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tuck shop), and was originally made with either strawberries or bananas mixed with ice-cream or cream.[3][4] Meringue was a later addition.[5][6] An Eton mess can be made with many other types of summer fruit,[7] but strawberries are regarded as more traditional.[citation needed]
The word mess may refer to the appearance of the dish,[5] 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".[8]
^"mess".
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 25 November 2007. 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.": Simpson, John, ed. (March 2002).
"mess, n.". OED Online. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 July 2007..