Graham cracker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The graham cracker (pronounced 'gram cracker') was developed in nineteenth century America in Suffield, Connecticut by Presbyterian minister Rev. Sylvester Graham. Conceived of as a "health food", it is more like a digestive biscuit than a cracker. Though originally made solely with graham flour, most modern "graham crackers" are instead made mostly of the refined, bleached white flour to which the Rev. Graham was implacably opposed.
His original "Graham bread" was the centerpiece of the diet he created to suppress what he considered unhealthy carnal urges, the source of many maladies according to Graham. He also warned that ketchup and mustard induced insanity. He gained many followers including Will Keith Kellogg, and even set up boardinghouses, where his diet was observed, in New York, Boston and other cities.
Modern commercial graham crackers are no longer considered health food, but have remained popular as a snack food with greater amounts of sugar, honey and other sweeteners than in the original recipe, and far less graham flour, often with no whole-wheat flour whatsoever. Cinnamon or chocolate may be added to enhance the flavor of the crackers.
Technically, crackers are not really graham crackers unless they are made with graham flour, which is simply a coarsely-ground hard whole-wheat flour. There are brands sold on the market today, mostly in health-food stores and natural-food markets, that are still true graham crackers.
Graham crackers have themselves become ingredients for other snack foods, including moon pies and S'mores, and are often crushed for use as crusts in some baked goods such as cheesecake.
