Sarastro

There are those of us who have insisted for some time now that the macarons of McDo Café (6 for 5€) are made in the same factory as are those of Ladurée, the famous originator of the macaron. Where are Ladaurée Macarons made you ask? Apparently in Switzerland and subsequently shipped to Ladurée boutiques in a “hibernation state”.

Many who buy Ladurée macarons experience a “hibernation state” when being asked to pay for a dozen or so of these little delicacies.

The full story is here:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ushpmg00000009

Dukey1

I just cannot "get into" the taste of these no matter where they were made. But isn't it the taste that actually matters regardless of where they are made?

Not trying to find fault at all but the whole pastry/restaurant/hotel/COFFEE snob thing seems pointless. I don't care what you eat/drink or where you stay. I DO care about what you bring to the rest of us.

IMDonehere

I will read this later, I am waiting for some French Fries to come out of hibernation.

My Francophile friend feels betrayed. Many quality establishments designate when their food has been previously frozen, I mean hibernated.

kerouac

My friends from Zürich have always brought me macarons from Sprüngli where they are called <i>Luxemburgli</i>.

I have to admit that they are pretty good but are in my category of "things I would never spend my own money on."

Perhaps it is Sprüngli that makes the macarons for Ladurée around the world, while Ladurée France is making macarons for their French shops and McDonald's France.

AJPeabody

I bet the next thing you going to tell me is that Santa Claus doesn't really live at the North Pole.

Christina

I don't like macarons, either, it is very surprising to me how so many people are making such a big thing about this cookie which seems rather dry and tasteless to me. Not a fan of meringue anything, though, just boring to me. I want a cookie to have some texture and be chewy.

As for where they are made, I don't care but since I used to work in packaging in the cosmetic business, it drives me nuts that people think because two different brands and/or products "are made in the same factory", that makes them the same product. Many factories have multi-use, various contracts, and products vary, obviously, based on their specs, ingredients, etc. Being made in the same factory doesn't mean much of anything. Now if you claimed they were the same recipe exactly, that's another thing.

kerouac

I don't think that anybody has ever claimed that things made in the same factory are the same product. Just think of the various models made in car factories or the number of sauces made by Heinz.

In terms of most of the "brand name" factories churning out products for cheaper store brands, sometimes it is a case of using margarine instead of butter or broken pieces of something instead of intact items. And sometimes the products are identical with only the cost of advertising a brand name creating the price difference.

I am quite sure that Ladurée pays for top quality ingredients while McDonald's obviously is trying to bring the price down.

How about a blind taste test?

https://delishably.com/desserts/Ladu...ind-Taste-Test

We all have our own preferences, so there is no real answer to the question.

I myself prefer cheap pork cassoulet to any of the duck versions. Without debating the taste, I have read numerous times that the version that I prefer is healthier. But that's not why I eat it.

NewbE

Macarons have to be impeccably fresh, because their flavors are meant to be subtle and because their unique texture--slightly chewy, but also melt-in-your-mouth delicate-- is such a big part of their appeal.

99% of the macarons one sees in the US are either bad (dry, tasteless, gummy), or not really macarons. Try the giant macaron at Paul in Washington, DC: it's about 10cm across, really tasty, but not really a macaron.

So I think most people have never had a good one, which is where Ladurée's marketing comes in. The packaging is beautiful, the store is beautiful, the macarons are beautiful--what does the flavor matter?

"Hibernation", lol! Thanks for the laugh!

FuryFluffy

I almost had a blind test for Ladurée macaron vs McDonald macaron a long time ago. I had eaten macarons for a while but couldn't have understood its appeal either - until I taste Ladurée's one. It was really good. Didn't know Ladurée was famous. Then I went around buying macarons in any shop/brand I could find. The ones from Pierre Marcolini and Pierre Hermé are very good too. Then I passed by McDonald, and the macarons there disappointed me thoroughly. I read this news of hibernation factory a while ago, but anyway I'm sure Ladurée's ones and McDonald ones are not of the same quality.

StCirq

Macarons do absolutely nothing for me, whether they are sold at Ladurée or anywhere else. It's just another fad as far as I can see, like cupcakes in the USA. But I don't have a sweet tooth, so perhaps I'm not qualified to comment. The packaging at Ladurée is more interesting to me than the contents.

IMDonehere

Are the called Big MaCarons?

kerouac

McDonald's France also seems to sell cronuts under the name "New York donuts."

pariswat

My daughter makes her own macarons. Not bad.

RobertaL

I tried them at Laduree and was like "eh". Years later, I tried them at Pierre Herme because they deserved a second chance. No more chances, I'm done.

tuscanlifeedit

Macarons were the most disappointing food I'd ever tasted. I splurged on a box at Fauchon and was crushed. They were pretty communion wafers.

fuzzbucket

Macarons are just like the tulip obsession in the 17th Century.
They just look pretty, so people buy them.

Calissons are much better, in my opinion, when they are fresh from Aix-en-Provence.

PatrickLondon

It's really not that difficult to make acceptable (if not necessarily so pretty) ones of your own. Then you can experiment with flavourings...

NYCFoodSnob

I do enjoy Ladurée packaging.

I share the opinions of Christina and StCirq. Meringue desserts do little for me. Macarons can be pretty and colorful to look at, but the romance ends there. Sort of like a beautiful model with no personality. I do enjoy a chewy cookie, and egg whites can play an important roll to accomplish that, but I don't enjoy any cookie or dessert that relies too heavily on sugar, especially white, granulated sugar. From a health perspective, sugar can be considered a poison.

bilboburgler

first world problem..

pariswat

Can we eat the packaging ?