where the history comes from

Now that I have gone to 14 different Macarooneries, I consider myself quite the connaisseur. I didn’t want to eat all 20 macaroons at once, and so I spaced my eating of them over a week. Hence, I really enjoyed, and analyzed the flavors of each macaroon.

I think if I had just bought a macaroon at a time, without the wonderful serendipity of macaroon day, I wouldn’t have learned nearly as much about my macaroon palette!

So, what did I think?

Cognac Champagne: The first macaroon I ate of the macaroon day, this one I didn’t even wait until I got home! This one was quite small and from Dalloyau. Not too pleased with that store in general - the staff didn’t know their stuff, and it wasn’t a great experience. The macaroon was light and flaky but tasted more like vanilla than either of the alcohols they said were inside. 

Plum: From Jean Paul Hevin, this had a very subtle flavor, but I found that the chocolate overpowered the plum flavor. It was so rich, that maybe the plum should have paired with a less intense flavor?  I give it a B

Chocolate orange gingembre (Jean Paul Hevin): Sweet flavor but hard to taste chocolate and orange. This macaroon was nice, but really didn’t make an impression with me.  B

Pamplemousse- This grapefruit macaroon from Jean Paul Hevin angy inside! But doesn’t quite remind me if hrapfruit. If I didn’t know aleesdy, i wouldnt Have guessed this flavor. The texture of the filling is really nice, but the cookie part is a but crunchy. B+

Yuzu’in: A Japanese inspired fruity and spicy macaroon from JPH. It had a spicy and fruity  flavor at the same time, but it had that weird taste that all the JP Hevin macaroons have.. almost bitter? Saving grace was that it had a reeeally good texture on this one though, creamy texture and a slightly crunchy cookie part. A 

Chocolate American: Another weird JP Hevin taste. The chocolate must be a milk/dark chocolate mix and there was a crunch yellow topping. I was too busy trying to analyze what it was made of, and what made it taste so weird to enjoy what little of the macaroon that was enjoyable. C

Creme-brûlée: Actually delicious, and entirely perfect. JPH perfectly captured the flavor of a Creme brûlée and the texture was wonderful! A

Citron’in: This one tasted exactly like key lime pie!! It was so good I gobbled it up in an instant, not even waiting like usual to pause in between bites! A 

Passion’in: I had no idea with what was inside this one. I REALLY DIDN’T LIKE IT. It was bitter, not at all like passion fruit, if that was what they were trying to recreate. I could taste the tanginess of the fruit but it clashed with the sweetness of the cookie. C-

Piña colada: Only the center tasted like a piña colada .. The cookie part was also too soft. Sweet in general but didn’t leave an impression.. B

Thé japonaise: This one was from a japanese patisserie/macaronerie that was participating in the macaroon day. It had a really subtle flavor, earthy texture, especially with the little toppings of twigs and herbs!! It was nothing like drinking tea but as I was sitting outside in the sunshine while I ate it, I was perfectly okay that it wasn’t the same! B+

Chocolate mangue:  The filling is great! I can really tell they used high quality mangos and the flavor comes through, but the chocolate on the cookie isnt doing anything for me. Only the last bite I had with all cookie no filling tasted remotely like chocolate, but on the whole it was a really nice tasting macaroon! A

Carmel apple- JP Hevin required this one as part of the three that they gave you, so I had multiple times to try this one. It was nice but it just doesn’t stand out. I could eat a box of them without thinking. The indisde tastes more like compote than like carmel or apple . B

Saving the best for last, I began to move on to the Pierre Hermé macaroons! I consider Pierre Hermé to be the best macaroonerie in Paris - and the price shows it. At 1€60 for each macaroon, it is a real treat!

