Supermarket Macarons...

I started making macarons for home consumption about 5 years ago, because if you wanted a macaron in Melbourne, your only choice was a stale, hard and crunchy one from Laurent.

Yesterday, as I wandered through the aisles of my two local supermarkets, I realised how much things have changed.

I found (in the pie section, strangely) a box of macarons - imported from France, with an expiry date of the 12th of Feb (by which time the macarons would be hard enough to crack a tooth, no doubt)

Then, whilst walking in the freezer section, I come across this: (surely it just tastes like passionfruit ice cream?)

Then, after having the "don't knock it till you've tried it" line thrown in my face, I decided to give in and try the Donna Hay Almond and Chocolate Macaron packet mix and see how it went.

Considering this packet mix is made with powdered egg whites alone, I wasn't entirely convinced it would work. Needless to say, it didn't...

Not only were the almonds so coarse that the macarons were bumpy in appearance, and the egg whites such a strange consistency that they were almost impossible to pipe, but the instructions are misleading.

If you thought that "dropping spoonfuls" of batter onto a baking tray was going to result in uniform round macarons that look like the ones on the front of the box, forget it! I piped mine but still ended up with a tray of dud macarons which had soft tops you could push your finger through.

I didn't bother sandwiching the macarons as I couldn't think of anyone who would want to eat soggy macarons!

So in conclusion: now I have tried it, I can knock it, and I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting $7.95 on a packet.