, once you find yourself satisfied with your white sugar ball, or tired of breathing smoke, or ready to retreat afer burning your jacket and yourself while searching for the best hot spot, or simply hungry after dozens of failed attempts, just dump whatever you produced on the cracker-chocolate-duo.
















top it with the other cracker. in some cases the stick doesn´t want to leave its warm soft cave. so hold the cracker framework tightly you can pull your weapon out. then squeeze the puffed pillow until it bursts and releases its gluing force to bond the trinity of ingredients into your well-deserved self-made s´more. indulge!

















still hungry?

eating like a yooper: pasties (part 1 of 3)
eating like a yooper: fudge (part 2 of 3)
eating like a yooper: addendum on marshmallows