{"id":8260,"date":"2026-10-19T15:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T06:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8260"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:16","slug":"macaron","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/macaron\/","title":{"rendered":"Macaron"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From three ingredients, almonds, sugar and egg whites, come both single baked rounds with cracked surfaces and confections made of two smooth shells sandwiching a filling. Macaron is a collective name for French baked confections that come in a variety of shapes and textures. The Parisian macaron widely known today sandwiches ganache or cream, but in the regions of France there are also single rounds sold attached to paper, as well as ring shapes. Shape and texture change not only with the thickness of the baked batter but also with how the nuts are ground, the moisture content, and how the meringue is folded in.<\/p>\n

\"Two-shell<\/p>\n

Two-shell macarons lined up in a box. A filling is visible between the shells. Photo: AlphaLemur, 2020-10-06, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the distributing source, with no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Macaronage: Adjusting the Batter for Two-Shell Macarons<\/h2>\n

Almond flour and powdered sugar are combined with meringue, piped into circles of equal size and baked. The hallmarks are a smooth top and a ruffle around the base called the pied. Because two shells are joined with their flat sides facing inward, the shells are made the same size.<\/p>\n

In macaronage, the process of mixing the dry ingredients with the meringue, the aim is not to keep the foam completely intact but to bring the batter to a fluidity at which the peak of each piped round settles naturally. In the recipe (recette, meaning the ingredient proportions and method) from King Arthur Baking School, the batter is mixed until it turns glossy, flows in a ribbon when lifted and dropped, and the trail melts back into the surrounding batter. If the batter is too stiff, pointed piping marks remain.<\/p>\n

Conversely, overmixing makes the batter too runny, and the piped circles spread. In a home recipe from the baking supply retailer cotta, the sugar for the meringue is added in three portions according to the state of the foam, and the final batter is adjusted until it falls slowly in a ribbon.<\/p>\n

The French method, which whips raw egg whites with sugar, and the Italian method, which pours hot sugar syrup into the egg whites, differ in the order in which the sugar is added and in how the foam is made. The school has recipes for both. A mixture of equal amounts of almond flour and powdered sugar is called tant pour tant. It is these two powders that are used in equal amounts. Because egg whites and, depending on the method, sugar syrup or other ingredients are also added to the batter, the overall formula of the batter varies even among macarons that use tant pour tant.<\/p>\n

Drying Before Baking and Letting Flavors Meld After Filling<\/h2>\n

In King Arthur Baking School\u2019s French method, the piped shells are dried for roughly 30 minutes or more, until the surface no longer sticks to a finger. Depending on the humidity, this may take 2 hours or more; the purpose is to form a skin on the surface. The baked shells are cooled completely before being sandwiched with ganache, buttercream, jam or a similar filling. The shells may be colored, and acidity or bitterness may be added to the cream, jam or other filling.<\/p>\n

In the school\u2019s recipe, the macarons are refrigerated for 24\u201348 hours after filling. During that time, the shells soften slightly and their flavor melds with the filling. Before baking, the surface is dried to form a skin; after baking and filling, the macarons are left in the refrigerator to bring the texture into balance.<\/p>\n

A Name Related to Macaroni, and Competing Theories of Its Origin<\/h2>\n

The French word macaron<\/em> was borrowed, with a change in meaning, from the southern Italian word maccarone<\/em>, and in the 16th century it referred to a small round almond confection. The definition of the Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise still describes a round or oval shape made from almonds, egg whites and sugar, with a lightly cracked surface.<\/p>\n

Linguist Dan Jurafsky explains how related words came to be used both for flour noodles and for almond confections. For older origins, several theories compete, including an Arabic name for a confection, a Greek funeral porridge and an Italian dialect word meaning \u201cto crush,\u201d and there is no established view. Although the name is closely related in origin to macaroni, no known history says that the two-shell confection developed from the noodle.<\/p>\n

Grinding Nuts with Flower Water or Egg Whites<\/h2>\n

The 17th-century English recipe that Jurafsky contrasts has almonds ground with rosewater, then sugar, egg whites and musk added; the mixture is baked on wafer paper and dried again in a cooled oven. In 1651, La Varenne moistened the almonds with egg whites instead of flower water. The two differ in the liquid added during grinding and in how aroma is imparted.<\/p>\n

