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!

Ingredients for my 3 batches
The egg whites are in the lidded round tupperware containers

Fluffy egg whites!

Shiny and smooth, right after being piped

The sugar on top was for the particular kind of macarons I was testing out today

After the decorations have been piped on and the batter has rested - see how it is no longer shiny?

After baking - smooth tops, nice feet - Perfection!

Spartacus-Style Exercise Circuit, Version 3

Based on my procrastination from last week and a busy schedule this week, I ended up doing similar workouts only a few days apart. After doing my last workout on Sunday, I had wondered if I was getting stronger, or if my workout was easier. I can definitively say that Sunday's workout was just a bit easier, since I had a rough time getting through today's!

I took the first version of the spartacus-style workout and modified it slightly - I added a 7th exercise and reduced the total rounds from 4 to 3. Adding just one more exercise to the circuit makes it surprisingly more difficult! I'm still doing the 'easier' version, with 45 seconds of exercise.

For anyone new here, I explained this style of workout here.
Choose weights that you can comfortable work with, something you could do 15-20 reps with.
For me (and the selected exercises), light = 5 lbs, medium = 10 lbs, heavy (kbs) = 25 lbs.
Use whatever works best for you, and feel free to change up the weight if it felt too light or too heavy in the first round.

I want to point out that keeping an eye on the clock during your rest between rounds is very important. You will be tired after the end of each round, and you get a lot more out of this workout if you don't give yourself enough time to 100% recover. Keeping your rest time low will also make this workout a lot more efficient!

Spartacus-Style Exercise Circuit, Version 2

I was supposed to do this workout on Thursday, but I was tired when I came home and decided to do yoga instead. Not that my yoga class was an easy one - I just didn't have the energy to do anything that was cardio-based.

Friday and Saturday I came up with excuses as well, but on Sunday, I finally did it! I don't know if it was a slightly easier workout than my last one, or if I'm in slightly better shape, but it wasn't as strenuous. I still felt like I got a great workout, so I'm happy with it. (Note - I did the 'easy' version of 45 seconds on, 15 seconds off.)

For anyone new here, I explained this style workout in my last workout post here. Choose weights that you can comfortably work with, something you could do 15-20 reps with. For me, light = 5 lbs, medium = 10 lbs, heavy (kbs) = 25 lbs. As I get back some of my strength, this might increase. Use whatever works best for you.

Spartacus-Style Exercise Circuit

It's been a really long time, but I'm going to share with you the workout I did today!

I used to share my workouts all the time. If you look back to posts from several years ago, I basically shared every workout I did. I did it for many reasons - it held me more accountable, since I could very clearly see if there was a hiatus in activity. It logged what I did, so I could see my progress. I had actual workouts to fall back on if I were too busy to come up with something. Finally, I hoped that maybe some of the workouts I came up with would be helpful for someone else.

Once I got busy with grad school, writing up these posts began to feel like a chore. I also stopped working out as regularly, so I didn't feel like I had much to add. When I picked up yoga again this past year, there wasn't much I could post about since I was following online yoga classes from a site that requires a log-in.

For anyone who is new to the workout portion of my blog - I have a few styles of workouts I really like, and this 'Spartacus-Style Workout' is one of them. This workout originally came from Men's Health, and was based on the TV series. It is a circuit-style workout, with different 'stations' where you perform an exercise. You typically spend 40-60 seconds at each station, then you have a 15-20 second rest period to get to the next one. After you complete all of the exercises, you rest for a few minutes and then do the whole thing again, as many times as you can manage. The standard set has 10 exercises, and with the 60 sec on, 15 sec off, it takes 12.5 minutes to complete one round. With a 3 minute rest between rounds, you can go 3x through in under 45 minutes, making this a pretty efficient workout, and hard-core workout.
(See my 'workout basics' page for more info, and other workout styles)

I'm just getting back into the swing of things, so I modified this to match my current ability. I decided to do fewer exercises, with shorter 'on' intervals. I also did 4x through instead of the standard 2-3, because it only had 6 exercises total. It was hard! I really need to do these workouts more often.

I'm not listing weights for the DBs and KBs that I used, since it will depend on your strength. Generally, anything that is just shoulders will require a much lower weight. When using KBs, you can use a much higher weight than you would with DBs, especially when doing swings. For me, light = 5 lbs, medium = 10 lbs, heavy = 25 lbs.