How to Achieve the Perfect S'more

Like most things in life, what is perfect is different for each person. A perfect night for one person maybe a quiet evening inside, a warm fire, a favorite book, and the perfect lighting. Another person may yearn for the bustle of a city, surrounded by friends and strangers alike. Likewise, the Perfect S'more to you will be different than the perfect S'more to someone else. Here's what you need to know to Achieve Your Perfect S'more.

As we know S'mores have three ingredients : the sweet marshmallow, the cookie crunch graham cracker, and the bold chocolate. There is, though, a fourth element that is very important : the fire. Using the fire correctly allows the three other ingredients to work together to achieve gooey perfection.

The first thing we need to know is how we want our Marshmallow cooked. For some, a delicate touch of fire releases a sweet flavor of the marshmallow. For some, an engulf of flame is required to chard the Marshmallow to perfection. Here are the 5 stages of Marshmallow, find out which one you prefer is imperative for S'more perfection.

1. White? Rare? No heat at all, the Marshmallow will be springy and soft as usual. This can be hard to squish into a bite-able treat.
2. Buff? Touched by Fire? Barely any fire. Only the surface of the Marshmallow has been altered. This gives off an increase of sweetness with a touch of smoke. It can still be hard to squish the S'more down.
3. Brown? Medium? The first cooked Marshmallow on the list. It is brown and all but the center is gooey. This gives depth of flavor, both smokey and sweet. Now the S'more can be squished into the perfect bite.
4. Dark Brown? Well Done? Almost charred. This Marshmallow will lose a lot of sweetness for bold, smokey flavor. If you're drinking Whiskey, Bourbon, or another hard drink, this marshmallow will accompany those flavors well.
5. Black? Charred? The fire has engulfed the S'more and we are left with a black ball with a hidden gooey core. Some people prefer these, but not many. The flavors of the marshmallow are not very delicate, all you can taste is burned sugar.

Now that we know what to look for in a marshmallow we can go to the next ingredient, the Graham Cracker. There are a lot of different flavors and brands of Graham Crackers on the market. In general, the extra flavors tend to get in the way of pure S'more Perfection. The kinds that are coated with sugar can actually pose a bit of a threat as an open fire can ignite the sugar, which is bad. If you have a place near the fire, like the bricks around it, that is warm, but not dangerous, you can use this spot to warm the Graham Crackers as we cook the Marshmallow. This lets the chocolate that we put on it melt on both sides so the whole S'more becomes more manageable to eat.

Now comes time for the Chocolate. The chocolate must be in bar form and usually it takes 4 squares to fit perfectly on the Graham Cracker. There are only really two choices for flavors of chocolate. Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate. Anything else gets in the way and disrupts the perfect S'more.

This next step is not often discussed but it is very important. How do you layer the chocolate and the marshmallow. Consider this before you decide (as there is no wrong answer) : When you bite into a S'more your tongue is going to touch the bottom Cracker and then either chocolate or Marshmallow, depending on your ordering. This flavor is the one you are going to be primarily tasting. So, are you a Chocolate person or a Marshmallow person? That ingredient should be placed directly on top of the bottom cracker.

Here we have the science and the know how to Achieve S'more Perfection. The perfect S'more seems to be a microcosm of camping; a balance between exploration, relaxation, necessity, and planning. The S'more has years of history, tradition, and love behind it; show it the respect that it deserves.