Eton mess

{{Infobox food

| name = Eton mess

| image = File:Eton mess at Black Horse Inn, Nuthurst West Sussex England 2 slightly different focus point.jpg

| caption = A plate of Eton mess

| alternate_name = Harrow Mess

| place_of_origin = England

| region = Berkshire

| creator = Eton College

| course = Dessert

| served =

| main_ingredient = Berries, meringue, cream

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries or other berries, meringue, and whipped cream.{{cite book|author1=Darra Goldstein|author2=Sidney Mintz|author3=Michael Krondl|author4=Laura Mason|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbi6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931339-6|pages=243–}} First mentioned in print in 1893, it is commonly believed to originate from Eton College and is served at the annual cricket match against the pupils of Harrow School. Eton mess is occasionally served at Harrow School, where it is referred to as Harrow mess.{{Cite book|title=Marlborough House and Its Occupants: Present and Past|author=Arthur Henry Beavan|year=1896|page=162}}

History

Eton mess was served in the 1930s in the school's "sock shop" (tuck shop), and was originally made with either strawberries or bananas mixed with ice-cream or cream.{{cite book|last=Weir|first=Robin|author2=Caroline Liddell |author3=Peter Brears |title=Recipes from the Dairy|location=London|publisher=National Trust|year=1995|isbn=0-7078-0243-1}}{{cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Heston|author-link=Heston Blumenthal|title=The appliance of science : Another fine mess|url=https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,,1404884,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2005-02-05}} Meringue was a later addition.{{cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Heston|author-link=Heston Blumenthal|title=No messing|url=https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,,985398,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2003-06-28}}{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Michael|title=Fine English Cookery|location=London|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=1973|isbn=0-571-10349-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fineenglishcooke0000smit}} (Revised edition London: Serif, 1998, Foreword by Geraldene Holt; {{ISBN|978-1897959367}}.) See {{cite news|last=Dupleix|first=Jill|title=Eton mess : Strawberries and cream make a superb summer pudding for lazy, hazy days|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/recipes/article442202.ece|newspaper=The Times|date=2004-06-03 | location=London}} An Eton mess can be made with many other types of summer fruit,A recipe by Heston Blumenthal, for instance, uses bananas: see {{cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Heston|author-link=Heston Blumenthal|title=Eton mess : Look, no berries – this Eton mess is a crispy, creamy, zingy heap of a treat|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/heston_blumenthal/article725886.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531072451/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/heston_blumenthal/article725886.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 May 2010|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=2006-02-12 | location=London}} but strawberries are regarded as more traditional.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The word mess may refer to the appearance of the dish, or may be used in the sense of "a quantity of food", particularly "a prepared dish of soft food" or "a mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together".{{cite web|title=mess|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mess|publisher=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|access-date=2007-11-25}} The Oxford English Dictionary defines mess as "[a] serving of food; a course; a meal; a prepared dish of a specified kind of food." or "[a] portion or serving of liquid or pulpy food such as milk, broth, porridge, boiled vegetables, etc.": {{Cite book|contribution=mess, n.|contribution-url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00306872|editor-last=Simpson|editor-first=John|title=OED Online|place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=March 2002|access-date=2007-07-10}}.

Eton mess

History

See also

References

Further reading