- Key People:
- Sylvester Graham
- Related Topics:
- sāmore
- whole-wheat flour
- cracker
graham cracker
-
What is a graham cracker?
The graham cracker is a slightly sweet cracker made of whole wheat flour named after Sylvester Graham, a 19th-century dietary reformer. Graham, an American clergyman, advocated for temperance and vegetarianism. He invented the graham cracker in 1829 as part of his recommended "Graham Diet," which included fresh fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, and foods rich in dietary fiber.
Graham never branded or patented his recipe, so other bakers altered it. Modern graham crackers often contain refined white flour, sugar, and trans fats, and are flavored with honey or cinnamon. They can be eaten as a snack, or used to make desserts like s'mores, cheesecakes, and key lime pie crusts.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What ingredients are used to make graham crackers?
Graham crackers have evolved since their creation in 1829 by Sylvester Graham. Graham's original recipe used unsifted, coarsely ground, whole wheat flour without fat or refined sugar. A sweeter recipe that included lard and molasses was suggested in J. Thompson Gillās 1881 book, The Complete Bread, Cake and Cracker Baker.
Modern graham crackers typically contain refined white flour, sugar, and trans fats, and are flavored with honey or cinnamon; chocolate varieties are also common.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who invented graham crackers and why?
Sylvester Graham, an American clergyman and health reformer, invented the graham cracker in 1829. Graham, who advocated for temperance and vegetarianism, developed the cracker to supplement his "Graham Diet," which consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread, rough cereals, and fiber-rich foods.
As a reformer during the Victorian era, Graham was concerned about what he believed to be the negative effects of human sexual desire. He preached that physical lust was harmful to the body and advocated lifestyle changes such as eliminating meat, fats, spices, coffee, tea, and alcohol from one's diet to combat sexual urges.
Graham never branded or patented his recipe, so other bakers altered it. Modern graham crackers often contain refined white flour, sugar, and trans fats, and are flavored with honey or cinnamon.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How are graham crackers made today?
Modern graham crackers are very different from what Sylvester Graham created. Today, they typically contain refined white flour, sugar, and trans fats and are flavored with honey or cinnamon; chocolate varieties are also common.
In 1898, the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) began mass-producing and marketing graham crackers. In 1925, they launched Honey Maid, a sweeter version of Grahamās concept. The company also sold animal crackers, which have a similar recipe to graham crackers but are shaped like animals and packaged in circus-themed boxes.
The number of graham cracker varieties has grown significantly since then. In 2020ā21, consumers purchased over $500 million worth of graham crackers.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some common ways people eat or use graham crackers?
Graham crackers are a versatile food with a variety of uses. They can be eaten as a snack on their own, or they can be combined with spreads like peanut butter or hazelnut spread.
Graham crackers are a primary ingredient in the s'more, which is a traditional American dessert of toasted marshmallow and chocolate between two graham crackers. They are also used in moon pies, which are graham cookies with marshmallow filling dipped in a flavored coating. Additionally, graham crackers can be crushed and mixed with melted butter to create pie crusts for desserts like cheesecake and key lime pie. They can also be found in recipes such as the Filipino Mango Royale icebox cake.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How have graham crackers influenced American snacks and desserts?
Named after Sylvester Graham, the graham cracker has become a staple in American snacks and desserts. Graham, a 19th-century dietary reformer, created it as part of his health regimen, which included whole wheat bread and foods rich in dietary fiber.
Modern graham crackers have evolved from Graham's original recipe, which was made with coarsely ground whole wheat flour without fat or refined sugar. Today, they are sweeter and often made with refined white flour, sugar, and flavorings like honey or cinnamon.
Graham crackers are now commonly used in s'mores, pie crusts for desserts like cheesecake and key lime pie, and as a base for icebox cakes. They can be eaten as a snack or with spreads. The commercialization of graham crackers by companies like Nabisco has led to a wide variety of flavors and brands, making them a popular and versatile ingredient in American cuisine.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
graham cracker, wheat cracker lightly sweetened with honey and sometimes flavored with cinnamon and produced in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Origins
The graham cracker derives its name from the eccentric American clergyman and health reformer Sylvester Graham, who is also associated with the popularization of whole wheat bread and credited as one of the early pioneers of the American vegetarian movement. Graham was a Victorian-era reformer who, like others of his time, was very concerned with what he considered to be the negative effects of human sexual desire and its fulfillment.
Graham was born in 1794 in West Suffield, Connecticut, the youngest of 17 children. In 1830, after holding a series of odd jobs, including a brief and unsuccessful career as a minister, Graham became a traveling lecturer for the Pennsylvania Temperance Society, under whose auspices he spoke throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic region about topics such as disease, sexuality, and diet. Graham amassed quite a number of both supporters and detractors (he was attacked once by a mob of bakers and butchers).
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
A follower of English minister William Metcalfeās philosophy of vegetarianism and abstinence, Graham believed that physical lust was harmful to the body, causing a wide variety of maladies such as headaches, indigestion, spinal diseases, epilepsy, and insanity. He preached that the more immoral the sexual activity, the more bodily damage it would cause. In order to combat these sexual urges, Graham advocated a number of lifestyle changes, including eliminating meat, fats, spices, condiments, coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages from oneās diet, abstaining from using tobacco, exercising regularly, wearing loose-fitting comfortable clothing, and sleeping on hard mattresses with the windows open, even in cold weather. Graham also advised his followers, called āGrahamites,ā to bathe regularly and drink plenty of water, which, at the time, were radical suggestions.
Graham developed the graham cracker in 1829 to supplement his recommended āGraham Diet,ā which called for eating fresh fruit and vegetables, whole wheat bread, rough cereals, and food rich in dietary fiber. Originally, the graham crackerās main ingredient was unsifted, coarsely ground, whole wheat flour, and it was baked without fat or refined sugar, yielding something similar to a bran saltine cracker without the salt.
Commercialization
Graham never branded or patented his graham cracker recipe or his signature āGraham flourā (unrefined whole wheat flour) used in it, so other bakers tinkered with the recipe and developed their own production methods. In his 1881 book The Complete Bread, Cake and Cracker Baker, author J. Thompson Gill suggested a graham cracker recipe that was sweeter and slightly softer than Grahamās original cracker and included lard and molasses.
Modern-day graham crackers would likely be unrecognizable to Graham, as they are typically made with refined white flour, sugar, and trans fats and are flavored with honey or cinnamon; chocolate varieties are also common. In 1898 the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) began successfully mass-producing and marketing graham crackers. In 1925 the company launched a new brand, Honey Maid, that offered a much sweeter take on Grahamās concept. The National Biscuit Company also sold animal crackers, which have a very similar recipe to graham crackers but are produced in the shapes of animals, such as lions, elephants, camels, and bears, packaging them in a colorful box designed to look like a circus wagon.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
The number of varieties of graham crackers available in stores has since grown significantly. In 2020ā21 consumers purchased more than $500 million worth of graham crackers.
Common uses
Graham crackers can be eaten by themselves as a snack and are often used to form a sandwich with peanut butter, hazelnut spread, or other spreads, or topped with fruit. They are also a primary ingredient in the sāmore, a traditional American dessert featuring toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers, and in the moon pie, a graham cookie (a sweeter version of a graham cracker) sandwich snack filled with marshmallow and dipped in flavored coating. Graham crackers are also frequently crushed, combined with a liquid fat, such as melted butter, and pressed into a pie tin to form the crusts of such popular desserts as cheesecake and key lime pie. Graham crackers may also be used in the traditional Filipino Mango Royale icebox cake recipe.