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Graham Crackers
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The Origin of Graham Crackers
Here's an adjective that basically means made of whole wheat: GRAHAM (pronounce it "GRAY-uhm" or "GRAM").If it hadn't been for one particular man, the word might not be in our language.
The "particular man" in question was one Sylvester Graham; and he was indeed "particular," in more ways than one. This person (and parson) was an early-19th-century Presbyterian clergyman. Born in Connecticut back in 1794, he studied at Amherst College and was ordained to the ministry when he was in his early 30s.
As a preacher, he may have had no idea that his name would soon become almost inseparably associated with a certain product. But he did know — everybody in his flock and out of it, too, must have known — that he was a man of distinct and decided opinions.
One — well, actually two — of his major convictions concerned what people chose to introduce into their systems as they ate and drank. An ardent advocate of the temperance movement, the Reverend Mr. Graham was absolutely convinced of the merits of eating only vegetables - mostly because he was also thoroughly convinced that people who didn't eat meat wouldn't drink alcohol, either.
His troika of beliefs — Christianity, temperance, and vegetarianism (perhaps not always in that order) — garnered an impressive following. In fact, between around 1830 and 1850, many of the larger cities had "Graham boardinghouses": testaments to healthy living as directly related to healthy eating.
It is not known whether he was right in assuming that people following a diet composed wholly of vegetables would therefore have no desire for alcohol. What is certain is that "graham bread" and the "graham cracker" (another name for which is "digestive biscuit") really caught on.
These products incorporated only "unbolted" wheat flour. At first, Mr. Graham had this flour prepared for him as a special order; then as others joined the veggie bandwagon — and climbed on the no-booze "wagon," too - the demand for the flour grew and grew, until it became generally available to all. Before long, since he so enthusiastically recommended this kind of flour and the products made from it, his name had become inseparably associated with it.
Health bread notwithstanding, the Rev. Mr. Graham died at the relatively young age of 51. But he left a legacy for many much-younger people: Just think of the millions of little children who, without him, might not have had "graham crackers" to munch on while teething.
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