# Macaron mature procedure and storage issue



## macaron (Feb 14, 2013)

Hi all the macaron bakers out there !!! I need help !! 

i have a question about macaron storage and maturing and was wondering if anyone can help. 

my macarons:
I use French method 
I mostly use buttercream filling (egg white, butter and sugar) after filling them I put them in air tight glass container and into the fridge. I tried 24 hours, tried 48 hours, tried 3 days in the fridge to mature and then take them out for 2 hours/ 3 hours... to 10 hours before consuming, all these procedure still gave me a too soft of a macaron and no egg shell crunch when bitten into It does gets a little better if I take them out for 10 hours at room temperature but the buttercream seems to be melting and too warm.. at some point i feel the egg shell part is going stale 

is it the baking that gone wrong?

is it the storage process? everyone said to put them in air tight container would it be that the humitiy are trapped inside the container and makes the macaron too humid?
it just feels that my macaron are alittle sticky or there's a film around it that (not dry and fresh to the touch) they are nice out of the oven but once out of fridge or freezer it just feels sticky

should I leave the macaron unwrapped in the fridge to mature??


how do you mature them properly or store them properly so i get the crunch at first bite then the soft interior then to the filling


----------



## macaron (Feb 14, 2013)

And oh ya. Any suggestion is greatly appreciated. Thanks all


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Hard to tell if it is your recipe and/or technique.

Maybe you could share?

Pastry starts to loose integrity from the moment you remove it from the oven and place on the cooling rack.

Most items will be just fine stored in a bakery box or loosely covered container (and most leftovers, but not all, are better frozen than refrigerated).

This bake and into the fridge right away will cause the sugars in any pastry to absorb moisture (and wilt) from the humid fridge environment.

My advice to you is to just bake enough to last for a few days and then bake some more.

To be honest nothing I bake stays around long enough to go stale /img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif.

mimi


----------



## macaron (Feb 14, 2013)

thanks for your reply flipflopgirl

I used French method

143 almond flour

143 icing sugar

113 white sugar

100g egg white (cracked 5 days before)

5g egg white powder

I whip the egg white to stiff peak, and then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts. I add the gel colouring when I pour in the last portion of the dry ingrdients.  I guess I folded it roughly 50 to 60 time to get lava like

after piping them on silplate I bake them at 155C for 13mins. with heavy gauge sheet pan (I used to double stack the pan but it bakes looonger and brown easily ) so with 155 - 160 I don't get hollow or sticky bottoms assuming this is the right temperature for me

take them off the baking sheet when they are cool and start filling them with butter cream then I put them all in air lock glass container and put them in the bottom section of my fridge

(buttercream filing I used 150 g egg white, 1 block of butter (2 cups), 200 g sugar)

after 24 hours maturation I took them out of the fridge for 2 hours and it's chewy and if I take them out at room temperature for say 8 hours It will be soft .

I just can't get that crunch on the shell

what is the problem? should I not put them in air tight container? should I overbake the shell alittle more?   is it my filling that's too wet?   I m so confused

any suggestions?

thanks

florence


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

First let me apologize.

The addition of meringue powder was meant to read egg white powder.

Sometimes my proofreading is not the best.

Yeah.

ADD is my excuse lol.

Some folks are in the habit of maturing their baked, cooled and filled macs for some amount of time in order to get that thru and thru chewy texture.

Some even drip a bit of simple syrup on the feet to ensure this texture.

The amt of time required (I read it on the Internet so take it how you want) to reach maturity HAS to be 10 hours.

Or 18 or even 24 hours.

But this is for a chewy cookie not crisp.

However you get from point A to point Z in the creation of what YOU consider the holy grail of mac texture is up to you.

But like I pointed out before...the humid environment of a fridge (or an air tight container in or out of the fridge) will almost always cause anything with sugar in the make up to be almost soggy.

So if a crispy texture is what you seek try maturing (unfilled) the cookie component by pulling when done...cooling completely and then stick back in the almost cool oven to dry out for a while.

Like the little meringue "Forgotten" cookies.

Then store (not refrigerated) in a bakery box or loosely covered something.

mimi

This whole thread is kinda ironic.

I don't even LIKE macarons.

I do however like creating them.

Like playing in my mom's jewelry box.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

m.

Additional thought.

After the cookies are dry and crispy to your satisfaction you may find that the chewy (which is the hallmark of a traditional mac) texture has fled.

The buttercream or jam or whatever you choose for filling should help a bit.

Try wrapping (filled macs) in plastic wrap for just a tick.

Not too long or you will be back to the whole too chewy problem.

m.


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

oops.

The whole meringue powder issue is in a totally different thread.

Me thinks all this macaron traffic has something to do with the looming Valentine Day.

See?

Told you my ADD interfered with my proof reading.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif

mimi

My opinion of Vday?

Big profits but a bigger PITA.

m.


----------



## macaron (Feb 14, 2013)

hi flipflopgril

thanks sooo much for such a detail response ...
all these seems like too much science to me lol

so how long should i leave them in the cool oven? i am a home baker so i can only bake one batch at a time. do you think i can bake all 3 batches and then turn off the oven and put all the 3 batches together in the oven ? for how long should i leave it in?

so if i filled the shell and wrap it up with plastic wrap should i still leave it at room temp and not in the fridge?  will the filling turn bad??

cuz i once tried filling the shells and put them in airtight container out at room temperature for 2 days it seems to have a better texuture but i am afraid this might cause some stomachache lol

thanks so much


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

macaron said:


> hi flipflopgril
> thanks sooo much for such a detail response ...
> 
> all these seems like too much science to me lol
> ...


----------



## pjm333 (Nov 6, 2001)

Been using this recipe for years with great success, I use frozen egg whites/thawed right out of the fridge.

