How Graham Crackers Started the Whole Grain Revolution
Almost every American, young or old, has heard of Graham crackers. Many associate this staple food with warm memories of making s’mores around a campfire, or at home watching the marshmallow puff, brown, and melt through the window of a microwave oven. Yet, few Americans have ever heard of Graham flour or its inventor and namesake, Sylvester Graham (1794-1851).
Graham strongly believed that bread should be homemade, whole grain, and coarsely ground. He rallied for his cause by giving lectures and publishing articles on the Graham System for Living. Like every revolutionary thinker, he met resistance in his own time, but was generations ahead of society. The Graham System eschewed overly processed food, and advocated moderation in all areas of daily life, a familiar refrain for those “plugged-in” to discussions on food today. In many ways, today’s food revolution—which is inspired by contemporaries like Michael Pollan—whose message about how over processed and unwholesome foods are hurting us, was really started more than 100 years ago by Sylvester Graham.
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