The Latest in Pierre Herme's World of Macarons
I've never been a fan of wasabi—it gives me the sensation that my nasal passages are on fire—but if anyone could make it taste good, it'd be master French pastry chef, Pierre Hermé. Wasabi-flavored macarons are a part of his fall pastry line, found at his shops in Paris and Tokyo. He just opened a new shop last month in Paris at 4 rue Cambon, in case Parisians need another reason to get to Pierre Hermé (not that they should).
Can't get to his shops in Paris or Japan? Maybe you can get some help from his recently released macaron recipe book, Macaron. It's available at amazon.fr for €28.41 ($39.22).
Related
Introduction to French Macarons
Where to Find Macarons
How to Make Macarons
Interview With Macaron Specialist Dorie Greenspan
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6 Comments:
Real wasabi tastes like a rainbow: dewy, floral and vague. There's a feeling that somewhere in the distance is the sharp lightning of horseradish burn, but it's long past over the horizon and out of sight. It tastes like a prism hidden in refreshing mist.
Fake wasabi, on the other hand, is like being hit over the head with a sack of compressed dirt.
DaveRud at 6:14PM on 10/08/08
Tried it two weeks ago. It's ok, all I remember was I could barely taste the wasabi actually. It's so vaguely blah that I couldn't even remember if it was green tea/wasabi or grapefruit/wasabi. I think it's the former.
chezpim at 8:33PM on 10/08/08
@DaveRud: Damn, I need to get me some freshly grated wasabi.
@Pim: Aw, I'm sad to hear it tasted blah. I feel like his savory flavors tend to be not blah, but kind of enjoyable in a weird way. I WANT TO TASTE A RAINBOW!
roboppy at 10:24AM on 10/09/08
if you ever happen to be in columbus, ohio and love macarons, then do yourself a favor and stop at pistacia vera in german village. i dicovered it last weekend and their macarons are divine.
gastronomeg at 11:18AM on 10/09/08
If you are seriously into macarons you should look out for the best-selling Macaroon Swoon by French pastry chef Stephane Glacier, MOF. Even though it's a lot more expensive than Hermes' book (it's $126.95 from Kerekes), it has sold more than 40,000 copies in France. His basil macaron with tomato gelee is the next one on my list to make.
A good online source for macarons (and madeleines) is MadMac one of whose founder is Florian Bellanger who used to be the exec PC at Fauchon here in NY.
A little bit of macaron history from the MadMac site:
The Macaron cookie was born in Italy, introduced by the chef of Catherine de Medicis in 1533 at the time of her marriage to the duc d'Orleans who became king of France in 1547 as Henry II. The term "macaron" has the same origin as the word "macaroni" -- both mean "fine dough".
The first Macarons were simple cookies, made of almond powder, sugar and egg whites. Many towns throughout France have their own prized tale surrounding this delicacy. In Nancy, the granddaughter of Catherine de Medici was supposedly saved from starvation by eating Macarons. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the macaron of chef Adam regaled Louis XIV and Marie-Therese at their wedding celebration in 1660.
Only at the beginning of the 20th century did the Macaron become a "double-decker" affair. Pierre Desfontaines, the grandson of Louis Ernest Laduree (Laduree pastry and salon de the, rue royale in Paris) had the idea to fill them with a "chocolate ganache" and to stick them together.
Clay Gordon at 12:52PM on 10/09/08
Oooh, I second the Pistacia Vera recommendation. Wonderful macarons and pastries. I am partial to the apple and rosemary tart. Some of their sweets are available for national delivery, I think...
mekuno at 10:49PM on 04/01/09