Do you remember your first croissant? I'm sure mine was the Pillsbury kind that came in a tube. Although they had been Americanized (in so many ways) and called crescents. I loved to peel back the pre-rolled, pre-cut dough and roll the little triangles. Just out of the oven they were gooooood.
My first "real" croissant must have been somewhere in suburban northern California where I grew up. Maybe in my high school french class on one of the "culture" days our french teacher brought them in from one of the french bakeries in the bay area.
On one of my early trips to France from Boston I bought a cycling magazine for a colleague who was a fanatic and whose parents were french. It was an full spring weekend and E and I walked down to his (now my) village and bought newspapers and magazines at the new stand and sat in the sun on the village square with our coffee and croissants. My colleague later told me that she practically liked the flaky crumbs out of the crease in the pages.
Are croissants that much better in France? Yes, they are. Just like you can't get a good muffin in France.
Boo had his first croissant a couple of months ago and he shares with us when we go down the village on the weekends. It was one of the first things that we did when I realized that he is growing up in France. He is French! He had his first croissant at an age when he won't remember. He will only know our pathetic attempts at muffins.
Comments