A truly fine, fresh croissant is buttery enough (photo © La Rose Noir).

Is there a person reading this who does not enjoy a buttery croissant? (Alas, not all are made with butter…so avoid buying croissants at inexpensive delis, and eagerly seek out new bakeries to see what they have to offer.)

Our only complaint is that the flaky puff pastry that is so delightful in the mouth invariably ends up all over our place setting and our clothing. We admire people who can eat one neatly.

A good croissant already contains so much butter that it needs no more embellishment. If you get one from a top baker who uses the best butter, enjoying each bite without the interference of additional butter or jam is, in our opinion, the way to go. But if you love your jam or honey, we wouldn’t deny you.

Making croissants by hand is very labor-intensive. Much of what is available today is factory-made, pre-formed and frozen, delivered to the bakery, food store, or restaurant, and “baked on our premises.”

In the 1970s, the croissant evolved into trendy fast food, filled with everything from broccoli to ham and cheese (and in many cases, lowering the quality of the puff pastry itself with margarine or other butter substitute).

> The history of croissants and croissant recipes.