WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Do you know the difference between a macaroon and a macaron?
WPTV’s Christy Waite visited the GreenMarket in downtown West Palm Beach, where she learned the difference between the two and caught up with a popular local vendor making its return after a yearlong hiatus.
WATCH: Do you know the difference between a macaroon and a macaron?
The West Palm Beach GreenMarket is more than a weekend destination. For local entrepreneurs like Jonathan Aviv, it has also provided a place to grow a small business.
Aviv is the owner and master baker behind Macaroner, a small French macaron bakery offering both traditional, vegan, and gluten-free macarons in 24 flavors.
Aviv said he decided to turn his love for macarons into a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting the recipe right, however, took plenty of trial and error.
“It took a long time, thousands of macarons thrown away and wasted in the process, but eventually I cracked the code,” Aviv said.
For six years, Macaroner has called South Florida and Palm Beach County home. At Aviv’s booth, customers can find an assortment of colorful flavors, including lemon basil and salted caramel.
But Aviv said there’s one flavor he is especially proud of and that's his lavender honey. The lavender is a classic French flavor and he uses Mānuka honey from New Zealand.
After nearly four years at the GreenMarket, Macaroner took a yearlong hiatus to focus on wholesale business. This season, the bakery is back.
Aviv said he typically prepares between 1,000 and 2,000 macarons for a day at the GreenMarket so he doesn't run out of flavors.
Some flavors are especially popular with younger customers.
“The kids go for the fun and cute flavors like birthday cake, Fruity Tooty, strawberry hibiscus and Oreo cookie,” Aviv said.
Aviv said he is excited to be back at the GreenMarket, where his customers don’t just come from Palm Beach County.
“We get people from out of state who come here to purchase them. Then they take them home because they don’t have something like this where they live.”
