Secrets of Macarons

secrets macaroons final cvr

Anyone who has been glued to the TV this year with MasterChef, knows about macarons. We now know they are not the coconut meringues our grandmas made, and we know that there are several steps and a good deal of knowhow attached.

We also know they can make grown cooks weep.

Now this pretty little book has come along to demystify everything. We are told at the outset that this delicacy is yet another one credited to Catherine de' Medici who took the concept (or maybe the pastry chef) with her when she married and moved to France from Italy in the 17th century.

Even if you knew that, you may not have known that macarons were originally regarded as a form of pasta.

The macaron's deceptively simple list of ingredients - little more than egg white, sugar and almonds - make it something we could all attempt, often without even a trip to the shops. And this book carefully, painstakingly is just the one to take you through every step from ingredients and techniques to through classic macarons (chocolate, caramel, lemon and more) to specialty ones that might just make your reputation - think, hazelnut, honey and walnut, for starters.

Master these, and you might become the Adriano Zumbo of your street. Licorice macarons, anyone? Lime and chilli, perhaps?

Secrets of the Macarons, José Maréchal, December 2010, hardcover, Murdoch Books, rrp A$19.95 ISBN 978-1-74266-128-5 (hbk.)

NATIONAL MACARON DAY

Australia's inaugural National Macaron Day is set for November 6th, 2011. Melbourne is hosting a contest which will include entries in The Classic Signature, The Chocolate and the Designer Macaron, resulting in one patissier being hailed as the creator of Melbourne's Best Macaron.

This event is the brainchild of food designer, photographer and blogger, Linda Kowalski, who earlier this year underlined Melbourne's love affair with macarons. A Mini Cooper car was covered entirely with 3,000 macarons and driven around the CBD and then displayed at secret locations by the Melbourne Macaron team of food bloggers and volunteers.

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