This is a frequently asked question, so why are they?
When attending markets and events, I often hear, “macarons are expensive” and yes, they are! Lets discover the sweet truth.
Macarons Are Expensive
And it is down to the artistry, the processes involved and the time to make them. They are a very tricky to make! The traditional macaron recipe is complicated and the techniques are hard to master. Macarons are:
· labour intensive
· high level of skill and expertise
· use high quality ingredients
· fragile
· have a short shelf life
· and not forgetting the branding.
Labour Intensive Production
Making macarons requires precision and have a meticulous production method with many different processes. Lets briefly go through each step. Make the meringue. As I make the meringue using the Swiss method which involves dissolving the sugar into the egg whites over a bain-maire. Once dissolved, add the syrup to your stand mixer to whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar together to form stiff peaks. Combine the sieved dry ingredients (almond flour and icing sugar). Gently fold the almond flour and icing sugar into the meringue, this is called the “macaronage”. This is key to the success of your macarons. If not followed correctly, the macarons may fail. It is all about timing and precision, ensuring the batter is ready for piping. It is the trickiest process and requires skill and time, contributing to higher costs.
Pipe the batter. Transfer your batter into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle and then pipe at 90° onto silicone mats on baking sheets in uniform shapes and sizes. I find if I don’t pipe at 90°, my macarons don’t form their unique shape and may end up lop sided and I cannot really use them. Resting the shells. Rest the shells for half an hour to allow a skin to form on the shells. Baking the shells. Bake the shells for 20 minutes, then remove from oven to cool for at least an hour. Baking in large quantities for fairs and events means that I have my ovens running for a long time increasing the cost of electric.
Make the chocolate ganache or other fillings. Combine the warm cream over chocolate letting it melt. Add some butter and then emulsify. Leave to set for a few hours or overnight. Jams, jellies, curds and caramels can take time to make and cool.
Fill the shells. Fill the macaron shells with chocolate ganache, buttercream, homemade caramels, curds, jams and jellies. Maturation. Store the filled macaron shells in an airtight container in the fridge for 24 hours to allow the flavours and textures to mature. It takes two days to deliver a batch of macarons fresh to your door.
Skill and Expertise
The delicate artistry in producing macarons of consistent quality and appearance is a labour of love and requires experience and skill. It takes a lot of practice with a lot of failed bakes.
Pastry chefs and bakers spend time perfecting their techniques to create the ideal texture, flavours and visual appeal. Expertise and craftmanship involved contributes to the cost.
High Quality Ingredients
Using the finest quality ingredients ensures great tasting, quality macarons.
Macarons are not your standard desserts where you only need some flour and sugar. As well as the shells, ganache, buttercreams, fruit compotes often require premium ingredients to achieve desired tasted and textures. Natural flavourings such as citrus fruit, berries, mango, passionfruit, pistachio paste and other specialist ingredients are also costly.
Switching to cheaper, poor-quality ingredients would make unappealing tasting macarons and not worth the effort that goes into making them.
Fragility and Shelf Life
Macarons being delicate are susceptible to damage and need handling with care during production, packaging, and transportation. Maintaining their delicate texture and shape requires additional attention to detail which adds to the overall cost.
The shelf life of a macaron is short compared to other baked goods necessitating quicker turnover and potential waste. This impacts on the price. When it comes to the packaging, even just plain boxes are expensive. Buying from a specialist packaging company isn't cheap. Also obtaining clamshell packaging which is perfecting for transporting macarons is proving to difficult.
Branding
Some macaron brands have built a reputation for high quality produces, unique flavours or artistic presentations. These brands often position themselves as luxury items, commanding a higher price tag due to their reputation and perceived value.
Sadly I cannot display any branding images from leading macaron brands as they are subject to copywrite!
It is important to note that the price of macarons may vary depending on where you shop. A small business is unlikely to have the capacity to make large quantities of macarons such as the likes the supermarket chains. Us small macaron bakeries pride ourselves on quality not quantity.
You may find larger scale bakeries are able to offer slightly cheaper macarons due to economies of scale. However, they could quite possibly be lower quality.
The cost is often reflective of the craftmanship, ingredients and expertise involved.
There you go, mystery debunked. If you are still not convinced, that is fine too. But you know what they say, “you get what you pay for”.
Buy from small businesses who will offer you only the finest.
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