Huile d’olive: This macaroon is made of olive oil and mandarin oranges. But, I was kind of disappointed! It had a light taste, and doesn’t really taste like olive oil or mandarin orange - just sweet. There were multiple different types of filling - bits of orange, olive oil, etc. but I felt the taste of the orange in the very center of the filling. B+

Montebello: A VERY pretty macaroon, with framboise (raspberry!)and pistachio.   Can’t really taste the pistachio- framboise overpowers. The inside bite is like eating raspberry jam. B

Magador: Chocolate filling and passion fruit! Much better than other passion fruit one I had. This combo is better, creating a better balance of sweet and tart. A

Fortunella: I don’t know what kumquats taste like when not in a macaroon, but this one had a texture and taste much more of a vegetable or fruit. The filling was not just a cream or mousse but there was actually a whole piece of kumquat in my macaroon! I’m not really sure I LIKE the texture of kumquats, but it was interesting! The aniseed that was also in the macaroon gave it a bit of spice. B

Pietra: Made of noisette (what Nutella is made out of) and pralines, this was delicious, but how could it not be! It was a little dry, and a bit crunchy. The flavor of the noisette was delicious, but it drowned of the flavor of the pralines a bit too much. I did notice the praline croustillant, in that there was a very crunchy aspect that I wasn’t so fond of. It was delicious overall. B+/A

Chocolate foie gras: I knew when I picked this I was taking a risk, but this is crazy! Chocolate flavor strong at first and then the foie grad flavor was really overwhelming!! The last few bites were like being at dinner - I wanted a baguette to go along with it! Probably not my first choice in macaroon treats - maybe for a during dinner macaroon? B-

So what was my favorite? I would probably say stick with chocolate flavors, or pure fruit flavors. Mixing is inventive and can lead to some interesting tastes, but the classics come from flavors like noisette, creme brûlée, etc. Although, my favorite fall back will always be framboise - raspberry!

So happy macaroon tasting to you! Go out there and find YOUR favorite flavor! (To Bobby and Gaby - what was your favorite?!?) I hope to make some when I am back in the states, even though it is pretty difficult, it would totally be worth it for those little nuggets of deliciousness! 

This has been probably the best week I’ve had so far since I’ve been in Paris. It’s Tuesday. So yes, I’ve had an amazing start of the week - since when does that happen??Yesterday, I fell in love with L’Opera Garnier, and went to the Louvre. Today I devoted to my other love- macarooooooons! 

Aujourd’hui était la jour de macarons- a day where select macaroneries offer a macaroon in exchange for a donation to a charity. This year it was for autism research. Since macaroons at normal patisseries are usually priced at 1€ and at famous places are between 1€30 and 1€70 and at famous places are between 1 ero 30 and 1 euro 70, I was extremely excited!!

In preparation, I stayed up till 2 in the morning researching the addresses of the paritipating macarooneries and designing a plan of attack. As a Schramm, the thought of getting a good deal was thrilling. As the youngest daughter and a sweet tooth , getting some of the best patisseries in Paris was unbeleivable. I slept soundly, but had visions of macaroons dancing in my head. 

It was a beautiful day and after our grammar class, my friends Bridget, Kendall and Emma hit up three macaroneries right away in the 6th arrondissement! I’m really glad our friend Kendall decided to (skip class and) come with us because she suggested just walking from place to place ( I was thinking about efficiency, not sights). That is the way Haussmann designed it in the 1870’s - to flow you along the boulevards - and that is the best way to experience Paris!

We walked through the Jardin du Luxembourg, past Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, along the Seine with views of the Musee d’Orsay, crossed Pont Neuf, walked through the Jardins des Tuileries, down the Rue de Rivoli, saw the L’Eglise Madeleine, Place Vendome with it’s statue of Napoleon, walked by L’opera Garnier again (sigh!) and into the Grand Magasins- Galaries Lafayette is always a sight to behold!! 10 cent macaroon vs. little black dress we are lusting after for 3000 euro.. Hmm tough choice! 

As it was almost 3pm, my friends had to go to class but it was such a beautiful day I decided to continue alone ! Who could resist mega cheap, delcious macaroons, and exploring the city on my own a little bit ? I visited 5 more stores and saw the Eiffel Tower, L’École Militaire, and L’Arc de Triomphe!  I think I FINALLY learned the general idea of which arronidissments are where! My orienteering, with map in hand, was also surprisngly good, but definitely got practice today! By the end of my 7 hours of walking around, traveling from one store to another, getting macaroons and touristing a bit, I had..

