We all have our favorite treats. Some might love chocolate, some might like gum. But few of us actually know how our favorite snacks were invented. For example, someone who loves to eat chocolate chip cookies might not know that it was actually invented by a person called Ruth Wakefield. They may not know that when Ruth first invented the modern chocolate chip cookies, it was such a big hit that some asked for the recipes and others simply flocked to Ruth’s restaurant to eat it. They might not know that Ruth grew so famous that she was invited to a radio show and companies began making copies of her godly cookie. And they might not know that Ruth had to painfully cut the chocolate into chips herself by using ice picks. Now, people might say that knowing how your treat was invented isn’t really important. So why is it good to know how your favorite type of candy was invented, and is it really unimportant?
There are lots of reasons why learning the history of your snack is beneficial. For one, you might find out how to make the treat yourself. Then you’ll be able to make your own sweet treats without ever asking your parents for money. Also what is beneficial is that the treat will actually taste better. Of course, this is not actually true, your candy is just the way it is and understanding its history won’t change it. But when you have that feeling inside you, that knowledge of how the piece of candy in your mouth had been made, that comfort and pride of truly understanding its past, you will somewhat feel like that piece of sweet deliciousness was just a tad sweeter. Another important factor is that you will know how the creator of your favorite candy first thought up the idea. This will help you invent your own candy someday. You can try thinking like the creator of your treat, and maybe some idea will pop up. For example, take a look at my favorite candy, macarons.
See, back in China, there weren’t so many macarons. Back then, my favorite treat was gum. But here in France, gum wasn’t so popular. The big treat was macarons. I like sweet things. Very sweet things. And macarons were just the type. The rainbow colors, and lots of different flavors. One thing about macarons was universal, though. They were all terribly sweet. I thought it was the best thing ever. My mom thought it was way too sweet. I still like gum very much, but it comes in a close second place. I also liked the taste of another rarely seen candy. In China, there was no such thing. But here in France, even though they were rarely found in metro shops, tic tacs were still a pleasure to eat. Actually, I don’t think it is even considered a snack. It's just candy, no bigger than a pill. I like eating both of these, but knowing the history behind them, they will seem more familiar, more comfortable, and less like some treats that I had completely ignored until four months ago.
Macarons started out in Italy, not in France. According to popular beliefs, they dated back to the 8th century. According to legends, they were brought to France apparently by the servants of King Henry the second, in 1533. Back then, macarons were made of almonds, egg whites, and sugar. When King Louis XIV came to Versailles in 1682, macarons were served as a welcome gesture. Until then, macarons were only for royalty. This tradition stayed until the empire fell in 1789. During the French Revolution, two sisters, Marguerite and Marie-Elisabeth, made macarons and themselves famous by selling them to commoners. These two were masters at pastry making, so it wasn’t a surprise that the macaron empire spread quickly under their fingertips. However, the vast variety of modern macarons were the doings of a famous Parisian tea salon called Ladurée of Paris. These flavors haven't changed ever since. Now macarons began traveling all across the globe, including America.
In conclusion, understanding a dish’s beginning is important for several different reasons. First, it may lead you to inventing your own treat, or you could follow the traditional recipe. Furthermore, knowing your favorite candy’s history can make you feel closer to that type of food. Searching up macarons’ history was hard work, and so was explaining them in my own words, but now I know more about macarons, and I feel closer to them. Getting to acknowledge the past of a kind of food is unnecessary, but important, as it gives you the comfort and pride of feeling like you truly know this dish, because you truly do. So next time you're enjoying a chocolate muffin, or licking a vanilla ice cream, try thinking of how that food was invented, and that food will suddenly taste a lot better.
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