Marzipan
Encyclopedia
Marzipan is a confection
consisting primarily of sugar
and almond meal
. Persipan
is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels. Many confectionery products sold as marzipan are made from less expensive materials, such as soy paste and almond essence.p. 594 German marzipan is made by grinding whole almonds with sugar and partially drying the paste, and French marzipan is made by combining ground almonds with sugar syrup. p. 484 Some marzipan is flavored with rosewater
. Spanish marzipan is made without bitter almonds.p. 288
It is often made into sweets
: common uses are marzipan-filled chocolate
and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It is also rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cake
s, primarily birthday and wedding cake
s and Christmas cake
s. This use is particularly common in England
, on large fruitcakes. Marzipan (or almond paste
) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen
. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day
. Marzipan is also used in Tortell
, and in some versions of king cake
eaten during the Carnival
season. Traditional Swedish Princess Cake
is typically covered with a layer of marzipan that has been tinted with pale green.
, particularly in Palermo
, marzipan (marzapane) is often shaped and painted with food colorings to resemble fruit — Frutta martorana
— especially during the Christmas
season and on Il Giorno dei Morti (All Souls' Day) on November 2. May 9 and 10 are also special days for eating marzipan in Sicily
. In Portugal
, where the confection has been made by nuns since olden times,p. 356 traditional marzipan (maçapão) fruit shaped sweets made in the Algarve region are called morgadinhos. There are other regions, as Toledo
in Spain
in which marzipan is shaped into simple animal shapes, and usually filled in with egg yolk
(yema) and sugar
. In Greece
and Cyprus
, marzipan is made in a variety of shapes and sizes and is almost always left white. In the islands of the Aegean
in particular, white marzipan is considered a wedding treat and is served to guests at wedding feasts. In Latin American cuisine
, marzipan is known by the Castillian word of mazapán and is also traditionally eaten at Christmas
, though "Mazapán" is generally made with peanuts in place of almonds. In Mexico
, it is often hand made as an artisan treat with either peanuts, pistachios or pine nuts. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Marzipan figures are given as presents to children during Saint Nicholas' Eve
. In Germany
, it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a pig
as new year presents, known as a "Glücksschwein" (lucky pig). In Geneva
, a traditional part of the celebration of L'Escalade
is the ritual smashing of a chocolate cauldron filled with marzipan vegetables, a reference to a Savoyarde siege of the city which was supposedly foiled by a housewife with a cauldron of boiling soup. In India
, a similar traditional sweet Kaju Barfi is made of cashew nuts, sugar and cream.
In the Middle East, marzipan (known as lozina, which is derived from the word لوز lawz, the Arabic word for almonds) is flavored with orange-flower water and shaped into roses and other delicate flowers before they are baked. Marzipan can also be made from oatmeal, farina, or semolina.p. 245
In the Indian state of Goa
, the Goan Catholic dish Mazpon replaces almonds with cashew nuts. In the Philippines, mazapán de pili (Spanish for "pili marzipan" is made from pili nut
s.
There are proposed two lines for its origin; they are not necessarily contradictory and may be complementary, as there have always been Mediterranean trade and cooking influences. In both cases, there is a reason to believe that there is a clear Arabic influence for historical reasons (both regions were under Muslim control). Other sources establish the origin of marzipan in China, from where the recipe moved on to the Middle East and then to Europe through Al-Andalus
.
) and to have been introduced to Europe through the Turks, there is some dispute between Hungary
and Italy
over its origin. Marzipan became a specialty of the Baltic Sea
region of Germany
. In particular, the city of Lübeck
has a proud tradition of marzipan manufacture (Lübecker Marzipan
(PGI
)). The city's manufacturers like Niederegger
still guarantee their marzipan to contain two thirds almonds by weight, which results in a juicy, bright yellow product of highest quality. Historically, the city of Königsberg
in East Prussia
was renowned for its marzipan production. Today, the term Königsberger Marzipan still refers to a special type of marzipan in Germany.
In Sicily
it was (1193) known as panis martius or marzapane, i.e., March Bread.
. In Toledo
(850-900, though more probably 1150 during the reign of Alfonso VII) this specialty was known as Postre Regio instead of Mazapán) and there are also mentions in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
of an almond paste eaten during Ramadan
and as an aphrodisiac.
Mazapán is Toledo's most famous dessert, often created for Christmas, and has PGI status. Almonds have to be at least 50% of the total weight, following the directives of Mazapán de Toledo regulator counseil.
Another idea to support this line is the important tradition of another Spanish almond-based Christmas confectionery, the turron
.
