So I realized my passion for this French delicacy gets really serious when I decided to write my final paper on macarons. Despite of the fact that I inefficiently stayed up for the whole night toiling on this paper, I’m actually glad I did write about it because I was able to evaluate macarons from a more formal and scholastic perspective after hours and hours of research on the subject. Now, sick and tired due to lack of sleep like a hungover kid (weird comparison here I notice), I loved macarons even more! A side note, half conscious at night, I ordered a box of macarons through overnight shipping as a…ummm I’m not really sure what the justification could be, but the point they are in my stomach right now.
Here’s what I’ve got, and I really hope the professor could ignore the fact that I had finished the paper five minutes before it was due, oh well…
It might come as surprise, especially to an earnest Francophile, that a large part of the history of macarons involved places and cultures other than France. In fact, if we traced all the way back, this dainty almond cookie was believed to brought into Sicily region of Italy by the Jew who were exiled from Spain, where the Moorish population in the medieval Islamic world had the tradition of making almond paste based cookies. Thanks to Catherine de’ Medici, who brought along her Italian pastry chef when she married the Duke of Orléans in 1533, macarons have found its home where it would flourish and found identity.# After that, macarons ‘s provenance became mainly identified with France, and by the seventeenth century and was made and made mainly by nuns who earned a living by selling those almond cookies to the poor.# It was also recorded that by 1660 there were recipes of macarons found in England and throughout Europe with the availability of Caribbean sugar#. A cookie that was first brought from Arab culture of Moorish Spain to Italy, which then passed into France where it flourished and gained its modern name, macarons ‘s cultural association did not stop there. Another close cultural tie is with Italian Jewish, who are believed to popularize the cookie to be a staple of Passover hoilday fare. Although the French word did not appear until 1552 in the book called Gargantua and Pantagruel by the satirist Rabelais, who might have coined the word and included in a list of non-Jewish food, its etymology could be a convoluted matter as it becomes enmeshed with two other food that we know as macaroni and macaroon today.
coconut macaroons
Some rights reserved by little blue hen
The confusion with the first arises from their possible same etymological root, maccaroni, meaning “crushed” in Italian. Interestingly, maccaroni was first used to describe gnocchi, or dumplings, instead of the tube-shaped pasta to which we attribute the name today#. fact, the two distinct food shared the same name since the early recipe for the macaroni contained the same ingredients of flour paste (instead of almond flour), egg white, and rose water just like the sweet creation macaron, which has the addition of sugar.# Compared to macaroni, which every American can distinguish nowadays, macaroons, which is the traditional Passover food, are more often confused with the French delicacy macarons. In fact, the two do share certain similarity as the early macaroons mentioned as a Jewish food was made with almond paste as well and were popularized among Italian Jew refugees in the mid-sixteenth century. It was not until 1871 that the recipe for coconut macaroons was first mentioned in the American Jewish cookbook as a variety of the almond macaroons, but afterward as almond macaroons fell out of fashion, the coconut variation eventually became the most popular type that are packaged in their mass-produced canisters we see today.#
Given all the knowledge above, it is still not sufficient to identify macaron precisely by its name because the word macarons can refer to both the Parisian type that accounts for the macaron fad fad nowadays, and traditional macarons, or macarons tradionnels which are essentially the crispy uncolored shells of Parisian macarons and without fillings. Varying in their shape across different regions in France, traditional macarons, though less glamorous than the Parisian ones, deliver the simplicity of the pure almond taste that works in harmony with the sweetness of sugar or honey.# Cindy Meyers in her writing recounted the fascinating encounter with the advocate of traditional macarons , Madame Blanchez, who kept the original secret recipe passed down and tirelessly made macarons with much the old standard. While the traditional camp that Madmae Blanchez belongs to helps establish and preserve the tradition, the non-conformists on the other hand explore the new possibility of macarons, and two figures play a crucial role in the development of macarons during modern times. First, it is Pierre Desfontaines, who is said to have invented the filled macarons in the early twentieth century.# Although other sources suggest that buttercream-filled macarons have appeared as early as Marie Antoinette’s time, he is undisputably the one who popularized them by selling these filled cookies in his famous pastry shop Ladurée, which enjoys the enduring popularity even today.
