 French-style macaroons from France’s great chocolatier and patissier, François Pralus.
December 2006
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The History of The Macaroon
Created By Italian Monks, Refined By French Pâtissiers
CAPSULE REPORT: “Macaroon” means different things to different people, as you’ll read in this article. To some, it’s a big ball of coconut, to others, a delicate, airy meringue. Both are delicious. Here’s a history that explains how they came to be.
Go to a fine French restaurant and you may find miniature macaroons among the petit-fours.* Macaroons are a popular holiday treat: get a gift box of them and you’ve gotten a treat that’s delicious with a cup of fine tea. But, have you gotten French macaroons, Italian macaroons, or that tasty hybrid, coconut macaroons?
*French for “small baked pastries,” although confections, which are included on the petit-fours plate, are not baked (glazed or chocolate-dipped fruit, marzipan, nut clusters, e.g.). There are two styles of petit-fours, glacé and sec. Petit-fours glacées or frais include filled and/or iced petit fours, miniature babas, miniature éclairs, tiny iced cakes and tartlets. Petit-fours secs include small cookies, macaroons, meringues palmiers and tuiles. The words mignardises (min-yar-DEEZ), from the French for “preciousness,” and friandises (free-yon-DEEZ), from the French for “delicate,” are often used instead of petit-fours.
The Original Macaroons
 The first macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s amaretti, with a crisp crust and a soft interior. They were made from egg whites and almond paste (a combination of equal parts of ground blanched almonds and sugar, mixed with egg whites—today glucose or corn syrup can be substituted). The name of the cookie comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone (it is also the word for pasta—macaroni—and dumplings).
While origins can be murky, some culinary historians claim that that macaroons can be traced to an Italian monastery. They came to France in 1533 with the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, seeking asylum in the town of Nancy during the French Revolution (1789-1799), paid for their housing by baking and selling the macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the “Macaroon Sisters” (the French word is macaron).
The Coconut Macaroon
Italian Jews adopted the cookie because it has no flour or leavening (the agent that raises and lightens a baked good, like yeast, baking powder and baking soda—instead, macaroons are leavened by egg whites) and can be enjoyed during the eight-day observation of Passover. It was introduced to other European Jews and became popular as a year-round sweet. Over time, coconut was added to the ground almonds and, in certain recipes, replaced them.
Amaretti
Amaretti, a variant of macaroon, were invented by Francesco Moriondo, pastry chef of the Court of Savoy, in the mid-17th century. They are flavored with chopped bitter almonds or amaretto, bitter almond liqueur. The Italian word amaro means “bitter,” and the literal translation of amaretti is “the little bitter ones.”
In Italy, crushed macaroons are used in frangipani, a cream filling made by flavoring butter with lemon extract, rum, sherry or brandy. Macaroon crumbs are often added to ice cream (they are a part of the popular frozen tortoni, named after a 19th century cafe owner), pie fillings and puddings.
French-Style Macaroons
French macarons can be spectacularly colored and flavored meringue  “sandwiches.” The concept was invented by Pierre Desfontaines Ladurée, who, at the beginning of the 20th century, had the idea to join two meringues and fill them with ganache. The “originals” combined two plain almond meringues with a filling of [chocolate] ganache; but today, ganache, buttercream or jam is sandwiched between meringues of seemingly limitless colors and flavors.
The Parisian bakery Ladurée is now known for its dozens of exciting flavors. Some, shown in the photo at the right, include Blackcurrant Violet and Salted Butter Caramel, and of course, the basics—Chocolate, Vanilla, Raspberry and Pistachio—plus special seasonal flavors like Anise (shown above), Chestnut, Basil Lime, Orange Blossom, Rose and White Chocolate. Every trip to Paris must include a visit!
Macaroons have made their way north to Scandinavia and across the pond. But if you find yourself in France near Poitiers or Limoges, head for the nearby town of Montmorillon and check out the Almond and Macaroon Museum (and let us know all about it).
Macaroons can be frozen and defrosted 90 minutes before serving.
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Chocolate macaroon from Pralus. |
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