Which Paris Macaron is Best?

Although in the U.S. we hear much more about the famous Parisian Laduree macarons than any others, there is a little bit of chatter about their macaron vs. the Pierre Herme macarons. There seems to be a lot of debate about which macaron is best, so when in Paris, I decided to try some fresh from the sources and decide for myself in a veryunscientific way. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it! hee hee So, which Parisian macaron is best?

Because I adore good packaging, I’m going to have to compare those points first. How are these darling little treats packaged up at the shop? Macaron box, takeaway bag, and overall presentation. I’m not trying to sound like a smarty pants here, but I mean, one set is pastel with beautiful metallic accents and very French in nature. The other is a tin box with some colorful macarons and what I’m guessing is a cartoon caricature of Pierre Herme? So yeah, Laduree for the packaging win.

Because there aren’t a lot of overlapping flavors between the two shops, I decided to compare two flavors that they both carry. Caramel and Pistachio, shown below. (Laduree is the first image, and Pierre Herme is the second image).

Laduree’s Caramel version is filled with actual caramel, and the Pierre Hermes version is filled with a caramel frosting. I think the Laduree version looks better and just more appealing but surprisingly, flavorwise, there isn’t a lot of difference between the two and not much difference in texture either. They were actually too close to choose a winner. So it’s a tie on the caramel.

Comparing the two Pistachios, Laduree’s color (shown on the left) is much more appealing and consistent. The Pierre Herme (shown on the right) top and bottom colors are noticeably different and the top macaron looks a lot like the color of cooked spinach, so that’s not very attractive. Flavorwise, they are both again very similar and hard to choose a winner in that regard, but the consistency of the Laduree version is much nicer. They both have a delicate, crispy outer shell with a soft pillowy texture just beneath. The Laduree version has the slightest bit of chew while the Pierre Herme version is very delicate. I definitely preferred the Laduree macarons.

And overall, I preferred the Laduree texture on almost all of the macarons I tasted (with the exception of the caramel) over that of Pierre Herme.

So there you go! (Whether you’ve ever wanted to know or not!) It’s Laduree for the win. Gosh, I like this. What else should I judge next?! 😉

Note:

This is the third post in my Paris Party of One series. You can find the first post here and the second post here. There will be more posts to follow. Hooray!