So excited for his macaron books (coming out next year…)#The other figure that is associated with the macaron fad is the pastry chef Pierre Hermé, who took a step further and gussied up the filled macarons with his ingenuous flavors and pastel-like color combinations. Having worked as an apprentice under “the exacting patriarch of French pâtisserie” Gaston Lenôtre in 1980s when he was 17, Hermé felt bored by the staple flavors of macarons back then, which were limited to coffee, chocolate, vanilla and raspberry, so he started to experiment with new flavors in the mid 1980’s, and the result caused a sensation in France.# Over the last two decades he has been bringing macaron from France to London, and even to Japan, where macarons was welcomed with fanatic success and beloved by the young schoolgirls and white-collar office lady alike. It is so popular that the Japanese toy company mega house created a macaron-making toy for children to make their own macarons that are actually edible.#
As a land that is historically known for its receptive attitude to French culture from art to cuisine, America was ready for macaron to flourish, and New York where most food trends start to spread was the perfect landing place.
Although it is hard to pin down the exact time of the beginning of macaron fad, newspapers and other media seemed to start directing more attention to macarons from early 2009, the same time when several macaron shops popped up in the city. The owner of La Maison du Macaron, which is one of the earliest macaron shops in the city first opened in 1998, also reflected that his macarons business really hadn’t taken off until 2009.# The popularity of macarons in New York was joint effort by the media and pastry chefs. The most successful promotional campaign to familiarize the public with macarons includes the annual macaron day on March 20th, launched by François Payard who imported the festival from jour du macaron in Paris that was organized by Pierre Hermes and Relais Desssert. During the first annual macaron day last year, macaron shops across the city were invited to participate by handing out free macarons to people and had received a considerable amount of press attention.
Strangest hybrid of macaroons and macarons…Tastes good though.
It almost becomes a cliche now for people to compare macarons with cupcakes, but Michael Krondi in his newly published book on sweets dedicated a whole chapter discussing the relationship between the two and offered some insights into the reason for such an association. The two differs in their contextual meanings, since while macarons holds the connotation of sophistication and good taste of adulthood, cupcakes are more related to the youth culture. To him, the two share more similarities than differences. Krondi detected the informality characterized by macarons and cupcakes, as both are eaten with fingers and in small bites. For me, another important characteristic that marks the difference between the two is how they are made. Having made macarons quite frequently, I understand what a long, painstaking process it takes to create these fragile, fickle cookies.
The matcha white chocolate ganache macarons I made!
First, to ensure the minimum water contained, one preferably needs to use old egg white that has been sitting at room temperature for several days. After the egg white is whipped and folded into the mix of ground almond and caster sugar that are sifted and further grounded to a finer texture, the piped batter then needs to sit outside for at least thirty minutes to further dry out the moisture that will cause the deflation of the domes. The temperature has to be carefully adjusted as the shell burns easily, and even after the tray is popped into the oven, one has to keep a close eye on how the shells develop since they can still fail for no particular reasons. After the shells are made and completely cooled to be filled with buttercream, ganache, or jam, according to the professionals’ advice, they should be let sit in the fridge for another day or two to let the flavor blend well as the filling and shell become more cohesive. Having undergone this whole tedious process, that bite of the ephemeral pleasure just makes me appreciate macarons even more. On the other hand, I am never too enthusiastic about making cupcakes because it always seems to me like a boring repetition of making the batter and frosting the top. Though it could only be perceived by the people who actually make them, the techniques and carefulness required in their creation reflect a higher level of sophistication that sets the macarons apart of the commercialized, packaged mix of Duncan Hines cupcakes.
