Macarons are a French dessert made from almond flour (sometimes with the addition of coconut shavings) and filled with a variety of creams. The dough is tinted with natural food dyes, and after baking, the finished products are left for 12 hours so that the cookies acquire a characteristic fragility. How to store macaroons and their halves – we will talk about this in our article.
Briefly, how much to store macaroons:
- The dessert can be kept in the refrigerator for 5 days.
- Halves without filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 30 days.
- Macaroons can be stored in the freezer for up to 90 days.
And now in more detail.
At room temperature
In France, macaroons and macarons are distinguished. The first is a well-known dessert of two colored halves with a cream filling, and the second is an airy almond-coconut cookie. At the same time, the rules and standards for how to store macaroons at home are the same.
Air halves serve as the basis for serving the cream with which they are soaked. If you store them in the open air for a long time, the cream will dry out, and the taste of the dessert will not be so rich. Therefore, one of the main conditions for storing macarons is a container with a lid that will protect the filling from drying out.
The best places to keep them fresh are:
- the upper shelf of the refrigerator;
- a cool, dark pantry;
- any other dark cool place.
Relative humidity for storage should be 70-75%.
If it is more moist, the dry dough will dehydrate and the dessert will not be so crispy. If it is drier, the filling will dry out.
At a temperature of 18-20 °C and at the indicated relative humidity, ready-made macaron halves without filling can be stored for a day. After that, they should be placed in a container and left for at least 12 hours in the refrigerator.
In the fridge
Immediately after baking, the finished halves are left to cool completely. In the process, they reach the consistency when the thinnest crispy crust forms on top with a tender middle. Only after that, the halves are filled with cream.
Interestingly, they become the tastiest on the third day.
That is why, when buying, ask for products that were made 72 hours ago. With proper storage, they will be soaked with cream as much as possible and will be juicy inside and crispy on top. If you want to eat now, then this is the best choice to enjoy the right taste of this exquisite dessert.
When buying for stock, you need to take fresh products. After purchase, they should be packed in a vacuum container or a tray that closes tightly. However, remember that on the 5th day after baking, they start to become dry.
Before serving, the dessert should be removed from the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
When cooking on your own, macarons should be stored under the following conditions:
- temperature 3-5 °C;
- humidity 70-75%.
If you order them by mail, you should ask for them to be packed hermetically. In winter, they retain their properties better, but in summer, you should choose special thermal containers for sending such pastries.
How to store blanks for macaroni
After cooking, the finished halves should be placed on a plate and cooled at room temperature. Then they can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen.
Without filling, they are stored in the refrigerator for a long time – up to 1 month in a tightly closed container. It can be a plastic container or a special bag with a zip fastener.
Half of the dessert can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months at a temperature of -18 °C and below. It is important that the container is hermetically closed without air access, otherwise the baked goods will get extraneous smells.
Thus, the shelf life of macarons before you fill them with cream is:
- 30 days at a temperature of 5 °C in a refrigerator;
- 90 days at a temperature of -18 °C and below in a freezer.