A Taste of What's Out There: Macarons

I think most avid travelers are driven by the hunger for "a taste of what's out there" in the metaphorical sense. We want to know what makes the cities and countries and peoples of the world unique. Humans are creative and plastic, and as a result world culture offers more flavors than a gourmet gelateria. We avid travelers want to try them all. If we discover, in the process, the many important ingredients that all cultures share, so much the better. But first, please, the differences!

I, for one, am grateful that experiencing different cultural "flavors" in the metaphorical sense often means experiencing different cultural flavors in the literal sense. There's nothing I love more when I hit a new city or country than trying the local cuisine. So I'm going to use "a taste of what's out there" in the literal sense - a designation for an article about one of my favorite cultural experiences - food.

One of my best food experiences in Paris so far is the macaron. There's been a lot of macaron hype out there for quite a while, so much so that even major sportswear manufacturers have found ways to take advantage of it. I tried macarons back in February at a coffee shop in New York, but I was unimpressed. The meringue-y cookies cracked into dry fragments when I bit into the and the flavors were ho-hum: nothing to get write home about. So I had no intention of seeking out macarons when I was in Paris. Instead, I stumbled on them by accident.

I was walking through the Quartier Latin admiring the great boutiques and barely resisting the enticing bistros when I came across a colorful shop window. "Vive les vacances," it read. Damn straight, I thought.

But there was more to it. A line of people stretched almost out the door, and this made me curious. I took a closer look and figured out what the colorful little disks in the window were. They were cookies. In fact, they were macarons.

I had found my way to Laduree and a cookie conversion experience. Half a dozen people lined up to buy sweets must be on to something, I figured, so I went in and ordered three mini-macarons: pistachio, lemon, and - wait for it - orange tree blossom. This time, my expectations were not only met, they were blown away. The meringue shells crumbled delicately, the filling was juicy and soft, and if orange tree blossom isn't the most sensuous and seductive flavor a dessert could come it, I don't know what is. So this is what the hype was about!

The house of Laduree has been making macarons since 1862, so I guess by now they ought to be pretty good. Looking at it from a different angle, though, I have serious respect for a company that cares so deeply about a simple confection. It reminds me in an odd way of the Zen painters who painted circles. It may be a simple circle, but it's what I'm painting, and I will paint it with all my heart.

It may be a simple cookie, but I will bake it with all my heart... for the next hundred and fifty years.

The Laduree I stumbled upon is located at 21 Rue Bonaparte, but there are several others scattered around Paris, including one on the Champs-Elysees (75 Avenue des Champs-Elysees).

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding