Macarons: I can finally eat them

For a pastry that is so iconically French, you might be surprised to know that macarons originated in Italy. While not entirely the macaron we are used to today, they were made by the private cooks of Catherine de Medici as early as 1533. When Catherine departed Venice to marry Henry II, future king of France, her cooks came with her. The macaron went through a few “alterations” to become what so many people go crazy for today. One long defining characteristic of macarons has been its use of almond flour. Almonds were easily accessible when macarons were created, from a flavor perspective they are neutral in flavor and their flour won’t form gluten and so the macaron is able to retain its light texture. The downside of the insistence on almond flour is that those of us with nut allergies can’t eat them. I have found a way around that.

Going through culinary school included two sections of pastry instruction, both of which included macarons for some but not all of us. I wasn’t lucky enough to get to learn them so I had to go the trial and error route on my own at home. I have to say, macarons turned out to be as challenging to master as I’ve heard. Every time I baked a batch I wondered what do they actually taste like, but couldn’t snack on one. I finally made my mind up to find a solution and after much looking came across using pumpkinseeds. Once pulsed in a spice grinder and then sieved, pumpkin seed flour has the exact same texture as almond flour. From there it’s merely a matter of whether you use the French meringue or the Italian meringue approach to creating your macaron paste. With a French meringue the granulated sugar is dusted into the aerating egg whites while using an Italian meringue involves creating a simple syrup, boiling it to about 240°, then streaming that into your egg whites. The recipe I currently use involves a French meringue. I think you’ll agree that nut free macarons can be a great success.

Developing consistency at macarons has been a challenging, sometimes frustrating process but it’s a good mirror for life as a culinarian. Nothing worthwhile comes easy! Until next time guys!