馬卡龍自述

Let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is "Macaron" or "Gerbet1）"， but between the two of us， I prefer to be called "Macaron". I am round and tempting to the eye. I am made primarily of almond flour， sugar and egg whites. Throughout the years， very little has changed in terms of my components. I have always had a very classic flavor and my colors have always been very mellow2）， but recently， two renowned3） chefs have experimented with me by giving me countless colors and flavors beyond your wildest imagination. Over the years many have experimented with my shape， but whenever possible， I prefer my classic round form.

I have become the most coveted4） cookie in France， particularly in Paris. I am a bit of a trendy item for people to serve， the favorite sweet of children， the ideal breakfast treat， the beloved cookie of Parisian tea salons， the fashionable gift to give， and the ideal cookie for holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day， and finally， without sounding pretentious5）， I am a bit of a "Star".

Despite my popularity in Europe and France in particular， I have not had much success yet here in the United States. Although it is possible for you to find me here， more often than not it is at extremely expensive prices. Even when I am sold at reasonable prices， perhaps I am not as crunchy6） outside or as creamy inside as I should be， or perhaps I am too dry， or made with poor ingredients.

Presently， two distinguished pastry7） chefs are planning to make me a "Star" in New York and the United States. These chefs are Florien Bellanger and Ludovic Augendre. They understand me and love me， and you will too.

讓我跟你簡單說說我自己。我的名字叫“馬卡龍”或者“熱爾貝”，但這里偷偷告訴你，我更喜歡被稱作“馬卡龍”。我體態(tài)圓潤，長相誘人，主要由杏仁粉、白砂糖和蛋白制作而成。這么些年來，我的成分幾乎沒怎么變過。我一直保持著非常經(jīng)典的口味，顏色也一直相當(dāng)柔美。不過，最近有兩位挺有名氣的主廚在我身上做實(shí)驗(yàn)，讓我變得五顏六色，還賦予了我不同的口味，顏色和口味多到不可思議。這些年以來，許多人都在我的外形上做過實(shí)驗(yàn)，不過只要有可能，我還是喜歡我經(jīng)典的圓形。

在法國，特別是在巴黎，我已經(jīng)成為最令人垂涎的甜點(diǎn)了。我可以算得上是人們用來待客的潮品、孩子們最喜歡的甜食、理想的早餐佳肴、巴黎特色茶沙龍鐘愛的餅干、時髦的饋贈佳品、適合情人節(jié)和母親節(jié)等節(jié)日享用的完美點(diǎn)心。最后，毫不矯情地說，我多少也算是個“明星”呢。

盡管我在歐洲特別是法國很受歡迎，但在美國，我還算不上太成功。雖然你沒準(zhǔn)也能在這里找到我，但價格通常都貴得要死。即使我的售價較合理時，口感可能也不像本來應(yīng)有的那樣外酥里嫩，抑或吃著太干或是用料欠佳。

目前，兩位著名的糕點(diǎn)師正計劃把我打造成紐約乃至全美的“明星”。這兩位廚師是弗洛里恩·貝朗熱和盧多維克·奧讓德爾，他們懂我，愛我，將來你也會的。

1. Gerbet： 熱爾貝，有一種說法是一位名叫Claude Gerbet的巴黎廚師發(fā)明了馬卡龍。

2. mellow [?mel??] adj. （顏色）柔美的

3. renowned [r??na?nd] adj. 著名的

4. covet [?k?v?t] vt. 垂涎

5. pretentious [pr??ten??s] adj. 矯飾的；做作的

6. crunchy [?kr?nt?i] adj. 松脆的

7. pastry [?pe?stri] n. 各式烘烤糕點(diǎn)（如蛋糕、小甜面包等）

8. dough [d??] n. （用以做糕點(diǎn)、餅干等的）生面團(tuán)

9. delicacy [?del?k?si] n. （尤指稀有、昂貴的）美食，美味，佳肴

10. regale [r??ɡe?l] vt. 使快樂，使喜悅

11. double-decker： 雙層結(jié)構(gòu)的

12. panache [p??n??] n. 羽飾

The Macaron cookie was born in Italy， introduced by the chef of Catherine de Medicis in 1533 at the time of her marriage to the Duc d'Orleans who became king of France in 1547 as Henry II. The term "macaron" has the same origin as the word "macaroni"—both mean "fine dough8）".

The first Macarons were simple cookies， made of almond powder， sugar and egg whites. Many towns throughout France have their own prized tale surrounding this delicacy9）. In Nancy， the granddaughter of Catherine de Medicis was supposedly saved from starvation by eating Macarons. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz， the macaron of Chef Adam regaled10） Louis XIV and Marie-Therese at their wedding celebration in 1660.

Only at the beginning of the 20th century did the Macaron become a "double-decker11）" affair. Pierre Desfontaines， the grandson of Louis Ernest Laduree （the founder of Laduree pastry and salon in Paris） had the idea to fill them with a "chocolate panache12）" and to stick them together.

Since then， French Macaron cookies have been nationally acclaimed in France and remain the best-selling cookie in pastry retail stores.

馬卡龍?zhí)瘘c(diǎn)誕生于意大利，1533年在凱瑟琳·德·美第奇（編注：意大利公主）與奧爾良公爵的婚禮上，經(jīng)由凱瑟琳的廚師被引入了法國——奧爾良公爵于1547年登基成為法國國王亨利二世。“馬卡龍”一詞與“通心粉”一詞同源，二者都指“ 美味的面團(tuán)”。

早期的馬卡龍只是簡簡單單的餅干，由杏仁粉、白砂糖和蛋白制成。圍繞這一美食，法國各個城鎮(zhèn)都有各自珍視的故事。在南錫市，凱瑟琳·德·美第奇的孫女據(jù)說是靠吃馬卡龍才免于挨餓。在1660年的圣讓-德呂茲，亞當(dāng)大廚的馬卡龍讓路易十四和瑪麗-泰蕾茲在其結(jié)婚典禮上吃得心滿意足。

直到20世紀(jì)初期，馬卡龍才變成了“雙層夾心”甜點(diǎn)。（巴黎拉杜麗甜品店的創(chuàng)始人）路易斯·埃內(nèi)斯特·拉杜麗的孫子皮埃爾·德方丹斯想到了在兩塊餅干間填滿“羽毛狀的黏稠巧克力”并將它們黏在一起的主意。

自那以后，法國的馬卡龍?zhí)瘘c(diǎn)在法國全境都贏得了贊譽(yù)，也一直是糕點(diǎn)零售商店里最暢銷的甜點(diǎn)。