Please do not buy American s'mores products.

[Underseer]

The physical and social environment can affect your appreciation of a dish

I get that different nations/cultures can have different attitudes about the above, but I happen to think that the environment matters. Hot dogs and hamburgers taste better at an informal cookout outdoors on a nice summer's day with friends and/or family to name one example. It's just not the same at a fast food restaurant or one of those places that serve gourmet hamburgers. Yakisoba and okonomiyaki taste better at an outdoor festival than from a restaurant. They just do.

I happen to like those "X people try Y" food videos on YouTube, and I've noticed more and more manufactured American sweets coming in "S'mores" varieties.



I'll be honest: I tend to skip the sweets sections of the grocery store, so I never noticed that more and more "S'mores" products are coming from American food manufacturers.

I suspect that more Americans are buying manufactured "S'mores" products because fewer of us are camping or hiking in the wilderness, but still want that jolt of childhood nostalgia.

S'mores became popular because it's an easy dessert that can be made over a campfire, and all the ingredients can be stored at room(ish) temperature in your backpack (provided the chocolate doesn't melt and make a mess).

Charring marshmallows over a campfire on a stick you found lying around is part of the experience. The outside of the marshmallow should be browned (some like it blackened) and the interior melted and gooey. The main thing is not the flavors and textures from the Maillard reactions in the marshmallows as they cook, nor in the smoke that infuses the marshmallows. It's the experience of waving food on a stick around a campfire on sticks while having casual conversations with friends and/or family in the wilderness after a long day of hiking or other outdoor activities. The resulting hot mess gets sandwiched between chocolate and Graham crackers, which should slightly melt the chocolate.

Something made in a factory simply cannot replicate that experience, particularly not when you eat it while sitting on your couch in the living room.

 

[fast]

I appreciate your thoughts on the matter. There's a lot more to eating than the food itself. The experience matters. When we try to replicate the experience with the food, we feel that something's just not the same--and that's because, well, it isn't ... the experience is substantively different.

If there is a particular dish, snack, or chewing delight that you (personally) would rather avoid when the atmosphere, scenery, circumstance, or experience isn't up to par with your desires, then by all means, say that you (you) would rather not. There's nothing wrong with that per se. Generally, unless you're making an ass out of yourself by avoidance, making a personal effort to avoid certain things is fine. But, the line is drawn at your imbuing that unto others. It's fine to explain the awe inspiring recollections of the experiences that made the eating experiences great for you, and it's fine to make decisions that curb your choices, but why must those very fine things drive or otherwise compel you to cross lines that shouldn't otherwise be crossed?

I've had incredible experiences with small charcoal grills on the side of streams in the mountains--eating steak with family. Nice, very nice, and so nice I cherish the moments, and it's not an experience I can find in a restaurant filled with people with expectations of their own. But, I'm not going to cross the line and tell you not to eat steak unless you can share similarly symbolic experiences.

Ya know, the marshmallow just doesn't seem the same away from camp, but we make our own special memories in a variety of ways that can sometimes be just as special if not more so than idyllic remembrances. Let them buy the American s'mores product. It's not your cup of tea, but out there, somewhere, there's a momma and young daughter. There's an old man and a grandson out there. On the other side of town, there are two kids outside in the backyard knowing they shouldn't be in the rain. If they can make memories of their own, they might not stand up to what I think, but that's okay. It's okay.

Parents don't put their kids coloring drawing on the fridge always because of what was drawn. It's their kids. There could be any number of reason that's made a moment special. If you don't think a kid won't remember the fast food hamburger ... I'm just sayin'

 

[Underseer]

I appreciate your thoughts on the matter. There's a lot more to eating than the food itself. The experience matters. When we try to replicate the experience with the food, we feel that something's just not the same--and that's because, well, it isn't ... the experience is substantively different.

