Always in Fashion: Macarons
I think it would not be wrong to define macarons, one of the most popular products of the pastry industry for years, as small cookies that combine a soft filling with a meringue-like good half prepared with egg whites, sugar and powdered almonds.
Often confused with the macaroon, a gluten-free cookie with the same name, the macaron is a petit four, or bite-sized dessert, that has always managed to be fashionable with its varieties in different flavors, fun colors and aesthetic appearance. On the other hand, the macaroon is a cookie made with powdered coconut, sugar and egg whites and sometimes dipped in chocolate. You can see this distinction in this visual prepared by I Do Believe I Came with a Hat.
There are many opinions about the history of macarons. Some sources say that Arab military units that came to Sicily in the 9th century introduced almond-based sweets similar to marzipan to the region, while others claim that in the 8th century, Italian monks and nuns baked crispy cookies in Venetian monasteries by adding some ingredients to a base of ground almonds and sugar, and these cookies were called "priest's belly buttons" because of their shape.
Although Larousse Gastronomique states that the macaron is a dessert originating from Venice during the Renaissance, the most common story about the origin of the macaron is that when Catherine de' Medici, the fourth Queen of Italy, married King Henry II of France in 1533, the queen's pastry chefs brought the recipe with them to France. According to legend, when King Henry II proposed to Catherine de' Medici in the 1500s, the queen of Italy asked for Italian pastry chefs, masters of the art of macaronage, to accept the proposal. In the 1830s, macarons were made by putting two biscuits together and filling them with jellies, five spices, or liqueurs. The reputation of the modern macaron belongs to Ladurée of Paris, a famous tea room in Paris in the early 20th century.
The word macaroni comes from the words macaroni - maccherone, meaning “thin dough”.
There are two different varieties prepared with Italian meringue and French meringue.
Similar cookies exist in different cultures with different names. Italy: amaretto cookies, or amaretti - with apricot kernels and almonds. / brutti ma buoni - these cookies contain more egg whites so they cannot hold their shape and this resulting misshapen appearance is why they are called "ugly but good". / pignoli - prepared with pine nuts, and pinoccate - made by coating with pine nuts and flavoring with vanilla.
- Türkiye: bitter almond cookies.
- Swiss: luxemburgerli - similar to the French style but lighter like air.
- Spain: carajitos - prepared with hazelnuts; almendrados - prepared with lemon peel and garnished with almond pieces.
- Morocco: Almond Ghoriba - made with a little butter, lemon zest and vanilla, but much less sugar.
- Japan: macaroon - a type of Japanese macaroon made with peanut flour, may be served during the tea ceremony.
- United Kingdom: ratafias - with added bitter almonds.
The ambergris ingredient in the French macaron recipe in John Murrell's book A Daily Exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen (1617), which contains the oldest known macaron recipe, is quite surprising. Because this substance, which is used in the perfume industry to increase the permanence of the scent, is actually a substance produced in the digestive system of whales, and yet it is very interesting that it is included in the macaron recipe.