• Collected 21 macaroons for 1€65 (8¢ per macaroons)
• Visited 14 separate stores - including 5 Pierre Hermé stores!
• Practiced my “macaroon” vocabulary!
• Used 6 metro lines [and walked a ton!]

Leaving the 6th and final Pierre Hermé of the day on the Champs D’Elysee, I stumbled upon some sort of military parade and ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe! Not one to miss an opportunity, I RAN ACROSS THE ÉTOILE with the rest of the curious onlookers [once in a lifetime experience! When have you ever seen the étoile closed!?]  It was the “Ceremony of the Flame”, complete with local school children, military band, officers, veterans, and generals to shake everyone’s hand. IT was a fantastic way to end the day, listening to the Marseillaise being sung by Parisians of all shapes and sizes, and looking around at the Arc, realizing how amazing my life is and how blessed I am!

So even though my Facebook location says I live in Paris, I’m lying. I live in Levallois -Perriet, a very very close suburb, Northwest of Paris. I literally live two blocks from the Paris line. So yes, I am living in the NW suburbs once again. [ Chicago, DC, Paris - Will this ever change?] 

Levallois is a nice area, with a lot of families and young children. And while I say it is “suburban”, think more Arlington Virginia, than Barrington Il (if you catch my drift!) It retains the city atmosphere entirely, while simply having a higher income, family focused demographic. 

I live on Rue Louis Rouqierre, which is currently being TORN UP due to some construction on the street! It is quite a production for a little street like ours. I was surprised to see that  the underlevels of street don’t go down very far - is this different than the U.S.?  I’m about a 7-10 minute walk from the metro, which is a little annoying, but a lot of people do it around here. EXCEPT, they have razor scooters to speed around on! YES. Razor scooters are the hot trend in Levallois, and the neighboring town of Neuilly where my friend Bridget lives. Old women, young men, children, business people- everyone can use a razor scooter to get to work and not think twice about what someone will think. Apparently that is a trés Bobo thing. Les Bobos are Bourgeoise Bohemians - the style of essentially what we call yuppies. I found out in my French Cultural Geography class today, that Neuilly and Levallois have always been FULL of Les Bobos. Oh, the suburbs. 

My favorite thing about Levallois is that only a few blocks away is the Northern branch of the Seine! I’ve been running a few times and it is really quite pretty. I also discovered that the island in the middle is the île de la Grand Jatte - the island painted in Serat’s pointillist masterpiece! That is the saving grace of living in the suburbs- you get to live where all the rich bourgeoisie lived! ;) Apparently there is a plaque on the island somewhere, I’ll just have to find it. 

In terms of my actual homestay, I live in a 3 story walk up with a windy wooden staircase. (There is a lift, but it is so TINY nobody uses it unless you need to carry something heavy upstairs.) Our apartment is a three bedroom, two bath with a family room and a small kitchen. It was renovated, so it feels completely comfortable, which is nice. Some of my friends have said that although they have pretty antique things in their rooms, they feel like they can’t use them because they will break! I’m fine with Ikea furniture in my room, because it feels like a room I would live in! 

My home stay mom, Emmanuelle Courcoux, is absolutely fantastic. She called herself the “cool mom” the first night I met her, and she has lived up to her name. Our relationship is really relaxed, but she is still quite interested in my life- enough to ask questions about my brother’s wedding coming up, my classes and even do some research for how I will get from chateau to chateau for spring break without a car! We have really interesting conversations, and never seem to run out of things to talk about - all in French! The only thing I think that she might be doing is making me feel like my French is better than it is because she understands really crappy French, through her experience wtih host students, and talks assez slowly.

My cat, Noisette, on the other hand is getting to be a problem. I really enjoyed having someone to come back to every day and the fact she obeyed commands in French but not English, but now that she is SLEEPING BY MY HEAD and trying to DRINK out of my water glass, my feelings have changed! Animals are super cute, I’ve decided, but in any language they are quite a responsibility and have their own set of learnings associated with them!

