Working Out and Eating In: Macaron Tips - Using Previously Frozen Egg Whites

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Macaron Tips - Using Previously Frozen Egg Whites

I made an important discovery today!

(I feel like I need a drum roll)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE MACARONS WITH PREVIOUSLY FROZEN EGG WHITES

Okay, maybe this isn't as important as I made it out to be. However, this is something that I had wondered about, and it wasn't all that clear to me when looking for answers online. I did so many searches asking "Can you make macarons or meringues from frozen egg whites?" There weren't many answers to my question, and any that I found were ambiguous.

I made a batch of lemon curd last month (it was so delicious), and ended up with a lot of extra egg whites. I knew I wouldn't have time to make macarons right at that moment, and I didn't want to throw them away. I knew I would be making macarons soon, and wouldn't be using the separated egg yolks. I decided right there that I was going to test out macarons with frozen egg whites, to see what happened.

Note: You CANNOT make macarons with egg whites from a carton - whether they have been frozen or refrigerated - it simply will not work.

I ended up with ~150 grams of leftover egg whites. Before I decided to freeze them, I stuck them in the refrigerator for 2 days. I labeled the top of the container so I knew how much I started with and when they were frozen, and stuck them in the freezer. Three weeks later, I moved them back to the fridge so they could slowly thaw. I left them there for 3 days, then the morning I was going to make macarons I pulled them out to warm up to room temperature. The normal 'aging' of egg whites for macarons had already taken place in both the fridge and the freezer, so I didn't leave them out at room temperature for an extended period of time.

At this point, I weighed the egg whites again. They were still roughly the same weight. I was making several small batches, so I divided them into separate bowls. Once all of my ingredients had come to room temperature and I had (triple) sifted the almond meal, I was ready to test it out! I honestly had so much on my mind with the three different batches I was making, I kind of forgot about the frozen egg whites, and that it was possible this wouldn't work. Lo and behold, they whipped up perfectly. Seriously, there was zero difference from any other time I have whipped egg whites. They formed stiff peaks without any issue, the macaron batter was perfect, and they baked up really nicely. I had some ruffling with the feet in the blue macarons, but I think that was a combination of over-mixing and an oven temperature that was a bit too high, rather than anything due to the egg whites. The red macarons were perfection. (I will be posting soon how to make these adorable Sesame Street macarons.)

So, conclusion - If you have leftover egg whites, just stick them in the freezer! Make sure that you have no trace of yolk in your whites, and that they are in an airtight container. You don't want them to pick up any weird smells from the freezer. A few days before you plan to use them, move them to the fridge to thaw. Several hours before you make macarons, pull them out and let them warm up to room temperature. After that, continue on with your recipe just like normal!