He believed that minimizing pleasure and stimulation of all kinds, including the prevention of masturbation, coupled with a vegetarian diet anchored by bread made from wheat coarsely ground at home, was how God intended people to live, and that following this natural law would keep people healthy.

[8][6] Herman Melville has an early reference to the crackers in Book XXII, Chapter I, of his 1852 novel Pierre; or The Ambiguities:For all the long wards, corridors, and multitudinous chambers of the Apostles' were scattered with the stems of apples, the stones of prunes, and the shells of peanuts.

They went about huskily muttering the Kantian Categories through teeth and lips dry and dusty as any miller's, with crumbs of Graham crackers.The main ingredients in its earlier preparations were graham flour, oil, shortening or lard, molasses and salt.

[13][14] The dough is sometimes chilled before being rolled out, which prevents blistering and breakage from occurring when the product is baked.

[18] Graham crackers are commonly used in place of broas in the traditional Filipino icebox cake mango float.