*Macaroons** 300 Degrees Convection Oven*

*2 # 10X*

*1 # Blanched Almond Flour*

*2 Cups egg whites*

*1 Cup Superfine Sugar*

*Coloring either dry or wet*

* Sift 10X & Almond Flour, Beat whites till stiff and add sugar & beat till sugar is dissolved & add color. Fold in 10X mixture in 3 stages, pipe out onto silpat & I let sit about 10 minutes and bake for 13 to 15 minutes. *




  








Chocolate Macaroons !.jpg




__
pjm333


__
Feb 13, 2014












  








mac 2.jpg




__
pjm333


__
Feb 13, 2014


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Would you mind sharing the brand of egg whites in a PM?
Since I retired (trying anyway lol) don't have need for all those yolks.
My family is getting pretty tired of custards and cream pies lol.

mimi


----------



## pjm333 (Nov 6, 2001)

All frozen whites are all the same, used many brands over the years with the same results.


----------



## LS50HifiSpeaker (Apr 1, 2011)

I strongly believe your macaroon leave at room temperature 

By science, from chilled product put to room temperature, it will starts to sweat

resulting none crunchy texture.Maybe if u consume directly after maturing in freezer/chiller it will still have crunch effect.

Anyway, Maturing process also very important, Even though it state air tight container " Moisture still will sip in and moistened your macaroon"

I lived in a country himidity is 50-60% and temperature is around 29-32C. once my macaroon is out, it will sweat and turn soggy


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

macaron...

I had lots of problems with my macarons until I read bravetart.com blog.

She gave me permission to stop all the madness and just bake.

A classic mac is supposed to be chewy and sweet and flavorful.

If you want them crispy leave out in a loosely covered whatever and eat them within a few days.

Air tight containers and the fridge (the whole maturation process is meant to develop a homogeneous chewy product)  will only make the crispy texture soft and chewy.

Sorry so snarky.

Was being pulled a zillion ways at once and you happened to be the one right in front of me when I snapped.

You know how up artistic types can be.

mimi


----------



## macaron (Feb 14, 2013)

~~Hi, First of all I would like to thank you all for providing me with valuable information I think I agree not putting in the fridge is a better method (at least for me) I m just not sure if I should put them in air tight container or just loosely covered pastry box at room temp. And how long can buttercream and ganache stay out at room temp without going stale. (I saw on some websites that it can stay out 2 to 3 days) mmm.. Munak991: how do you mature your macaron with this type of weather? I have gone through bravetart sites as well. I have to agree She’s amazing...and helped me in some way =)!!.. But I m confused .. then what is the correct texture of macaron? The ones i had here in Toronto are crunch shell , then soft airy texture and then the filling. My friends who tried pierre herme and laduree said it is also slight crisp then really airy inside. I m all confused with this correct texture thing @@@ Thank you all for your help!! =D


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

You are right about fillings.

The common ones (SMBC IMBC Ganache) are not guaranteed to be food safe when held at room temp.

Have you thought of this...prepare and store your fillings in fridge (short term) or freezer (longer amt time).

Of course it will take some additional steps to use....rewhip when brought back to room temp.

The shells can be frozen or just stored in a ziplock at room temp.... but be aware that they might be sticky.

Just dry out in a low oven if you want the crispy texture, fill and enjoy.

mimi

I have found that when my shells are hollow I will get the crunch then airy then chewy.

But since Bravetart gave me permission, I no longer freak when the dreaded hollows present themselves.

Goodness gracious they are meant to be eaten...

And if it tastes good despite being hollow, so be it!


----------



## deeznuts (Dec 23, 2015)

Hi i know this is a really old thread but maybe try a bit of simple syrup sprayed/brushed on the shells to mature to avoid the filling crisis?


----------



## Kasey (Sep 17, 2018)

macaron said:


> Hi all the macaron bakers out there !!! I need help !!
> 
> i have a question about macaron storage and maturing and was wondering if anyone can help.
> 
> ...


Hello! I know this is an old thread but I stumbled across it while researching the thawing process one day. I recently moved to Florida and started having the same issue (wasn't an issue in Wisconsin). What I've found works is to set my oven to "proof" at 75-80 and let them thaw in there for 30 minutes or so. The proof setting let's them thaw without the moisture in the air and the shell doesn't get tacky/wet.

If you don't have a proof setting maybe you could try thawing them at the lowest temp in your oven to help prevent them from absorbing too much moisture in the process?

Kasey


----------



## harpua (May 4, 2005)

I worked at a macaron factory and we baked/filled the Macs on the same day; they got safely packaged and put straight into the freezer until they were ready to sell them.


----------



## macbaker2011 (Apr 13, 2019)

Hi I've been baking macarons for over 7 years , mostly for wholesale. I use the Italian meringue recipe to make my shells. I freeze them right after filling them unless the flavor I make is the salted caramel. Then I have to give it time to mature at room temperature for a couple of days, sometimes 4 days. My macarons stay crisp on the shell, and have tender interiors. The fillings that makes the outside soggy are usually the fruit flavored ganaches and the curd filled ones that are kept in the fridge. If you freeze your macarons and let them sit at room temperature to thaw, they will develop sticky surfaces. So try defrosting them in the fridge instead. Humid weather is also one of the other reasons this happens. Summer is the worst so I warn my customers to keep their Macs from freezer to fridge in the summer.


----------



## aliouindie (Jul 23, 2019)

macaron said:


> Hi all the macaron bakers out there !!! I need help !!
> 
> i have a question about macaron storage and maturing and was wondering if anyone can help.
> 
> ...


I strongly believe your macaroon leave at room temperature


----------

