History of Macarons
History of Macarons
The famous French macaron that we know today comes in bright eye-catching colors and is usually filled with a buttercream icing, ganache, or a type of jam. These cookies have a history that dates back all the way to 700’s. The earliest records for the macaron were from the Renaissance, where almonds arrived in Italy with the Arabs. The word macaron comes from the Italian word “maccherone”, or macaroni, defined as a “pasta dish with cheese.” This Italian term is of Greek origin, derived from the word for kneading or mixing.
Catherine de’ Medici of Italy brought macarons to France in 1533 when she married Henry II. One way or another, cookies made from almonds and sugar became popular in France, where the macaron originated. Nuns are often said to be the first to make macarons, which they made for both nutritional and commercial purposes. In the late eighteenth century, the nuns of Les Dames du Saint Sacrament’s Convent started making macarons. After the closing of the convent at the French Revolution, two of the sisters started selling macarons to make a living, and became known as “les Soeurs Macarons,” or the Macaron Sisters.
Even by the middle of the seventeenth century, recipes for macarons in France were appearing rapidly in cookbooks. They stated that macarons were a combination of sweet almonds, sugar, and egg whites, which is what they are still made up of to this day. However, the macaron that we are familiar with today-two shells with a filling in the middle-was not invented until the late twentieth century. Up until then, the macaron was served as a single almond cookie. In the 1890’s, Pierre Desfontaines, second cousin of Louis Ernest Ladurée, had the idea of piping ganache on a shell and topping it with another.
Although, macarons were invented in France, they have spread to other countries, where they have been given their own twist. For instance, in America, macarons started gaining popularity from 2009-2010. Americans were particularly attracted to this dessert because it offered a lot of opportunities to create flavor combinations that were unusual, while having a crunchy and chewy texture at the same time. To them, macarons are the ultimate fusion of fashion and food, and they have contributed to the rise of “foodie culture.” In seventh century Persia, macarons were used as test cakes to test the temperature in an oven. The original Italian macaron was an almond meringue cookie that was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, slightly different than a French macaron. Makaron, a macaron with origins in Japan, is made with peanut flour instead of almond flour. Furthermore, makarons are served wagashi style,