Street View Street Food
Eton Mess
History
Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a
mixture of strawberries, broken meringue, and whipped
double cream. 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 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shop” (tuck shop), and was originally made with either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.
Meringue was a later addition.
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Culture
An Eton mess can be made with many other types of
summer fruit, but strawberries are regarded as more
traditional.
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”.