Car\u00eame\u2019s cookbook of 1815 also includes a recipe that uses hazelnuts. The hazelnuts are roasted and skinned, cooled, ground with egg whites and combined with sugar, and a small test piece is baked to check how much the batter spreads and how hot the oven is. Besides being rolled with wet hands and placed on paper, some are shaped like olives or decorated with pistachios pressed into them. In this way, even before two-shell macarons became widespread, bakers were adjusting how the nuts were ground, the liquid added, how easily the batter flowed and the degree of baking.<\/p>\n

The History of Two-Shell Macarons and Ladur\u00e9e\u2019s Account of Its Origin<\/h2>\n

According to an explanation by the French Ministry of Agriculture, macarons with a filling sandwiched between two shells appeared in the 1830s. Ladur\u00e9e, on the other hand, attributes the idea of its own two-shell macaron to Pierre Desfontaines, a relative of the founder. Two-shell confections of this kind are also called macaron parisien or macaron Gerbet, and they have been made by shops other than Ladur\u00e9e as well.<\/p>\n

The Legend of Their Introduction by Catherine de\u2019 Medici<\/h2>\n

There is also a legend that when Catherine de\u2019 Medici married the future Henry II in 1533, Italian craftsmen brought with them a recipe of almonds, egg whites and sugar. This story is told as the origin of the single-baked macaron; confections that join two shells around a filling appeared much later, in the 19th century.<\/p>\n

Shapes and Textures That Differ Across France<\/h2>\n

The Nancy macaron has a natural baked color and a cracked top. Marie-\u00c9lisabeth Morlot and Marguerite Gaillot, who left their convent after the Revolution, sold them, and they came to be called the \u201cS\u0153urs Macarons.\u201d The French Ministry of Agriculture dates these sales from 1793, and the shop still sells them by the dozen, attached to paper.<\/p>\n

\"Nancy<\/p>\n

Nancy macarons. Each one is a single baked confection with cracks on its surface. Photo: Shallowell, 2015-12-12, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the distributing source, with no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Nadia Fermigier in Saint-\u00c9milion likewise sells golden, cracked confections attached to paper and says that she carries on the recipe of the Ursuline nuns. The town also has a tradition that a nun named Boutin had a particularly delicious recipe. The macarons made by Jean Trogneux in Amiens are thick, soft confections made with almonds, sugar, eggs and honey. In these three cities, macarons without a filling, enjoyed for the flavor and texture of the batter itself, have been handed down.<\/p>\n

The Cormery macaron is a ring with a hole in the center, and according to legend the hole represents a monk\u2019s navel. It is not clear when it began to be baked in this shape.<\/p>\n

The Single-Baked Macaron Handed Down in Saint-Jean-de-Luz<\/h2>\n

At Maison Adam in the Basque Country, almonds from Valencia, egg whites and sugar are combined and baked as a single round. The lightly colored surface encloses a soft center. Unlike the macaron popularized in Paris, which sandwiches a different flavor between two colored shells, the nut batter itself makes up one whole confection.<\/p>\n

The origin story handed down at the shop is the wedding of Louis XIV and the Spanish princess Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660. It is said that an ancestor of the Adam family delivered the confections to the court and that the queen mother, Anne of Austria, was taken with their delicacy. This Adam family tradition, linked to the royal wedding in the town, is still told today.<\/p>\n

This macaron was also called \u201cPar\u00e9 Gab\u00e9a,\u201d which means \u201cthe incomparable one\u201d in Basque. The family says that in the shop of earlier days it was served with white wine, and that Russian \u00e9migr\u00e9s, artists and Breton fishermen gathered there. Before it came to be given as a gift in metal tins and boxes as it is today, it was also a confection enjoyed at the shop with white wine.<\/p>\n

Two-Shell Macarons Spreading to Switzerland, Japan and Korea<\/h2>\n

Spr\u00fcngli in Switzerland makes the Luxemburgerli, a small two-shell macaron. The company says that a young confectioner from Luxembourg brought the recipe in the 1950s, and it sells versions filled with a variety of creams and ganaches. A limited product that Pierre Herm\u00e9 Paris sold in Japan flavored its filling with gyokuro, yuzu, sansho and ginger.<\/p>\n

Korea\u2019s ttungkaron sandwiches a thick layer of cream, and some shops incorporate flavors such as rice cake and sweet potato. The two-shell structure is shared, but the size of the shells, the amount of filling and the ingredients used for flavoring all differ.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The storefront of Maison des S\u0153urs Macarons in Nancy. The sign and a window displaying products are visible. Photo: Patrick from Compi\u00e8gne, France, 2017-05-26, Nancy, France. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the distributing source, with no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Dan Jurafsky<\/strong>: A linguist. He has written explanations that compare the names of foods with historical culinary sources.<\/p>

La Varenne<\/strong>: A 17th-century French cookbook author. His Le Cuisinier fran\u00e7ois (The French Cook), published in 1651, also includes a macaron recipe.<\/p>

Wafer paper\uff0fMusk<\/strong>: The former is a thin edible sheet that is also used as a base for confections; the latter is an aromatic substance used in old recipes.<\/p>

Car\u00eame<\/strong>: A 19th-century French cook and pastry chef. He also wrote recipes for nut macarons.<\/p>

Pierre Desfontaines<\/strong>: The person Ladur\u00e9e names as the origin of its own two-shell macaron.<\/p>

Cormery<\/strong>: A town in the Touraine region of France. It is known for its ring-shaped macaron with a hole.<\/p>

Macaronage<\/strong>: The process of combining the dry ingredients with meringue and adjusting the batter to a fluidity suited to piping.<\/p>

Tant pour tant<\/strong>: Here, a mixture of equal amounts of powdered sugar and almond flour. It differs from the proportions of the batter as a whole, which also contains egg whites and other ingredients.<\/p>

Louis XIV\uff0fMarie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se\uff0fAnne of Austria<\/strong>: The French king, his queen and the queen mother, who appear in the Adam family tradition surrounding the wedding of 1660.<\/p>

Maison Adam<\/strong>: A confectionery in Saint-Jean-de-Luz whose signature product is the single-baked macaron.<\/p>

Henry II<\/strong>: King of France and husband of Catherine de\u2019 Medici. He appears in the legend of the macaron\u2019s introduction surrounding the wedding of 1533.<\/p>

Spr\u00fcngli<\/strong>: A Swiss confectionery. It sells the small Luxemburgerli.<\/p>

Pied<\/strong>: French for \u201cfoot.\u201d The ruffled part that forms around the base of the shell of the macaron popularized in Paris.<\/p>

French\uff0fItalian meringue<\/strong>: In the former, egg whites are whipped with sugar; in the latter, hot sugar syrup is poured into the egg whites as they are whipped.<\/p>

Ganache<\/strong>: A cream made by combining chocolate with cream or other ingredients and emulsifying them.<\/p>

Marie-\u00c9lisabeth Morlot\uff0fMarguerite Gaillot<\/strong>: Nuns who sold macarons in Nancy after the Revolution. They were called the \u201cS\u0153urs Macarons.\u201d<\/p>

Nadia Fermigier<\/strong>: A macaron maker in Saint-\u00c9milion. She carries on a recipe said to have come from nuns.<\/p>

Jean Trogneux<\/strong>: The name of a confectionery in Amiens that has been in business since 1872. It sells the local macaron, which is made with honey.<\/p>

Catherine de\u2019 Medici<\/strong>: A 16th-century queen of France. She appears in the legend of the macaron\u2019s introduction from Italy.<\/p>

Ttungkaron<\/strong>: A name that combines the Korean word for \u201cfat\u201d with macaron. A thick filling is sandwiched between two shells.<\/p>

