Artisan Pastry or Industrial Pastry
Chocolate fondants, lemon meringue pies, or the famous strawberry charlotte. So many delights to enjoy as a snack, after a meal, or during celebrations. Large chains as well as local pastry shops compete in creativity to offer consumers cakes that are ever more beautiful and deliciously good. The choice is such that we end up feeling a bit lost. Artisan pastries or industrial pastries: where is the best place to get our treats?
Industrial Cakes in "Artisan" Pastries
Do you regularly visit your local pastry shop hoping to taste delicious homemade cakes? Be aware, your usual spot might not be offering original creations. It is well known that in France, more than 30% of pastries sold come from factories that resemble cake machines more than anything else. You may not have noticed, as the product remains good and does not harm health. But you will have spent a little more, thinking you were supporting craftsmanship. There is deception. How can you recognize artisan pastries from industrial pastries?
What is an Industrial Pastry?
Let's break the taboo, the so-called artisan pastry in your neighborhood may not entirely produce its cakes. Several reasons can explain this choice: lack of skills or simply economic considerations. Since the seventies, some pastry chefs have not hesitated to obtain finished or semi-finished products from industrial suppliers. These include ready-to-use pastry kits that only need to be assembled. Raw or pre-cooked tart bases, powdered mixes for making creams or substituting egg whites... so many low-cost means that save precious time. Once the ingredients are in hand, the process remains relatively simple: bake the preparation before carefully finishing it. To further lighten the workload of pastry chefs, industrial suppliers also offer a whole range of ready-to-fill sets, pots of flavored fillings with chocolate or lemon, and even individually vacuum-packed pastries.
Some merchants go even further, sourcing completely frozen pastries from industrial suppliers. These boxes of pre-made cakes, sold in quantities of 10 to 30, require no special arrangement. They are taken out of the freezer where they are stored a few hours before the store opens. And there you go! In the display. Unseen, unnoticed: perfect artisan-labeled pastries sold at a high price. We admit that some industrial suppliers offer quality products made from noble materials. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them strive to cut costs so much that you will find surprising ingredients in these mass-market recipes. Synthetic colorings, preservatives, or additives. Everything is used to ensure the durability and flavor of the product. Certainly, the reasoning is understandable, but who wants to ingest a large quantity of these preservatives and others in supposedly artisan pastries?
What Does the Law Say About This?
You bought an artisan cake that turned out to be an industrial pastry. It's sad, but from a legal point of view, there has been no fraud or other violation of the law. While bakeries are required to prepare and bake bread in the store's kitchens to benefit from the bakery label since 1998, the legislation is much more lenient regarding pastries. Anyone with a pastry chef diploma is entitled to open their own pastry shop. They are then free to develop their own recipes or, on the contrary, to sign a collaboration with industrial suppliers to sell pre-made industrial cakes or kits to assemble. They can also start by creating and baking their own cakes and then switch to the other method if they eventually lack staff, working time, or funds. You will understand, if you are not careful, you might miss out on the real taste of homemade cakes.
Artisan Pastries
It's no longer a secret: quality comes at a price. Artisan pastries perfectly illustrate this point. All the creations displayed in these stores' windows inevitably cost more than their industrial counterparts. But this is easily explained. To make a delicious cake visually appetizing and intrinsically good, qualified staff with a certain skill handling quality ingredients is a must. Needless to say, the result is stunning: homemade cakes that are unlike any other. These original and completely new recipes promote local craftsmanship.
In many cases, the range of choices for artisan pastries remains limited. However, as you will surely not find these cakes elsewhere, you will benefit in the end. Gone is the feeling of déjà vu that doesn't leave you throughout your tasting. Instead, you will enjoy a 100% original presentation that enhances fresh flavor combinations. Moreover, artisan pastries testify to the expert's touch. Their irregularities make them perfectly imperfect. Enough to justify their costs.
In conclusion, both artisan and industrial pastries use freezing methods. The former use this process to streamline their production and thus avoid unnecessary losses. The process follows strict rules aimed at preserving the maximum, if not the entirety, of flavors by adopting, among other things, a continuous cold chain. The latter use this method for commercial purposes, without necessarily placing taste at the center of their priorities.