[ Sorry I haven’t written in an excessively long time! This little ditty just came to me when I couldn’t sleep last night. I need to blog about Rouen, Barcelona, and so many other things! To come! ] 

Class started this week, which meant less time for touristing with my friends and more time figuring out schedules, waking up early, and taking the metro at rush hour. Hmph - no more of this “fake semester” I suppose, but it is still quite enjoyable. 

On Monday and Wednesday I had Paris and Civilization - a course that I was originally just trying out, but now I am in LOVE with! It is all about the history and growth of Paris and reminds me a lot of my junior year English class Interrelated Arts. We are going to have a lot of field trips, and in fact our next class on Monday actually is meeting at the Louvre! I think it will give me a deeper appreciation of this beautiful, glittering, bustling city that I now get to LIVE in for these few short months. 

I also had two classes of my other course Islam and France. While the professor isn’t as engaging, the topic is quite fascinating. The issue of Muslims in France is definiting a hot button with the French, especially the far right. We discussed the French politician Jean Marie Le Pen, who likened the influx of North African immigrants to the battles of the crusades… Definitely some tension there. Even in my own homestay, I discussed the topic with my host mom and she said she was “afraid” of Muslims, and mentioned the conflicts in Syria, and in the Middle East. She said that when you take the RER out the suburbs there are a lot of Muslims, and she tries not to go out there too often!! While there definitely are issues with racism within the US, I was really surprised to see the extent of the feelings here towards Muslim immigrants. If I continue in that class, it will definitely open my eyes to how the French and Europeans view Muslims and how this tension effects the social situation in these countries - even within my own homestay!

Last for classes, I had my first grammar classes with the Sorbonne. Unfortuantely, I was not studying in the beautiful centuries old reading room of the acutal Sorbonne building itself - there are just too many students for that! My classroom is in Montparnasse - they have actually just rented two rooms from a lycée (Lycée Paul Bert! So random!) It IS fun though seeing the school and seeing how is is EXACTLY the same as all the french movies I have ever watched in class of schools in France. The playground, the classrooms, the hallways, the bathrooms. All the same! Très cool. We did our first dictation in our grammar class the second day - a very French way to learn spelling and accents apparently. That was pretty difficult, as spelling words you have never heard before can be a little tricky. Our academic advisor at ACCENT said we would probably get a 0% for our first dictation, because they take away a point for every accent or spelling error you have! Ouch! But I am learning a lot!

But learning is not just limited to the classroom here! Oh no! I have been on overdrive since I’ve been here - speaking French with my hostmom and other people I meet, people watching and noticing little things about the French, and lots of other little things! I would LOVE to share a few things I’ve learned this week:

• Parisiens LOVE PDA (Public Displays of Affection). Maybe you thought you knew this already, but you have no idea the level of their amour for each other everywhere. Case in point: A few of my friends and I were on the metro going to get books at a librarie (bookstore!) at the St. Michel metro stop - not a long ways away. During our short metro ride, six French teenagers(five girls, one boy) pile on the metro. With only one seat, one girl sits down on the seat and the next on her lap, another on her lap, and another on her lap. The other girl and the boy are standing. The boy and the girl sitting on the end of this dog pile proceed to MAKE OUT, surrounded by this girls friends!!! Their heads are literally inches from her friends! We were shocked and just looked around, wondering if anyone else was seeing what was going on!! 
• I discovered my first difference between français français and Quebecois français! I was trying to explain my love of berries to my hostmom (there is no word for berry apparently) and the word for blueberry that I learned in Quebec is bluet, but in français français it is myrtille!! A completely different word!!! My mind was blown.
• The French actually wear bérets, buy huge baguettes and walk with them under their arms. BUT not all the French smoke and drink wine with dinner every night! Getting used to which stereotypes are vrai and which ones are faux is quite an experience.
• French boys LOVE American fast food. French girls - not so much. So funny and pretty self explanatory. McDonalds also offers KIWIS ON A STICK for 1€30. It is literally a peeled kiwi, on a stick. I wonder who pitched that to McDonalds France?

As I said, lots of learning (much more than those little tidbits, I just can’t think of them now >.<). As for the living part, I think I will save that for another blog post, in which I tell ya’ll about Levallois and my homestay, my cat, room, etc. etc. 

À Bientôt!