How long do Laduree macaroons last?
 

If we were to buy some Laduree macaroons on the Sunday before we fly home on the Monday, would they still be a good "teacher gift" on the Tuesday?
thanks!

>How long do Laduree macaroons last? <

In our house, about 20 minutes.

They will be fine on Tuesday. Lucky teacher.

((I))

Ha :-) thanks!

My experience is that they don't travel well. I think buying on Sun. for giving on Tues. would be a stretch, especially as a gift. Maybe taking some Tupperware-type container would help?

Thanks grandmere - is the concern with the "crushing" and/or damage en route as opposed to the freshness?

The macaroons will deteriorate about 24 hours after you buy them. They will start to get slightly crunchy as each day passes.

They will still be edible by Tuesday, but they will in no way taste as good and fresh as when you purchased them on Sunday.

I also think you should put them in a tupperware container for the trip home.

How many macaroons are you buying?

Thin

I agree with Thin above--there is a big deterioration even one day after purchase. Of course they will still be excellent, just not quite as excellent!

The plastic container is a good idea..

I was taught to put a slice of bread in a tupperware container with cookies to keep them fresher. I don't know if this is something you would want to try, but it may help.

Thanks very much for your feedback!
We are taking the kids out of school for just over 2 weeks for our trip to France, so are looking for a "Parisienne" gift for their two teachers. The macaroons in a "hey, this was bought in Paris" box was an idea that meets our "gifts you won't have to dust" teacher present criteria :-)

We are scheduled to land at approx 1pm on Monday, so there is the outside chance we could make it to their school before the teachers leave (to gain some 15 hours of 'macaroon freshness'). ekscrunchy's comment "they will still be excellent, just not quite as excellent" sounds like they should be excellent enough for the purpose...

Thin - specific numbers I hadn't given any thought to yet... I wasn't thinking of spending more then 20E per teacher - but practical portability would be a factor as well. As far as the 'plastic container' thought - I actually like the idea of ending up with 'this is the tupperware we bought in Paris' at the end of the exercise!

I have eaten them about 5 days after purchase and they were ok but definitely were losing freshness.

They were EXTREMELY fragile. Nearly all the macaroons lost a piece of dough.

One thing I found out is that, at least where I live, people have ho-hum views of "macaroons." They either think about "coconut macaroons" or even if they have eaten French macaroons, they think of the ones we found here that are big and hard and not delicate. Because of this, when I now bring them home, I keep them for my family.

Have you considered chocolates or scarves as alternative gifts?

I think they deteriorate within one day -- if you eat them in the evening after buying them in the afternoon, they are already clearly stale IMO.

I wasn't thinking about the crushing as much as just losing freshness. I agree with those above who think they begin to deteriorate within the day. They are made with lots of egg whites, and I imagine it's the humidity that gets to them. Ok for family after the long haul but not for gifts, IMO.

Hot chocolate mix a la Angelina and bought at the tea salon on rue de Rivoli might be a nice alternative.

My guess is that they would freeze pretty well. This might not be applicable for the gifted macaroons, but I bet that you could freeze them directly after purchase, take them out fo the freezer just before leaving Paris, and gain a day or two for enjoying once you get home..has anyone ever tried this? (I can just about hear the scoffing..)

Canada_V: Take them, take them! I suddenly saw some macaroons ( probably made by some other confectioner) at the railway station Gare d'Est just before boarding our train to Frankfurt. I bought 2 of each colour & they were only put in a paper bag.
This travelled next to me on the train, on the plane, and all the way back to South Africa especially for my daughter-in-law.
OK, they looked a bit tired but repackaged in a nice container, she didn't notice the 'faults' as she enjoyed every crumb!
Take a tupperware lined with thick layers of paper towel. They do tend to ooze 'grease'(probably butter fat) from the filling.

Another gift suggestion?? There is a dinky little shop along one of the corridors at the Palais Royal that sells musical boxes in all shapes and sizes. When I went there they had medium priced ones in a round shape with gold trim. Through the plastic case you can see the workings as it plays a tune.
Tunes: La Vie en Rose, I love Paris, the French National Anthem La Marseillaise, Lili Marlene, Sous Le Ciel De Paris, and so on.
If you go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe the gift shop also has some but only very teeny ones which one has to manipulate to play the tune. The round ones play on their own after turning the lever.
The elderly ladies in the shop go to no end of trouble to wrap the gift beautifully.

You can get the pale green oval box of 17 various-flavoured macaroons for 22 euros.

Thin

Thanks to everyone for your input!

I think my only option will be to get some for the family at the beginning of our trip... to leave a couple of them for a couple of days, then eat them and let the kids decide if they think their teachers would be happy with them! Sounds like in general, the concensus is that they will be ok by the time the teachers would get them - not at their best, but that we need to decide whether the box, story of getting them and "paris-ness" would offset the freshness. I think maybe I will also see if they are things that my kids take to - if the kids 'love them' then it makes them a more meaningful gift for their teacher. If the kids don't take to them (you never know!) then not so much...

tod - that music box store sounds charming - it sounds like a perfect Grandma present regardless of what we end up doing for the teachers.

thanks again!

I agree with the above. I brought back several small boxes of macaroons from my trip to Paris and by the time I gave them as gifts a few days later they were pretty stale and crunchy. The packaging was pretty though, so perhaps that made up for it? ;)

I bought some at Ladurée to eat while in Paris, but bought some from Pain de Sucre (very close to our apartment) to bring home. The baker told me they would be OK for up to 5 days in the fridge.

I thought they were very good for 3 days, then quickly lost their freshness.

Take chocolates from Fauchon (or one of the many chocolate specialty shops) in their beautiful packaging - they will be fresh and very Parisian!