Parfait Day

What the day is

Parfait Day is observed on November 25. The word means perfect in French, and it names two desserts that share almost nothing beyond the name.

Origin and background

The French parfait is a frozen custard developed in the late nineteenth century. Egg yolks are whipped with hot sugar syrup until thick and pale, cream is folded through, and the mixture is frozen in a mold without churning. The high proportion of fat and sugar keeps the ice crystals small enough that churning is unnecessary, which is the technical trick the whole dessert rests on. It is turned out and sliced, closer to a semifreddo than to anything served in a glass.

The American parfait is a different object entirely: layers built up in a tall footed glass, originally ice cream with fruit, syrup and whipped cream, and later the yogurt and granola version that turned the word into a breakfast item. In American usage the glass is what earned the name, because the visible layers were the point, which is why a tall parfait glass is a distinct piece of glassware.

Neither version has much claim on the other and both are still made, so a French menu and an American menu using the same word will produce entirely unrelated plates.

The layered form does exploit something real. Alternating a soft component with a crisp one keeps each spoonful from going monotonous, which is why granola in yogurt works, and why it stops working the moment the granola has gone soft.

How to take part

• Build one with real contrast: something tart, something creamy, something crisp.
• Add the crisp layer at the last moment rather than in advance.
• Use unsweetened yogurt and let the fruit do the sweetening.
• Try the French version if you never have. It is a different dessert and worth the effort.
• Use a tall narrow glass, which is the only reason the layers read as layers at all.