For Marzipan Day on January 12, I am dedicating this blog post to the sweet almond candy. It might be an acquired taste because, believe it or not, not everybody likes marzipan. But for me, it is a special treat around Christmas when my mother sends me a package with German sweets and among them always little Niederegger Marzipanbrote or Marzipankartoffeln (marzipan loaves or marzipan potatoes). Some of them have nougat flavoring added, some pineapple, or liqueur.
Whatever your relationship with marzipan it is an interesting story how the candy made from almonds and sugar with a splash of rose water traveled from Persia (now Iran) to Europe to conquer the royal courts and became a special treat for the ‘normal’ people, too.
The Name "Marzipan"
As with many foods that have been around for a long time nobody knows who exactly invented it and where. And as with other food like the pretzel for example we also don’t quite know where the name came from.
Maybe the name Marzipan comes from Italian marci panis meaning Markusbrot (bread of Mark), or Persian marzban or märzäpan which means Markgraf (margrave), or maybe it’s the Greek for Mehlbrei (flour and water porridge), maza or massa.
Others speculate that marzipan took its name from the city of Martaban (now Mottama in Myanmar). The people of Martaban were known for their ceramic jugs and pots in which spices and sweets were kept. Eventually the martaban came to mean the jug or vessel itself in the Persian, Arabic and Urdu languages. Through trade the word and the jugs’ contents made its way into the Roman language during the Middle Ages and finally shifted its meaning from the jug to its sweet content: marzipan.
Legends around Marzipan
While it’s not clear where the word marzipan came from historians are in agreement that the candy originated in Persia. Almonds and sugar, the two main ingredients of marzipan, were not yet common in Europe and also very expensive. When the sweets arrived in Europe it was only for the royals and later for the upper class.
There are mainly three European cities known for their marzipan: Lübeck in Northern Germany, Kaliningrad in Russia (formerly Königsberg), and Toledo in Spain. And there are legends that explain the origin and the invention of marzipan linked to each city. The one most often heard is that the city was either facing a siege or a famine or famine because of a siege. Then bakers found almonds and sugar that had been forgotten and made ‘bread’ out of it and saved their citizens from starvation.
If you read my post about the origin of the pretzel or this article by Dayna Evans about the croissant the siege of a city and then the baking of marzipan, a pretzel, or a croissant seems to be a thread that runs through many stories and legends. How curious though how pastry and warfare are linked.
Medicine or Candy?
In the early days of marzipan (in Europe the Middle Ages), it was made by pharmacists and sold as medicine rather than as candy. It was used as an Allheilmittel (universal remedy) for strengthening the body over helping with constipation and gas to working against impotence. This however did not keep affluent people from serving it as dessert and sometimes decorating it with gold leaf.
In the 19th century then, the first marzipan factories were founded and one could order marzipan from any of the many marzipan makers (some cities had over 100) if one had enough money of course.
Niederegger Marzipan from Lübeck
Johann Georg Niederegger (1777-1856) was one of the first who specialized solely in marzipan production when he took over the confectionery from Maret in Lübeck in 1806. Niederegger Lübecker Marzipan is still one of the most known and high quality marzipan in the world.
The Niederegger marzipan has a higher almond content than most marzipans, two-thirds to be exact. They also produce the raw marzipan in-house in Lübeck with almonds imported only from the Mediterranean. The recipe hasn’t changed since Niederegger started the company and the secret ingredient that is added at the end of the process is only known by handful of people.
The following video (in German) gives a good overview of the Niederegger marzipan history and production. I can also recommend Niederegger – Süßes aus Liebe by Nathalie Klüver (see link at the bottom of the page).
Königsberger Marzipan and Mazapán de Toledo
While Lübecker Marzipan is a marzipan that has to be produced in Lübeck and is a protected designation of origin, Königsberger Marzipan can be made anywhere. Its characteristic is the brownish surface of the marzipan that is accomplished by flambéing it. The traditional Königsberger Marzipan contains added rose water.
Mazapán de Toledo is a protected designation of origin. Just like any marzipan it’s made from ground almonds and sugar. An egg whites and/or water is added. The dough is often molded into various shapes, brushed with egg yolk and broiled for a few minutes.
Homemade Marzipan
Marzipan is really not that hard to make at home. All you need are ground almonds (or almond meal) and powdered sugar. You can add rosewater, almond extract, and/or egg whites. But none of those things are necessary. I included links to different recipes in my references at the bottom of the post, and some videos (in English and German) in my youtube playlist.
You can use the marzipan in cookies and cake, or just eat it like is. You can cover it in chocolate or form it into figurines. The professional marzipan factories have molds for all shapes imaginable and people who are professional marzipan make up artists (Schminker). They are the ones who make marzipan fruit look like real fruit or who give your Glücksschweinchen (good luck pig) its eyes. It’ll keep for a couple weeks in the fridge if wrapped in ceran wrap and longer if you freeze it.
Here is the recipe I used by The Spruce Eats. My marzipan turned out a bit wet, so next time I might just omit the almond extract and the egg white altogether. I had some left-over dark chocolate from making buckeyes, so I used that chocolate to cover my marzipan balls and added almond slivers for a decorative touch.