If there is a particular dish, snack, or chewing delight that you (personally) would rather avoid when the atmosphere, scenery, circumstance, or experience isn't up to par with your desires, then by all means, say that you (you) would rather not. There's nothing wrong with that per se. Generally, unless you're making an ass out of yourself by avoidance, making a personal effort to avoid certain things is fine. But, the line is drawn at your imbuing that unto others. It's fine to explain the awe inspiring recollections of the experiences that made the eating experiences great for you, and it's fine to make decisions that curb your choices, but why must those very fine things drive or otherwise compel you to cross lines that shouldn't otherwise be crossed?

I've had incredible experiences with small charcoal grills on the side of streams in the mountains--eating steak with family. Nice, very nice, and so nice I cherish the moments, and it's not an experience I can find in a restaurant filled with people with expectations of their own. But, I'm not going to cross the line and tell you not to eat steak unless you can share similarly symbolic experiences.

Ya know, the marshmallow just doesn't seem the same away from camp, but we make our own special memories in a variety of ways that can sometimes be just as special if not more so than idyllic remembrances. Let them buy the American s'mores product. It's not your cup of tea, but out there, somewhere, there's a momma and young daughter. There's an old man and a grandson out there. On the other side of town, there are two kids outside in the backyard knowing they shouldn't be in the rain. If they can make memories of their own, they might not stand up to what I think, but that's okay. It's okay.

Parents don't put their kids coloring drawing on the fridge always because of what was drawn. It's their kids. There could be any number of reason that's made a moment special. If you don't think a kid won't remember the fast food hamburger ... I'm just sayin'

The thing is, with S'mores, nearly every American has the same experience (or at least used to), and every European who tries S'mores-flavored pie or s'mores-flavored whatever wonders what the big deal is, and I'm trying to explain that. If you're just eating s'mores-flavored breakfast cereal or whatever, it's a really mundane combination of flavors and textures, and I would expect foreigners to react to it that way.

Without the context, they're just not going to understand why so many Americans get so excited about it.

But steak? No one culture owns steak. Steak is nearly universal, and there's bazillions of ways of serving a nice big juicy cut of beef.

 

[Toni]

A properly roasted marshmallow requires some skill. Done properly, it must be done over a camp fire big enough for no more than 6-10 people to sit around comfortably, feet up on logs (adults) and kids' butts on logs. It should be dark and quiet, with some story telling, and a general warm, cozy feeling. A bit of smoke gets rid of mosquitoes so no need to contaminate the environment with that.

The stick should be freshly fetched from the floor of the woods, or else, if someone has a pocket knife handy, cut from a sapling or low branch. It needs to be green still, to prevent catching fire itself.

Load no more than 2 marshmallows on a stick at a time, but really, it's best done with only one. Patience is required if you want to get the maximum swelling and puffing and then, just the right amount of golden brown. Don't go too near the flame! And gently turn the stick a quarter turn every 20-30 seconds. Keep a close eye for just the right amount of color on the marshmallow. It takes practice!

Best served straight off the stick.

 

[RavenSky]

I just went down the rabbit hole of Irish people eating American foods. There's a whole series of videos!

Thanks!

 

[Underseer]

A properly roasted marshmallow requires some skill. Done properly, it must be done over a camp fire big enough for no more than 6-10 people to sit around comfortably, feet up on logs (adults) and kids' butts on logs. It should be dark and quiet, with some story telling, and a general warm, cozy feeling. A bit of smoke gets rid of mosquitoes so no need to contaminate the environment with that.

The stick should be freshly fetched from the floor of the woods, or else, if someone has a pocket knife handy, cut from a sapling or low branch. It needs to be green still, to prevent catching fire itself.

Load no more than 2 marshmallows on a stick at a time, but really, it's best done with only one. Patience is required if you want to get the maximum swelling and puffing and then, just the right amount of golden brown. Don't go too near the flame! And gently turn the stick a quarter turn every 20-30 seconds. Keep a close eye for just the right amount of color on the marshmallow. It takes practice!

Best served straight off the stick.

See? This is what I mean about Americans getting excited about this. Factory-made items eaten on the couch cannot produce this kind of passion.