[Tasting / #法式甜點鑑賞] 巴黎 Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal 檸檬塔 / Lemon tart of Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal, Paris (for English, please click "see more")
你今天吃甜點了嗎？
讀完 #為什麼法式甜點需要鑑賞，就有正當理由吃甜點訓練品味了😉 今天就讓我們用實際案例一起來看看究竟該怎麼鑑賞一個法式甜點！
📌 鑑賞重點：
🚩 1. #知道自己在吃什麼：這句話聽起來像句廢話，但是其實很多人並不知道自己現在正在品嚐的東西到底是什麼。舉例來說，巧克力塔和巧克力慕斯蛋糕是完全不同的東西、費南雪與瑪德蓮也不一樣，如果將兩者混為一談，不清楚該有的外型、元素、組成，自然也就不會有正確的期待與評判標準，也不知道除了「好不好吃」、「甜不甜」之外還能怎麼欣賞。
🚩 2. #好吃又好看「c'est bon et c'est beau!」：
#外型：先觀察作品的外觀，欣賞其美感、細節和特殊之處。很多甜點（尤其是元素越簡單的甜點）光看外表，從其基礎元素完成的細緻程度，就可以預測它到底好不好吃。而甜點美麗與否，是否讓人想更進一步一親芳澤、讚嘆甜點人的巧思，又是另外一個層次。
#味道與口感：首先掌握甜點本身的組成元素，吃一口看看味道是否均衡細緻、口感是否兼顧軟硬、柔滑、酥脆的對比、是否有風味組合搭配上的驚喜，都是鑑賞的重點。接著可以分開品味不同元素的表現。請注意，「#甜或不甜」#並不是品評的必要標準。既然是吃甜點，請不要再說「這個看起來好甜」、「給我最不甜的」、「我喜歡，因為它不是很甜」！
🚩 3. #其他：諸如該甜點的歷史掌故、創意來源、主題、甜點主廚的背景、風格、創作哲學、如何對經典重新詮釋、使用元素等，都是值得品味之處。
🍋 前言結束，讓我們從最經典、元素最單純的 #檸檬塔（tart au citron）開始，一起欣賞有趣的作品！
檸檬塔的基礎元素是 #塔皮（pâte sucrée）、#檸檬奶餡（crème au citron）、#蛋白霜（meringue），有的檸檬塔更單純，只有前面兩個元素。巴黎甜點店 Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal 的檸檬塔三個元素都具備、又在經典上有所變化，正好適合拿來當作範例解說。點開照片看詳細說明！
🔖 延伸閱讀：
為什麼法式甜點需要鑑賞？https://tinyurl.com/y54dacbu
「重新詮釋」——法式甜點經典重生、歷久彌新的秘訣：https://tinyurl.com/y5xenfqz
從類型與組成元素徹底解析法式甜點：https://tinyurl.com/y5c9nbeb
了解關鍵概念、解析基礎元素：看懂、吃懂法式甜點的入門課：https://tinyurl.com/y4w9sxxs
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Have you all read the article “Why tasting is important when we enjoy French pastries”? Shall we take an example today to practice how exactly tasting should be like?
📌 Key points:
🚩 1. Knowing exactly what we are tasting before making any comments. This sounds like nonsense, but it’s pretty much true because many people do give comments even when they don’t have a clear on what they’re eating. For example, a chocolate tart is different from a chocolate mousse cake, a financier is not the same as a madeleine. If you mix them up and don’t know the basic components and classic look of the pastries, you wouldn’t have correct expectations and criteria to judge whether this cake is good or not besides having comments like “oh this tastes good/bad”, “this is (not) too sweet”, etc.
🚩 2. It’s delicious AND pretty. (In French, we say, “c’est bon et c’est beau!”)
#Look: Have a thorough look on the presentation of the pastry and appreciate its beauty, details, and characteristics. In fact, the presentation tells a lot about the taste if you know how it's made. The more delicate the details are, the more likely it would taste good. Besides, visual appeal also makes customers feel like tasting and admiring the ideas of the creators.
#Taste and #textures: First, you have to know what are the components of the cake, then have a bite and see if different flavours match each other well and are balanced, if there’s enough contrast between different textures such as soft vs. hard, smooth vs. crunchy, etc., and if there’s any surprise with regard to the taste combinations. After that, you could have a further taste on each of the components to get to know them further. Attention: since we are tasting a pastry/cake which is sweet, don’t judge it according to its sweetness only.
🚩 3. Others: If you know more about the history, the origin, the inspirations, background, styles and philosophy of the chef, how he/she reinterprets the classics and what ingredients he/she uses, tasting would become even more interesting.
🍋 Now let’s take the classic lemon tart (tarte au citron) as an example. The basic components are sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sucrée), lemon curd (crème au citron), and meringue. Some lemon tarts are even more simple, leaving the latter out. We’re having a closer look on the lemon tart of the Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal in Paris today. It has the all three components and is made with a little twist of the classic, which serves as a perfect example. Click on the photos and discover more!
🔖 To read more on the topic:
Why “tasting” is important when having French pastries: https://tinyurl.com/y54dacbu
Revisiting classics, the fountain of youth secret of French pastries: https://tinyurl.com/y5xenfqz
Decomposing French pastries by categories and basic components: https://tinyurl.com/y5c9nbeb
Your first class in French pastries, getting to know basic ingredients and key concepts: https://tinyurl.com/y4w9sxxs
#yingspastryguide #frenchpastrytasting #dégustation #tarteaucitron #lemontart #gillesmarchal
