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A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( )
is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring.
Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sandwich cookie filled with a ganache, buttercream or jam. As baked, the circular macaron displays a smooth, square-edged top, a ruffled circumference—referred to as the "crown" or "foot" (or "pied")—and a flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth. Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavours that range from traditional sweet such as raspberry or chocolate to savoury (as a foie gras).
Arab troops from Ifrīqiya (now Tunisia) occupied Sicily in 827. They brought with them nut-based sweets such as fālūdhaj and lausinaj—baked goods with sweet almond cream inside. These pastries had been handed down by the Sassanid Empire in Persia, where the almond cake was made to celebrate the Zoroastrian New Year (Nowruz). In Sicily and in Toledo, Spain, another contact point between Muslim and Christian culture, fālūdhaj and lausinaj developed into various desserts, such as the almond-paste tarts called marzipan and caliscioni.
Some food historians trace the origin of macarons to a France Cormery Abbey in the 8th century (791), in the Loire Valley. This particular macaron is made with egg whites, sugar and almonds.
A Swiss online encyclopaedia on the history of baking says that they were brought from al-Andalus (present-day Spain) to Marrakesh (present-day Morocco) in the early 11th century by the sultan and first king of the Almoravid dynasty Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and that they were served mainly during Ramadan.
A popular legend tells that the macaron was introduced in France by a chef of Catherine de Medici, however, a thorough investigation of records listing service personnel who worked with Catherine since her arrival in France until her death revealed the absence of any Italy chefs.
In the 1790s, macarons began to gain fame when two Carmelite nuns, seeking asylum in Nancy during the French Revolution, baked and sold the macaron cookies in order to pay for their housing. These nuns became known as the "Macaron Sisters". In these early stages, macarons were served without special flavours or fillings.
It was not until the 1930s that macarons began to be served as sandwich cookies with the addition of jams, liqueurs, and spices. The macaron as it is known today, composed of two almond meringue discs filled with a layer of buttercream, jam, or ganache, was originally called the "Gerbet" or the "Paris macaron". Pierre Desfontaines, of the French pâtisserie Ladurée, has sometimes been credited with its creation in the early part of the 20th century, but another baker, Claude Gerbet, also claims to have invented it. French macaron bakeries became trendy in North America in the 2010s.
In the French method, egg whites are whisked until stiff-peaked meringue forms. From there, sifted, ground almonds and powdered sugar are folded in slowly until the desired consistency is reached. This process of knocking out air and folding is called macaronage.
In the Italian, egg whites are whisked with hot sugar syrup to form a meringue. Sifted almonds and icing sugar are separately mixed with raw egg whites to form a paste. The meringue and almond paste are mixed together to form the macaron mixture. This method is often deemed more structurally sound yet also sweeter and also requires a candy thermometer for the sugar syrup.
A vegan variation involves the use of aquafaba in place of egg white. All other ingredients are essentially the same.
Either Italian or French meringue can be combined with ground almonds. The two elements are then folded together until they are the consistency of "shaving foam", and then are piped, left to form a skin, and baked. Sometimes, a filling is added.
Macarons d'Amiens, made in Amiens, are small, round-shaped biscuit-type macarons made from almond paste, fruit and honey, which were first recorded in 1855.
The city of Montmorillon is well known for its macarons and has a museum dedicated to them. The Maison Rannou-Métivier is the oldest macaron bakery in Montmorillon, dating back to 1920. The traditional recipe for Montmorillon macarons has remained unchanged for over 150 years.
The town of Nancy in the Lorraine region has a storied history with the macaron. It is said that the abbess of Remiremont founded an order of nuns called the "Dames du Saint-Sacrement" with strict dietary rules prohibiting the consumption of meat. Two nuns, Sisters Marguerite, and Marie-Elisabeth are credited with creating the Nancy macaron to fit their dietary requirements. They became known as the 'Macaron Sisters' (Les Soeurs Macarons). In 1952, the city of Nancy honoured them by giving their name to the Rue de la Hache, where the macaron was invented.
In Portugal, Spain, Australia, France, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand McDonald's sells macarons in their McCafés (sometimes using advertising that likens the shape of a macaron to that of a hamburger). McCafé macarons are produced by Château Blanc, which, like Ladurée, is a subsidiary of Groupe Holder, though they do not use the same macaron recipe.
Outside of Europe, the French-style macaron can be found in Canada and the United States.
In Australia, Adriano Zumbo and his TV series MasterChef have contributed to the macaron becoming a popular sweet treat, and it is now sold by McDonald's in its Australian McCafe outlets.
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