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Saturday 27 February 2016

Macaroon

Cormery Abbey was founded by Ithier of St. Martin, abbot of Basilica of St. Martin in Tours in 791. Macaroon cakes were made there in medieval times the shape of monk's navels.

When Catherine de' Medici married the future Henry II of France in 1533, she brought with her a group of Florentine cooks from her native Italy. With their help, she introduced many new Italian dishes never seen before in France such as almond macaroons.

The French called the almond variety, macaron. The term appeared in print in 1552 in the Quart livre by François Rabelais.



The Carmelites started manufacturing macaroons in the sixteenth century as a result of the reforming Carmelite nun Saint Teresa of Ávila's principle that "almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat."

Coconut macaroon is the best known variety in America. The coconut acts as a natural preservative that keeps the cake fresh for longer.

These days a macaroon is coconut based, whereas a macaron is a French (originally Italian) meringue-based confection made up of two cookies with filling in the center.

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