As macarons, carrying their French flair and sophistication, make their way to the United States, meanwhile cupcakes also begin to disseminate American tastes among French in Paris. Berko, one of the most popular cupcake shops in Paris now, include the flavor of peanut butter with M&M in their menu, which can be seen as an attempt, unconsciously or not, to inform to their French fellows about the American palate.# Here, an interesting cultural exchange is happening as macarons and cupcakes cross each other’s national boundaries and test out the field in another culture.
Recent phenomenon related to macaron that worry many macaron aficionados is as they gain tremendous popularity, macarons start to appear in some lower venues like Trader Joe’s, Startbucks, and even McDonald’s. These three specific venues seem to suggest three possible futures for macaron. As the national chain grocery, Trader Joe’s start selling frozen macarons at a competitive, much cheaper price ($0.42 per piece) than the ones from the pastry shops ($2.00-$2.95 per piece).# Although they do not taste outrageously bad, these macarons raised justifiable suspicions that the inferior quality of ingredients is reflected through its lower price tag. In December 2009, Starbucks offered macarons for a limited time as holiday special dessert, which were actually made in France by a corporate patisserie.#
From Starbucks’ example, we see how American business tries to catch up with the trend by labeling it as “special treat” to appeal the consumers. If frozen or Starbucks macarons are not enough to give macaron fans a heart attack, their appearance in McDonald’s in France in 2007 should rouse much shock or even rage.# Sold side by side with hamburgers, McCafe macarons ironically realized the “heretical comparison” that Cindy used to describe macarons as “a miniature hamburger”.# The sophistication and exclusiveness that macarons embody are endangered, and as much as fans do not want to admit, they feel a sense of loss.
The phenomenon of macarons’ presence in the lower-end market intrigues me because it seems to follow the pattern of cheese as another artisanal practice degrading into the part of mass-produced food culture. Although it is very unlikely that macarons will eventually become machine-made cookies with chemical additives added from the factory, the prospects that there will be pre-made mix of macarons may worth entertaining to some food entrepreneurs. However, I am not implying this is the way macarons should be heading. Though often labeled with the derisive connotation as a fad, macarons deserves more respect as an art of pastry than just a trendy fashion. I think if we really start to learn the rich culture and history behind it and also to understand the magic and intricacy of the creating process, I can see macarons these delicate creations retaining their lure in America as a true culinary treasure while not falling into the path of mass-production.
Damn that was a long paper…
Oh wow, that was a lot of pasta. Staring down my plate, I was a bit taken back by the mere portion of it. Well I guess it’s good news for some people, but personally I need . Anyhow, the legendary bone morrow fusilli came with an agressive look with an oily puddle at the bottom and a generous porition of braided knots glowing with oil, or bone marrow let’s word it in another way. I knew it would be a very rich dish, and a bite or two was enough for me. Still too rich for me, Spaghetti was a one-step-down version of the fusilli. Although I didn’t detect the presence of crab meat described in the menu, I could certianly taste the wonderful umami flavor of sea urchin that infused every single noodle. Again, it got heavy after several bites, and that’s when a sip of wine was much appreciated. 
Agnolleti compared to the other two pasta was the perfect size and taste for me. A dozen or so of small pockets were neatly packed with ground veal burst with complex flavor. The sauce from the wine reduction enhanced the earthiness of the mushrooms. It was a shame though several hunks of bland and slightly overcooked sweetbreads cut the level down from perfection. I love sweetbreads but those did not justify my passion for the exquisite offal part.
We were so full, but you know I never miss dessert. Instead of getting one for each of us, we decided to share two, fair enough. A careful selection process went on and finally I chose to go for one conventional and the other more creative. The classic Italian dessert Affogato was a great way to end the meal at Marea I shall say. A moderate scoop of brown butter gelato was drown in a cup of hot mixture of fine espresso and dark rum, topped with a dollop of fresh cream. As my tastebuds constantly experienced the extreme of icy and hot delight, the bitter and mellow flavors harmoniously blend without overpowering one another.
