Maturity

A lot of people say that macarons are like women. They're beautiful to look at, but they take a lot of work to look so good. And they definitely have an evil side that is unleashed when they're not treated properly.

But today, I've come to the conclusion that they're more like little boys. Girls in elementary schools around the world usually HATE how they're treated by little boys. The little critters like to pull hair, roll in dirt, pull pranks - and be really annoying in general. These little girls usually don't understand that these boys are just seeking their affection, but who wants a snotty little brat for a boyfriend at that age? NO ONE. That's why girls wait until the boys mature into well-behaved young gentlemen.

Where am I going with this? Well, it's custom to let the macaron sit and "mature" for a day, in order to meld the flavors of the shell and frosting together. In fact, many a pâtisserie sell their macarons only after they have matured for a few days. Selling them right off the baking sheet is a no-no. Unfortunately, I've been committing a crime because I've been eating them fresh out the oven. And you know what? They're delicious. Then I ate one of these right out of the oven yesterday:

Pistachio macarons with chocolate ganache

I spent A LOT of time working on these. My dad and I shelled and skinned what seemed like hundreds of pistachios for a few hours, and then I had to carefully make the batter. After all the work I did, I must have overmixed the batter because my macarons came out hollow and took forever to bake all the way through. Then I added the chocolate. And then...

...meh.

All of my hardwork produced mediocre macarons. They were too crispy. They weren't very soft and chewy in the center. And there was too. much. chocolate. I love chocolate, but the ganache really took away from the exquisite pistachio taste that should have been there.

...but then I grabbed one about a half hour ago, approximately 28 hours after baking. And it was magical.

The texture was PERFECT. Thin and crispy shell, chewy and moist in the center. And the taste? It was to die for.

Maturity, folks. It does wonders. Pierre Hermé doesn't let his macarons sit around for nothing.

Lesson learned.

Happy baking :)
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