Under EU law
, marzipan must have a minimum almond oil content of 14% and a maximum moisture content of 8.5%. Optional additional ingredients are rosewater
, honey
, pistachio
s, preservative
s, and sometimes hazelnut. In the U.S., marzipan is not officially defined, but it is generally made with a higher ratio of sugar to almonds than almond paste
. One brand, for instance, has 28% almonds in its marzipan, and 45% almonds in its almond paste. However, in Sweden and Finland almond paste refers to a marzipan that contains 50% ground almonds, a much higher quality than regular marzipan. In Germany, Lübecker Marzipan
is known for its quality. It contains 66% almonds.
The German name has largely ousted the original English name marchpane with the same apparent derivation: "March bread." Marzapane is documented earlier in Italian than in any other language, and the sense "bread" for pan is Romance. The origin could be from the Latin term "martius panis", which means bread of march. However, the ultimate etymology
is unclear; for example, the Italian word derives from the Latin words "Massa" (itself from Greek Μάζα "Maza") meaning pastry and "Pan" meaning bread, this can be particularly seen in the Provençal massapan, the Portuguese maçapão (where 'ç' is an alternative form for the phoneme
'ss') and old Spanish mazapan - the change from 'ss' to 'z' in Latin words was common in old Spanish and the 'r' appeared later.Though, it could also be derived from martis pan, bread of March. Among the other possible etymologies set forth in the Oxford English Dictionary
, one theory proposes that the word "marzipan" may be a corruption of Martaban, a Burmese
city famous for its jars.
The Real Academia Española
suggests the idea of the Spanish word mazapán to be derived from the Hispanic Arabic بسمة pičmáṭ, which is derived from the Greek παξαμάδιον.
Another source could be from Arabic اوثابان mawthaban "king who sits still." Partridge’s Origins, a usually trustworthy etymological dictionary, follows this line of thought. The Arabic, Latinized as matapanus, was used to describe a Venetian coin depicting an enthroned Christ the King. These coins were stored in ornate boxes. From about the fifteenth century, when the coins were no longer in circulation, the boxes became decorative containers for storing and serving luxury sweetmeats. One such luxury that crept into the box in the sixteenth century is the now-famous almond-flavoured marzipan, named (at least proximately) after the box in which it was stored.
However, if marzipan has its origin in Persia, it is not unlikely that the name may come from Marzban
(in Persian: مرزبان, derived from the words Marz مرز meaning "border" or "boundary" and the suffix -ban بان meaning guardian), a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire
of Persia (Iran) between 3rd and 7th centuries CE.
It is also a possibility that the origin of this dessert and the origin of the term come from different geographical places.
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
consisting primarily of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and almond meal
Almond meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds , whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds...
. Persipan
Persipan
Persipan is a material used in confectionery. It is similar to marzipan but apricot or peach kernels are used instead of almonds. Persipan consists of 40% ground kernels and 60% sugar...
is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels. Many confectionery products sold as marzipan are made from less expensive materials, such as soy paste and almond essence.p. 594 German marzipan is made by grinding whole almonds with sugar and partially drying the paste, and French marzipan is made by combining ground almonds with sugar syrup. p. 484 Some marzipan is flavored with rosewater
Rosewater
Rose water or rose syrup is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals. Rose water, itself a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume, is used to flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and...
. Spanish marzipan is made without bitter almonds.p. 288
It is often made into sweets
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
: common uses are marzipan-filled chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It is also rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s, primarily birthday and wedding cake
Wedding cake
A wedding cake is the traditional cake served to the guests at a wedding reception after a wedding. In modern Western culture, it is usually a large cake, multi-layered or tiered, and heavily decorated with icing, usually over a layer of marzipan or fondant...
s and Christmas cake
Christmas cake
Christmas cake is a type of fruitcake served at Christmas time in the UK, Ireland, Japan, Philippines and many Commonwealth countries.A Christmas cake may be light or dark, crumbly-moist to sticky-wet, spongy to heavy, leavened or unleavened, shaped round, square or oblong as whole cakes, fairy...
s. This use is particularly common in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on large fruitcakes. Marzipan (or almond paste
Almond paste
Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar, typically 50-55%, with a small amount of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added to bind the two ingredients...
) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen
Stollen
A Stollen is a loaf-shaped cake containing dried fruit, and covered with sugar, powdered sugar or icing sugar. The cake is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season, when called...
. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
. Marzipan is also used in Tortell
Tortell
right|thumb|A Tortell de Reis This size, approx. 50 [[Metre#SI_multiples|cm]] diameter, usually serves 8 people.Tortell is a Catalan typically O-shaped pastry stuffed with marzipan, that on some special occasions is topped with glazed fruit. It is traditionally eaten on January 6 , at the...
, and in some versions of king cake
King cake
A king cake is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras / Carnival...
eaten during the Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
season. Traditional Swedish Princess Cake
Prinsesstårta
A Prinsesstårta is a traditional Swedish cake consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, whipped cream and thick pastry cream all topped with a 2-3 mm thick layer of marzipan. The marzipan overlay is normally green, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and often decorated with a pink marzipan...
is typically covered with a layer of marzipan that has been tinted with pale green.
Around the world
In ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, particularly in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, marzipan (marzapane) is often shaped and painted with food colorings to resemble fruit — Frutta martorana
Frutta martorana
Frutta martorana are traditional marzipan sweets, in the form of fruits and vegetables, from the province of Palermo, Sicily....
— especially during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season and on Il Giorno dei Morti (All Souls' Day) on November 2. May 9 and 10 are also special days for eating marzipan in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. In Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where the confection has been made by nuns since olden times,p. 356 traditional marzipan (maçapão) fruit shaped sweets made in the Algarve region are called morgadinhos. There are other regions, as Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in which marzipan is shaped into simple animal shapes, and usually filled in with egg yolk
Egg yolk
An egg yolk is a part of an egg which feeds the developing embryo. The egg yolk is suspended in the egg white by one or two spiral bands of tissue called the chalazae...
(yema) and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. In Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, marzipan is made in a variety of shapes and sizes and is almost always left white. In the islands of the Aegean
Aegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
in particular, white marzipan is considered a wedding treat and is served to guests at wedding feasts. In Latin American cuisine
Latin American cuisine
Latin American Cuisine refers to typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America...
, marzipan is known by the Castillian word of mazapán and is also traditionally eaten at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, though "Mazapán" is generally made with peanuts in place of almonds. In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, it is often hand made as an artisan treat with either peanuts, pistachios or pine nuts. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Marzipan figures are given as presents to children during Saint Nicholas' Eve
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas is a traditional Winter holiday figure still celebrated today in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as French Flanders and Artois...
. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
as new year presents, known as a "Glücksschwein" (lucky pig). In Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, a traditional part of the celebration of L'Escalade
L'Escalade
L'Escalade, or Fête de l'Escalade is an annual festival held in December in Geneva, Switzerland, celebrating the defeat of the surprise attack by troops sent by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy during the night of 11–12 December 1602...
is the ritual smashing of a chocolate cauldron filled with marzipan vegetables, a reference to a Savoyarde siege of the city which was supposedly foiled by a housewife with a cauldron of boiling soup. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, a similar traditional sweet Kaju Barfi is made of cashew nuts, sugar and cream.
In the Middle East, marzipan (known as lozina, which is derived from the word لوز lawz, the Arabic word for almonds) is flavored with orange-flower water and shaped into roses and other delicate flowers before they are baked. Marzipan can also be made from oatmeal, farina, or semolina.p. 245
In the Indian state of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, the Goan Catholic dish Mazpon replaces almonds with cashew nuts. In the Philippines, mazapán de pili (Spanish for "pili marzipan" is made from pili nut
Pili nut
Canarium ovatum, commonly known as the pili nut , is a species of tropical tree belonging to the genus Canarium. It is one of approximately 600 species in the family Burseraceae. Pili are native to maritime Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, and Northern Australia...
s.
History
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
.
Northeast Mediterranean line
Although it is believed to have originated in Persia (present-day IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
) and to have been introduced to Europe through the Turks, there is some dispute between Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
over its origin. Marzipan became a specialty of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
region of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In particular, the city of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
has a proud tradition of marzipan manufacture (Lübecker Marzipan
Lübecker Marzipan
Lübeck Marzipan refers to Marzipan originating from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany and has been protected by an EU Council Directive as a “Protected Geographical Indication” since 1996. The Marzipan manufacturers of Lübeck like Niederegger, Carstens, ' or Marzipan-Land follow some...
(PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
)). The city's manufacturers like Niederegger
Niederegger
J.G. Niederegger GmbH & Co. KG is acknowledged as one of the world's best producers of marzipan and sweets. It is based in Lübeck, Germany....
still guarantee their marzipan to contain two thirds almonds by weight, which results in a juicy, bright yellow product of highest quality. Historically, the city of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
was renowned for its marzipan production. Today, the term Königsberger Marzipan still refers to a special type of marzipan in Germany.
In Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
it was (1193) known as panis martius or marzapane, i.e., March Bread.
Iberian Peninsula line
Another possible geographic origin is in Spain, then known as Al-AndalusAl-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. In Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
(850-900, though more probably 1150 during the reign of Alfonso VII) this specialty was known as Postre Regio instead of Mazapán) and there are also mentions in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
of an almond paste eaten during Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
and as an aphrodisiac.
Mazapán is Toledo's most famous dessert, often created for Christmas, and has PGI status. Almonds have to be at least 50% of the total weight, following the directives of Mazapán de Toledo regulator counseil.
Another idea to support this line is the important tradition of another Spanish almond-based Christmas confectionery, the turron
Turrón
Turrón , torró , or torrone , or nougat is a confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently consumed as a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain and Italy. There are...
.
European Union law
European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
, marzipan must have a minimum almond oil content of 14% and a maximum moisture content of 8.5%. Optional additional ingredients are rosewater
Rosewater
Rose water or rose syrup is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals. Rose water, itself a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume, is used to flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
s, preservative
Preservative
A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes....
s, and sometimes hazelnut. In the U.S., marzipan is not officially defined, but it is generally made with a higher ratio of sugar to almonds than almond paste
Almond paste
Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar, typically 50-55%, with a small amount of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added to bind the two ingredients...
. One brand, for instance, has 28% almonds in its marzipan, and 45% almonds in its almond paste. However, in Sweden and Finland almond paste refers to a marzipan that contains 50% ground almonds, a much higher quality than regular marzipan. In Germany, Lübecker Marzipan
Lübecker Marzipan
Lübeck Marzipan refers to Marzipan originating from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany and has been protected by an EU Council Directive as a “Protected Geographical Indication” since 1996. The Marzipan manufacturers of Lübeck like Niederegger, Carstens, ' or Marzipan-Land follow some...
is known for its quality. It contains 66% almonds.
Etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
is unclear; for example, the Italian word derives from the Latin words "Massa" (itself from Greek Μάζα "Maza") meaning pastry and "Pan" meaning bread, this can be particularly seen in the Provençal massapan, the Portuguese maçapão (where 'ç' is an alternative form for the phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
'ss') and old Spanish mazapan - the change from 'ss' to 'z' in Latin words was common in old Spanish and the 'r' appeared later.Though, it could also be derived from martis pan, bread of March. Among the other possible etymologies set forth in the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, one theory proposes that the word "marzipan" may be a corruption of Martaban, a Burmese
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
city famous for its jars.
The Real Academia Española
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
suggests the idea of the Spanish word mazapán to be derived from the Hispanic Arabic بسمة pičmáṭ, which is derived from the Greek παξαμάδιον.
Another source could be from Arabic اوثابان mawthaban "king who sits still." Partridge’s Origins, a usually trustworthy etymological dictionary, follows this line of thought. The Arabic, Latinized as matapanus, was used to describe a Venetian coin depicting an enthroned Christ the King. These coins were stored in ornate boxes. From about the fifteenth century, when the coins were no longer in circulation, the boxes became decorative containers for storing and serving luxury sweetmeats. One such luxury that crept into the box in the sixteenth century is the now-famous almond-flavoured marzipan, named (at least proximately) after the box in which it was stored.
However, if marzipan has its origin in Persia, it is not unlikely that the name may come from Marzban
Marzban
Marzban were a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE....
(in Persian: مرزبان, derived from the words Marz مرز meaning "border" or "boundary" and the suffix -ban بان meaning guardian), a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
of Persia (Iran) between 3rd and 7th centuries CE.
It is also a possibility that the origin of this dessert and the origin of the term come from different geographical places.
See also
- Battenberg cake - a light sponge cake covered in marzipan
- PrinsesstårtaPrinsesstårtaA Prinsesstårta is a traditional Swedish cake consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, whipped cream and thick pastry cream all topped with a 2-3 mm thick layer of marzipan. The marzipan overlay is normally green, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and often decorated with a pink marzipan...
- (Princess Cake) is a traditional Swedish cake consisting of alternating layers of airy cake, whipped cream, a thin layer of berry jam and thick pastry cream all topped with a thick layer of marzipan - Simnel cakeSimnel cakeSimnel cake is a light fruit cake, similar to a Christmas cake, covered in marzipan, then toasted, and eaten during the Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries. A layer of marzipan or almond paste is also baked into the middle of the cake...
- a light fruit cake covered in marzipan