Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

For years it was held as something of a special treat, being associated with Ladurée, Pierre Hermé and the chicest Parisian patisseries. These days it’s a 90 cents side dish to your Big Mac. Whatever happened to the macaron?

At least they had the elegance not to call it the McCaron; either way, the news that the almondy little treat was to become the latest it-dessert on the McDonalds menu cannot have pleased many of its numerous devoted fans. Being democratic is one thing, giving a gourmet staple a bad name (not to mention a greasy chips smell) is just a touch disrespectful. At least that is what the old guard would say? Will the McMacaron stand the test of time?

The way it is being marketed is on the clever side; should one eat it the wrong way then it would look inconspicuously like a mini-burger (they have nothing on Giovanna Battaglia's though!)

Then it has been reported its maker Holder is no rookie in the field as it delivers French patisserie chain Paul (so far not so good based on these macarons' below par... everything!) and oh, Ladurée, fancy that!

Unpolitically correct as it might be to say so (if anyone actually cares about the politics of food), macarons are at least as much about image and prestige as they are about culinary qualities. Many a neophyte has experienced some amount of disappointment after hearing and believing all the hype; they can taste exceptionally sweet, the flavours (pretty much anything you can think of these days... lavender and lime anyone?) can be a little hard to detect as the almondiness can be on the overpowering side... This is a macaron-lover in the know speaking, not a first timer in a McCafé.

But despite these shortcomings, the palate grows fonder and the macaron can become something of an obsession; a lot of it though is a matter of context. Pierre Hermé and Ladurée are quintessentially French, stand for everything chic and give our sweet tooth a somewhat much more civilised edge. They do not come cheap, they cannot be found just anywhere; they are rewarding and feel like a treat, and for all those reasons it should stay that way.

To be perfectly blunt it isn't just McDonalds trying to bask in the hype (if anything they might just be answering consumer demand, whether or not one agrees with the factors behind it); fashion has been another example of jumping on the bandwagon what with luxury brands associating their names to the little patisserie and redesigning its taste and shape. Pretty but pretty pointless.

Has this craze led to the death of the ultimate gourmet sweet treat?

The macaron is dead! Vive le macaron!

 

Aurelie Bellavigna (no these are not raspberry macaron crumbs on my blouse...)

 

Source and credits: Wall Street Journal

TAGS: macaron macaroon french macaroon laduree pierre herme paris mcdonalds mccafe mccaron mcmacaron