How to prevent light-colored macarons from browning?
I have a problem with baking yellow macarons, or any light coloured macarons.
The yellow (or any light colour) ones always brown, always!
I tried lowering the temperature, I bought the best colours I can get in the UK. The colours are powdered, to reduce the liquid content.
Does anyone have a method they could suggest that is fool proof.
Best Answer
As well as the previous answers and if not already doing so, try using beet sugar (e.g. Silver Spoon in UK) rather than cane (e.g. Tate Lyle in UK) as beet sugar takes a little longer to Brown.
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Quick Answer about "How to prevent light-colored macarons from browning?"
One of the most common reasons for macarons browning is that your oven's temperature is too high. If you want your macarons to stop turning brown, lower the baking temperature of your oven and keep them in there baking for a longer period of time to see if this corrects the issue.Why is my macaron Browning?
Why are the Tops of My Macarons Brown? Tops of macaron shells can become browned if the baking temperature is too high or it's too close to the heat source. It's very important to control the oven temperature properly to achieve the desired results.How do you get vibrant colors in macarons?
To get dark, vibrant colours, I've found it's best to add a heaped tablespoon of gel paste colour to the sugar syrup before cooking it, that way it doesn't affect the consistency of the macarons as any additional liquid is cooked out.How do I keep my macarons white?
Bake. Place the baking sheet with macarons on the middle rack. And place an empty baking sheet on top rack to shield the heat from above and to prevent excess browning. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for about 18-20 minutes.How do you make the perfect Colour macarons?
Gel food coloring is, in my opinion one of the best options to use for macarons. Gel food coloring is more concentrated, so you need less of it than water based food coloring, which makes it perfect for macarons. My favorite brand of gel food coloring is from Americolor, and my favorite kits are this one, and this one.4 tips to prevent macarons from browning + 2 ways to salvage browned macarons
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Answer 2
There are two types of browning, Maillard begins at around 140C and caramelisation at 180C.
Maillard needs protein and sugar. Caramelization is a sugar only reaction. Both are exothermic (from memory, could be wrong) and once started, the reaction generated heat will accelerate the browning. Alkaline condition will also promote caramelization. So watch out for baking soda and other alkaline ingredients that are not adequately neutralized by acidic ingredients.
There are bound to be proteins and sugar present in your dough. So, if possible keep your temperature (especially at hot spots in your oven) below 140C.
Answer 3
Bravetart wrote an article about this years ago, and noted that some coloring formulations don't play nicely with the oven. She suggests a few brands of gel pastes which work for her.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Polina Kovaleva, Ketut Subiyanto, SHVETS production