Marzipan
by Gail Lang

Pastry chefs all over the world have used marzipan for centuries. It is a favored delicacy found in many countries that can be used in baking and in covering and filling cakes, cookies, breads, tortes, and other delicacies. Marzipan is a sweet, pliable mixture of almond paste and sugar. It is often tinted with food coloring and molded into a variety of shapes such as fruits, animals, flowers and holiday shapes. During the Christmas holiday season it is a favorite decoration as well as a filling in numerous delicacies.

There are many stories about the origin of marzipan. According to Werner, a Master Baker from Germany, marzipan was created several hundred years ago. There was a great drought in Italy and almonds were the only substantial crop to survive. Consequently, people learned many new ways to use and eat almonds. They made almond bread, almond pie, almond soup and almond pastries. Somewhere during those times someone created marzipan. People liked it so much that it flourished even after the famine past. Travelers carried the recipe from one city to another, eventually it reached Lubeck and Hamburg, Germany. Marzipan is still made there today. The marzipan made in Lubeck is based on an old traditional recipe and is considered the finest marzipan in the world. When you buy marzipan marked "Made in Lubeck" or "Lubecker Marzipan", you can be sure you are getting the finest product money can buy!

Almond paste can be made by blanching the almonds yourself. Since many fine grocery stores carry blanched almonds it is no longer necessary for you to do this step yourself. To create the marzipan, take an amount of almond paste (according to your needs) and use half that amount of powdered sugar for the mix. Spread the almond paste on a marble slab, then sprinkle the sugar over the almond paste and cut it in with a large knife. Continue to cut until it is completely mixed, never touching it with your hands. When it is well mixed, you can shape it or use in other recipes. Both almond paste and marzipan keep well if stored properly. If not needed, seal well, and freeze. To keep the almond paste from oiling while combining it with the sugar, handle the mix as little as possible.

The best marzipan recipes use a two to one ratio of almonds and sugar. The old masters don't consider a mix that contains more than half sugar as true marzipan. A trick used to make really great marzipan is to use 1 bitter almond to every 100 good almonds in the almond mix. If you've ever tasted a bitter almond, you understand how only one can have a serious effect. The smallest taste is an extremely gross experience you won't soon forget. A bitter almond uniquely alters the recipe and is always used in the best almond paste used in marzipan. One note about bitter almonds: do not be eat them in large amounts because they contain to trace amounts of cyanide.

Next time you make stollen, try putting a log of marzipan inside each roll instead of the sugar/cinnamon mix in our recipe. You will be wonderfully pleased.