Luxemburgerli<\/strong>: The product name of the small two-shell macaron made by Spr\u00fcngli in Switzerland.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    cotta, \u201cHow to Make Basic Macarons\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Dividing the sugar for French meringue, undermixing and overmixing, drying and refrigeration. One example whose steps were actually read.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    macaron | Dictionnaire de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise | 9e \u00e9dition<\/a> \u2014 Etymology\/definition.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    Les secrets du macaron de Nancy | Minist\u00e8re de l\u2019Agriculture, de l\u2019Agro-alimentaire et de la Souverainet\u00e9 alimentaire<\/a> \u2014 The two women of Nancy \/ 1793 \/ a dozen attached to paper; two-shell macarons in the 1830s.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    King Arthur Baking School: French Macaron, August 2025<\/a> \u2014 The French method, macaronage, drying and maturing.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Italian Meringue Macarons Recipe | King Arthur Baking<\/a> \u2014 The Italian method using sugar syrup; the purpose of maturing.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Macarons de Saint-\u00c9milion \u2014 v\u00e9ritables macarons depuis 1620<\/a> \u2014 Current products and the shop\u2019s tradition.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    La Maison Trogneux | Histoire de Famille | Chocolatier<\/a> \u2014 Ingredients of the Amiens macaron; shop history from 1872.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    Luxemburgerli \u2013 the original macaron from Confiserie Spr\u00fcngli<\/a> \u2014 A small product made outside France, and the company\u2019s own account of its history from the 1950s.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. \n

    A. Car\u00eame, Le p\u00e2tissier royal parisien, 1815, tome II\u30fbpp249\u2013251<\/a> \u2014 A hazelnut recipe: grinding with egg whites after cooling, test baking, rolling with wet hands and placing on paper, round and olive shapes, and nut decoration.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  10. \n

    Ladur\u00e9e official site, Les macarons Ladur\u00e9e<\/a> \u2014 Attribution to Pierre Desfontaines in the house\u2019s own history.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  11. \n

    Office de tourisme Loches Art sacr\u00e9 : sacr\u00e9 art !<\/a> \u2014 The ring shape with a hole from Cormery and the legend of the monk\u2019s navel.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  12. \n

    Atout France, \u201cConnaissez-vous vraiment les sp\u00e9cialit\u00e9s bordelaises?\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The Saint-\u00c9milion tradition of the nun Boutin.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  13. \n

    Pierre Herm\u00e9 Paris, \u201cCollaboration with KI NO BI\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A product released in Japan using gyokuro, yuzu, sansho and ginger.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  14. \n

    Korea Tourism Organization, \u201c\ub6b1\uce74\ub871 \ub9db\uc9d1 4\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Ttungkaron with thick fillings, and the flavors of individual shops.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  15. \n

    Dan Jurafsky, \u201cMacaroons, Macarons, and Macaroni,\u201d 2011-04-16<\/a> \u2014 Multiple meanings of related words for noodles\/confections and competing etymologies; differences in grinding and aroma between a 17th-century English manuscript and La Varenne in 1651.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  16. \n

    Maison Adam, \u201cLa maison\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The family tradition of the royal wedding, the meaning of Par\u00e9 Gab\u00e9a, and the clientele who drank white wine at the shop.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  17. \n

    Maison Adam, \u201cMacarons\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Single-baked rounds; Valencian almonds, egg whites and sugar; baked color and a soft center; metal tins.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  18. \n

    Callebaut, \u201cMacarons au chocolat blanc\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The ingredient list of a professional recipe that defines Tpt as 50% powdered sugar and 50% almond flour.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  19. Editorial Notes<\/h2><\/li>

  20. The legend of the macaron\u2019s introduction by Catherine de\u2019 Medici is not a history of introduction confirmed by contemporary records of menus or craftsmen. Likewise, the story of the nun Boutin is not treated as a history of invention based on records of the original formula. The legend connected with the monastery at Cormery is kept distinct from records that would establish when the ring shape came into being.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The name macaron does not refer only to colorful two-shell confections. Regional single-baked rounds made with almonds, sugar and egg whites also carry on the name. Behind the glamorous display cases lie baked confections that differ from place to place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6518,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Macaron","subtitle":"The two-shell Paris style and the single-round forms that survive in the regions","topics":"Almonds and egg whites\uff0fThe Paris style\uff0fThe regional confection of Nancy","country":"France","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["fruit","nuts","cream","egg"],"texture":["smooth"],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[159],"class_list":["post-8260","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8259,8318,8276,8277,8319,8245,8246,8247]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t