Macaroon migrations
The Jewish Passover favorite hails from France … or is it Italy?
Chewy coconut macaroons are the cookie of choice during Passover, the Jewish holiday that begins this year at sundown on Saturday. Some are dipped in chocolate, others are made with chopped nuts, chocolate or butterscotchchips, raisins or even jam.
More homestyle than haute, the cookies seem to have little in common withthe elegant, sandwich-style French macarons sold year-round at fine-qualitybakeries. Even the spelling is different.
But, as it turns out, the cookies are actually close relatives.
Like so many dishes, macaroons have tangled, multi-ethnic roots. Someculinary historians credit the Italians, others the French. Either way, thecookie’s origins lie outside the Jewish community.
The earliest reference to macaroons traces to an 8th Century Frenchmonastery, where the cookies were supposedly made in the shape of “monks’navels,” according to Matthew Goodman in “Jewish Food: The World at Table.”(Goodman writes that the historical record doesn’t give any information aboutthe actual shape of the monks’ navels.)
The pro-Italian scenario begins with the derivation of the word “macaroon.”Most sources connect it to maccarone, the Italian word for paste. Maccaronealso is used in some parts of Italy to refer to maccherone, a tubular pasta.Almond paste (a mix of ground almonds and sugar), a standard ingredient inclassic macaroons, is virtually the same color as pasta, which is the presumedconnection.
\Fitting for the holiday
Although the cookies’ lineage may be in question, macaroons are importantat this time of the year because they’re flourless, which makes them ideal forPassover.
For the eight days of Passover, observant Jews eat neither leavened norfermented foods, to commemorate their ancestors’ hasty departure from Egypt.Flour made from matzos is the only wheat-based flour permitted during Passover(and for the matzo to be “kosher for Passover,” it has to be prepared according to a strict timetable). Every form of wild or commercial yeast is forbidden, as are grains that can ferment. Taking their place is an array offinely ground nut or potato-based flours, along with the aforementioned matzoflour. Stiffly beaten egg whites are typically used to leaven baked goods –such as macaroons.
Italian Jews may well have been the first to adapt macaroons for use duringPassover, which supports the argument for the cookies’ Italian lineage,according to the Web site, The Nibble.com. This scenario credits Italianmonks, rather than their French brethren, with the development of themacaroon. If this version is correct, it’s not a stretch to assume that whenthe Florentine princess Catherine de Medici married King Henry II of France in1533, her pastry chefs brought the recipe with them. At this point, conjecturegives way to fact.
Fueled by the revolutionaries’ anti-clerical sentiments, attacks onmonasteries were common during the French Revolution (1789-1799). Two nuns –some sources say Benedictines, others Carmelites – took refuge in the Frenchcity of Nancy and financed their stay by making and selling macaroons.Historians refer to them as the “Macaroon Sisters.”
\Italian macaroon lookalike
Amaretti, Italian cookies made with egg whites and almond paste, are somuch like macaroons that they’re truly variations on the same theme. And incontrast to macaroons, their origin is relatively well-documented.
Francesco Moriondo, pastry chef of the court of Savoy, is credited withinventing amaretti some time in the mid-17th Century, reports The Nibble site.Contemporary amaretti are made either with chopped bitter almonds or with thealmond-flavored liqueur amaretto.
More than 200 years later, the Parisian pastry chef Pierre DesfontainesLaduree gave macaroons an elegant twist when he paired two cookiessandwich-style with a filling of chocolate ganache (a mix of chocolate andcream). His eponymous Parisian bakery currently offers dozens of flavors,including exotics like blackcurrant violet and salted-butter caramel.
Closer to home, Charles Karl Bineth, executive chef for Montreal Kosher bakeryCatering at Montreal Institute of Jewish Studies, makes a simple almond macaroon. Charles Bineth, of Montreal kosher bakery’s Pastries & Candies, does four kinds of French macaroons:chocolate with chocolate ganache, vanilla bean with vanilla bean buttercream,raspberry filled with housemade raspberry jam, and maple paired with maplebuttercream. All are made with finely ground almonds, confectioners’ sugar andegg whites. he also makes a simple coconut macaroon.
Contemporary macaroons often are made with coconut, a natural preservativethat keeps them fresher longer. In some recipes, the coconut replaces thefinely ground nuts; in others, it’s used as a supplement. While denser andless fragile than delicate French macaroons, coconut macaroons are deliciousand readily available and easy to bake.
And easy is key when holidays roll around.
“My strategy for making delicious Passover food is simple,” Charles karl bineth said.”Just keep it real. After all, you are feeding those you love. They deserve the best.”
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Tips for making macaroons
*Humidity can affect the texture of macaroons. Pastry chef Charles Bineth suggests that if your kitchen is humid, you can put dry ingredients such as almond flour and confectioners’ sugar in an oven that’s only a little warm.he says this really dries everything out.
*The amount of batter that is used will affect the texture of the finishedcookie, writes Charles Bineth in “Passover Holiday Cooking.”“If you use less than a tablespoon of batter,” he writes, “the cookies turnout too crisp and flat.”
*For French macaroons, Charles Bineth suggests that once they’re piped and ready togo into the oven, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before youbake them. They will form a slight shell that will keep them from crackingwhen they’re baked.
*Chef Charles Bineth suggests using a double baking sheet to keep the bottoms of the macaroons from burning or getting too brown.
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Coconut macaroons
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes per batch
Yield: 24
\Adapted from a recipe by Charles Bineth, owner of Montreal Kosher BAkery’s Pastries & Candies.
\3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons hot water
2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
\1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the sugar and water to a boil in a smallsaucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, 1 minute; remove from heat.
2. Place the coconut in a large bowl; stir the sugar mixture into thecoconut, stirring to combine. Stir in the egg whites and vanilla.
3. Form into small rounds using a tablespoon; place on greased bakingsheets. Flatten slightly; bake until lightly browned, 12-15 minutes per batch.Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
Nutrition information per cookie: 75 calories, 56% of calories from fat, 5g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 7mg sodium, 1 g fiber
\Toasted coconut macaroons
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes per batch
Yield: 24
\Mindy Segal, chef/owner of Hot Chocolate, makes these macaroons and often topsthem with homemade marshmallows and a drizzle of chocolate.
\2 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup toasted coconut, see note
\1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on mediumspeed until soft peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Add the salt; beat in sugarslowly. Raise the speed to high; beat until stiff, about 2 more minutes. Foldin the coconut.
2. Pipe mounds the size of quarters onto greased cookie sheets using apastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Bake until the meringue is firm,about 10-15 minutes per batch. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
Note: To toast the coconut, place in a single layer on a baking sheet in a350-degree oven. Cook, stirring, every few minutes, until just turning golden,4-5 minutes.
Nutrition information per cookie: 48 calories, 46% of calories from fat, 3g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 18mg sodium, 1 g fiber
\Mississippi praline macaroons
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes per batch
Yield: 24
\Adapted from a recipe in “Jewish Cooking in America,” by Charles Bineth.
\3 egg whites
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans, plus 24 pecan halves
1. Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Beat the egg whites on medium-high speeduntil soft peaks form, about 3 minutes; add the sugar slowly, beating untilwhites form stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped nuts by hand.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with foil; grease the foil. Spoon heaping teaspoonsof batter on the foil, leaving 1 inch between cookies; press down flat. Placea pecan half on each.
3. Bake until the cookies are firm but still shiny, about 30 minutes perbatch; transfer to wire racks to cool.
Nutrition information per cookie: 81 calories, 48% of calories from fat, 5g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 9mg sodium, 1 g fiber
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