There are actually 2 main methods of making macarons – the Italian method and the French method (the third method is the Swiss which is not as popular).
Both methods yield essentially the same yummy and gorgeous looking concoction that most people will recognize as a macaron. However, there are a few subtle differences in the shape and taste between the two types. For the consumer, both types are equally delicious, where it really matters is which method you prefer and is able to master as a baker.
Techniques:
The name for the two different methods is derived from the meringue it utilizes – French or Italian. As you may know already, the making of a French meringue involves whipping uncooked egg whites and sugar to create a fluffy and airy base for your dessert. In contrast, the Italian method involves heating up the sugar with water making it into a syrup that is poured into the uncooked egg whites while beating it simultaneously. It is a little trickier to do and also requires a stand mixer. That’s why some people think that the French method is simpler and can actually be considered a more “kid-friendly” recipe.
Stability
Even though the Italian Method may be more complicated with more steps, it actually produces a meringue that is very stable to use during the tricky ‘macaronage’ stage when the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated together. Conversely, the French Meringue may be easier to master but it the macaronage stage is relatively more difficult because the meringue is so delicate. With the French meringue, it’s very easy to over mix the batter leading to less than desired results. The Italian method is the more popular method used in most bakeries due to its stability and visual appeal.
The two main undisputed authorities on French macarons are the famed bakeries of Laduree and Pierre Herme. In Laduree’s Macaron Book, the French method is used. Whereas, Pierre Herme uses the Italian method.
Appearance
In the Italian method, the cookies usually exhibit a more vertical rise whereas the French ones remains more like a flat disk. The baking temperature and the French meringue itself can affects the feet’s development causing their appearance to be more “ruffly” with bigger air pockets in the feet. In contrast, the feet to Italian macarons are usually more vertical and cleaner with delicate air pockets.
Taste
Besides the visual differences, Italian method macarons tend to be more crumbly/powdery while the French method macarons are less sweet, chewier and tastes more like almonds due to the lower ratio of sugar to almonds.
“Which method is better?”
This is purely a personal preference. When I started baking macarons, I really liked the Italian method for its stability and effectiveness but over time, I grew to LOVE the french method since it involved less steps and is generally just easier once you get the hang of it. Also, the chewier texture of the shell is heavenly and allowed the macarons to stay fresh longer and transport more readily.
Some bakers say that the Italian method contains “unnecessary” steps that result in the same thing. I really beg to differ as you can establish from all the points above. It cannot be denied that they are indeed different.
Which method do you prefer?
XOXO,
Mimi
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JS says
I prefer the French method. I’ve made thousands of them with no hollows. It’s the Italian method that gives me problems lol. I always have the same issue, I get that beautiful and stable Italian meringue but when it comes time for the macaronage I always undermix/under-deflate, because when I do deflate it enough I get a batter that is more similar to the French meringue method, so there’s really no point. At least that has been my experience so far. Even slightly under-deflating the Italian batter I get hollows. I also prefer the softer texture of the French meringue ones. My only gripe is that I wish I could find a way to lower the sweetness level in the shells but the sugars are an important part of the structure of the shell and every time I try decreasing the amount I get issues. I also read that using salt can mess with the protein structure so its not recommended. I think that if we were able to use salt in the batter, it would take these cookies to a whole other level of deliciousness, like what salt does for a good chocolate chip cookie.
So the solution for now is to use fillings that are less sweet (like 70% dark choc + sea salt instead milk chocolate for a ‘chocolate macaron’), or fillings that have an acidic bite or a salty element.
Mimi says
Thanks for your input. I really like hearing other points of view and insights. I do agree that the filling will add the flavors you need to the cookie. In fact, I don’t see anything wrong with just leaving the shell as is and get the “salt” taste just only from the filling. I believe it should yield the same results 🙂
XOXO,
Mimi
sudoit says
I… just use salt in the meringue, lol. It’s not given me any issues except where I put in ridiculous amounts, like over 15 g at once. I use superfine salt, but I think that normal salt might be okay? I also just put flavourings into my shells via concentrate oils, like the LorAnn ones, its not given me any issues. You definitely hit a lower limit in the amount of sugar that must be included in the batter, because of the chemistry, but between adding salt, or citric acid to ‘trick’ the tongue into not tasting the sugar as much I think that its not a problem.
The fillings are certainly a stronger component in the flavour profile, but I think flavouring the shells is pretty easy too.
Kristina Lushnikova says
Though I’ve had Italian style macarons only once, I feel that the French ones are much lighter and less dense and chewy than Italian. I found the Italian ones I had were quite dense and dry and has much more almond flour or almond taste than French.
Mimi says
Thanks for your input 🙂
XOXO, Mimi
Holly says
I prefer Italian. I continue to have hollow shells on french, and some even turn out without feet. (Same piping bag, random failure) its weird. The first time i tried Italian, i did get a lot of lopsided, but the texture was 100% better. Chewy, crisp, amazing and fluffy at the same time. While i do agree it was more labor intensive, i felt like it was funner for me and my failures really all come down to my darn oven temp and piping techniques. Ill get there. I dont have classes close by so im working my way through the internet until i am confident in my own skills.
Mimi says
Thanks for your input! It’s nice to hear about everyone’s experiences.
Happy Baking.
XOXO,
Mimi
Khoa Tran says
Hi Mimi,
I try to make Italian-method macarons recently, but my problem is all of them are lopsided (with many directions). I baked at 300F and lower to 260F at 10 mins and finished at 16 mins. I tested with silicone mat on center rack, baking pan with and without holes, but nothing improved, and now is my 6th batch! My meringue was stiff peak, I used oven thermometer, good consistency, piped properly. I just concerned ’bout my baking pan size (32x50cm) compared with oven rack size (38x56cm), is it too big for good hot air circulation? Please advise me. Thank you.
Mimi says
There might be several issues with your lopsidedness. In general, with the Italian meringue, you don’t need to beat until very stiff, that can cause them to be lopsided when baking. But I would recommend you check with the recipe writer because they might have special tricks or techniques to their own recipe.
xoxo,
Mimi
Macaron AdB says
Thank you for sharing this article! Very well explained and written. I am now waking on an article about making macarons at home, and I will add link to your article if you don’t mind 🙂 thanks again for this awesome article!