HAVE YOU BEEN out and about in polite company calling these macaroons?
Have you been thinking that these two things have the same name, wantonly throwing the word ‘macaroon’ around with gay abandon?
Well, you’re right and you’re wrong.
This is a macaron
The macaron is a french sweet treat made of meringue, sugar and ground almond. Anyone who’s ever watched Masterchef or Great British Bake Off knows they’re notoriously tricky to make, and have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.
This is a macaroon
A macaroon is a soft cake/biscuit effort made with egg whites, sugar, and dried coconut. Sometimes it’s dipped in or drizzled with chocolate.
Many, many people (rightly) call this a macaroon:
But they also call this a macaroon:
As revealed by Slate in an important macaron/macaroon/macaroni exposé in 2011, ‘macaron’ and ‘macaroon’ meant exactly the same thing (the smooth almondy meringuey french biscuit) until around 1900. Macaroon was simply the English translation of macaron.
Then, in the late 19th century a Jewish cookbook played around with the original French recipe and replaced the almonds with coconut, and so to the coconut macaroon was born.
So in conclusion: by rights to distinguish the two, you should call this a macaroon:
And this a macaron:
However strictly speaking a macaron could be called a macaron or a macaroon, while a macaroon has only ever been called a macaroon. Got it?
Not forgetting of course…
The Macaroon bar is made by Wilton Candy in Kildare and has been around since 1937. Various countries have their own variations of the coconut macaroon, and this is Ireland’s; dried coconut in chocolate.
