If you are heading to Paris, you probably have heard of its famous macaroons. You will find macaroons are sold at almost every street corner, they are even sold at McDonald’s. That is correct. McDonald’s actually serves macaroons and they have been doing it since 2007. The macaroons are more commonly sold in McCafés, specifically in France, Germany and Australia. And people have been going crazy about them because they are not half bad.
The pastry window display in a McCafé in Paris.
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The McCafés offer a variety of pastries as well as macaroons.
On the other hand, there are the more upscale pastry shops that are well-known for their decadent macaroons, such as Ladurée. Louis Ernest Ladurée founded the now famous pastry shop in 1862. The Ladurée family has by credited for inventing what we know today as the macaroon. In 1930, Louis Ernest Ladurée’s second cousin, Pierre Desfontaines, came up with the original Ladurée macaroon recipe. Supposedly, only the current head chef at Ladurée knows the entire recipe because it is so extensive to make.
The elaborate entrance to the Ladurée in Paris is iconic.
The macaroons are baked fresh every morning at Ladurée.
Currently, McDonald’s offers five macaroon flavors: chocolate, raspberry, pistachio, vanilla and lemon green. You can buy a box of six macaroons for 6 euros. McDonald’s cheap prices are seen as a huge upside to their somewhat decent macaroons because 6 macaroons at Ladurée will run you 17 euros. However, Ladurée offers a much more involved flavor list than the fast-food restaurant. Some of those flavors include, chocolate with passion fruits, praline and strawberry candy guimauve. Ladurée will periodically rotate certain flavors to add variety to their selections.
Flavors top to bottom: Rose, vanilla, chocolate
brownie, caramel, lemon and chocolate.
It is common to find macaroon trees as part of a
window display in a pastry shop in Paris, especially in Ladurée.
So, knowing that the Ladurée macaroon has been around since 1930 and has many flavors, while the McDonald’s macaroon is only 10 years-old and comes in five flavors, are they even comparable? Well, it depends on who you ask. Study abroad student, Marissa Sunshine, stands by Ladurée as having the tastiest macaroon.
“I thought their macaroons were absolutely delicious! They were light, airy, and had the perfect amount of flavor,” Sunshine said. “Not only were their macaroons awesome, but the ambience of the Ladurée shop made the experience perfect.”
Ladurée is all about presentation, including how they box up and bag
macaroons. You may notice many people carrying these Ladurée bags in Paris.
Shelby Cohron, study abroad student, was in agreement that McDonald’s was not near as good as Ladurée.
“They were pretty good from being from McDonald’s,” Cohron said. “They were decent macaroons but not the best, not the worst.”
However, Kayla Tuckerman, also a study abroad student, thought the McDonald’s macaroons have some redeeming qualities.
“The chocolate ones we not as good as Ladurée,” Tuckerman said. “But I love the lime ones, which I hadn’t had before.”
So you decide. Next time you find yourself in Paris, pop into a McCafe, then indulge in Ladurée and put the macaroons to the test. After all, the all American apple pie is served in thousands of kitchens across America as well as in every McDonald's.
