[Sca-cooks] Macarons

Johnna Holloway johnnae at mac.com
Sun Jul 18 16:58:41 PDT 2010


I turned up some mentions to the sweet biscuits in EEBO-TCP.

Tomkis, Thomas. Albumazar. A comedy presented before the Kings  
Maiestie at Cambridge, the ninth of March. 1614. By the Gentlemen of  
Trinitie Colledge.


ALB.
And heare you sir:
If you chance meet with boxes of white Comfites,
Marchpane, dry sucket, Macarouns and diet-bread,
'Twill helpe on well.
RON.
To furnish out our banquet.

***
Markham, Gervase, 1568?-1637. Countrey contentments, or The English  
husvvife. 1623

To make Iumbals more fine and curious then the for|mer, and neerer to  
the taste of the Macaroone; take a  pound of sugar beate it fine; then  
take as much fine wheat flower and mixe them together, then take two  
whites and one yelke of an egge, halfe a quarter of a pound of blaun| 
ched Almonds; then beat them very fine altogether with halfe a dish of  
sweet butter, and a spoonefull of rosewa|ter, and so worke it with a  
little Creame till it come to a very stiffe past, then roule them  
forth as you please: And hereto you shall also if you please adde a  
few dried Ani|seedes finely rubbed and strewed into the past.
***
Phillips, Edward, 1630-1696? The new world of English words, 1658

Macarons, (Ital.) lumps of boiled paste, strewed over with sugar or  
spice, a dish much used by the Italians; but here they are commonly  
compounded of Almonds, Sugar, Rose-water, and Musk.
***

N. H., Dunton, John, 1659-1733. The ladies dictionary, being a general  
entertainment of the fair-sex a work never attempted before in  
English. 1694


Macarons
(Fr.) little Fri|rer-like Buns, or thick Lozenges compounded of Sugar,  
Almonds, Rose-water, and Musk, pounded together and baked wich a  
gentle fire.
Also the Italian Macaroni, lumps or gobbers of boiled paste, served up  
in butter, and strewed over with Spice, and grated cheese; a common  
dish in Italy.

OED says:

  A small sweet cake or biscuit consisting chiefly of ground almonds  
(or coconut), egg white, and sugar. Also: the mixture used for baking  
this.

1611 R. COTGRAVE Dict. French & Eng. Tongues, Macarons, Macarons;  
little Fritter-like Bunnes, or thicke Losenges, compounded of Sugar,  
Almonds, Rosewater, and Muske.
   1615 G. MARKHAM Countrey Contentm. (1668) II. ii. 98 To make  
Jumbals more fine and curious..and nearer to the taste of the Macaroon.

   1630 J. TAYLOR Great Eater of Kent in Wks. I. 146/1 Whether it  
bee..Fritter, or Flapiacke, or Posset, Galley-Mawfrey, Mackeroone,  
Kickshaw, or Tantablin.
   1672 N. GREW Anat. Veg. i. 3 The inner Coat [of the bean]..so far  
shrinking up, as to seem only the roughness of the outer, somewhat  
resembling Wafers under Maquaroons.
   1688 R. HOLME Acad. Armory III. 83/2 Mackrooms, a kind of roul of  
sweet Bread.

Do as Bear says and skip the Catherine de Medici references.

Johnna

On Jul 18, 2010, at 4:57 PM, Terry Decker wrote:snipped
> Linguistically, macaron does tie to the Italian, maccaroni, meaning  
> dumpling and the English macaroon derives from the French, so there  
> may be something to the connection with Catherine.  However, I would  
> expect this to be later than the 1533 date most of the tales tout.
>
> There is an English reference to macaroons at the end of the 16th  
> Century (I'll have to dig for the source) and there is a reference  
> from one of Markham's texts in 1611.
>
> Bear
>
>> We are trying to find some additional period information on  
>> macarons - the
>> almond cookies from France.  All we seem to be able to determine is  
>> that
>> Catherine de Medici brought them with her.
>> If anyone has anything more informative we'd be grateful.
>> Shoshana



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