Marzipan: description and composition. Marzipan in sweets - what is it made of?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Probably, in the world it is impossible to find a person who would be completely indifferent to sweets. We are so arranged that a piece of something tasty can cause a feeling of short-term happiness. Today I would like to say a few words about marzipan, an exclusive delicacy. If you have tried it at least once in your life, then you will surely remember the unique taste and want to know more about its composition. Marzipan can also be made at home, and in this case the quality of the final product will only benefit.

The fact is that the nut, which is the basis of sweetness, is quite expensive. Therefore, manufacturers tend to replace it with something else, and add chemical additives for flavor. The quality of this loses, but the product is more affordable and competitive in price.

What do we call marzipan

Many of you will now remember cake decorating paste, smooth and shiny. You're right, it's really about her. And what is its composition? Marzipan is a confectionery made from finely ground almonds and sugar. Classic marzipan is a plastic mass, which allows it to be used, among other things, to create figurines and decorations for cakes. It is also used as a filling for sweets.

A bit of history

And when did the world first learn about such a simple and at the same time exquisite sweetness? In order to answer this question, again you need to pay attention to the composition. Marzipan is produced from almonds, which means that the production of this product should have been started where there is a lot of it. Several European countries dispute the palm in the production of this confection.

Ancient traditions of making marzipan sweets exist in Germany and Austria, Holland and Italy. But the most famous of them are produced in the north of Germany. Moreover, the unique composition was kept secret for a long time. Marzipan was not really intended as an exclusive sweet. It's just that almond flour began to be used due to a shortage or complete absence of wheat flour. They liked marzipan bread so much that they began to use it in good times, but already as a dessert.

Specialization of the area

Interestingly, until the 18th century, not only confectioners, but also chemists were engaged in the manufacture of marzipan. Only much later did this skill completely pass to confectioners. And very soon this product became very expensive due to the increase in the price of sugar and almonds. But even today this sweetness is still highly valued, but now we can already afford it. Prevalence andthe availability of this delicacy is very high.

Tricks of modern production

It's no secret that today many products are made from analogues or synthetic substitutes. Marzipan was no exception. The composition should include only almonds, sugar and rose water. And what is on the shelves today often has nothing to do with this legendary sweet.

Instead of almonds, any nuts can go into the paste, but most often it is peanuts. But very often, soy or beans, various artificial fillers and flavorings are included in the general composition. The reader may be interested to know that old records from cookbooks called for grating almonds on a fine grater with the addition of sugar and grinding this mass for a long time in a mortar. It was thanks to this that the highest plasticity of the mass was achieved. It took a lot of time to produce sweets, which explained the high price.

Properties of marzipan

They are determined by what marzipan is made from. The composition that the manufacturer is required to indicate on the packaging, and will indicate whether it is worth buying this product. If it is an almond, then the product from it completely retains all the properties of this most useful nut. And it is very rich in B and E vitamins, as well as other antioxidants. But most of all it contains trace elements. Just a few nuts a day will provide your body with phosphorus and potassium, magnesium and more.

Knowing which nut is in marzipan, you will be well aware of what you will getwith regular use. Almonds remove sand from the kidneys, normalize the functioning of the liver and pancreas, and also cleanse the blood. It is a natural analgesic, which also has an anticonvulsant effect. The benefits of this nut are obvious in bronchial asthma, stress and insomnia. As you can see, marzipan is much he althier than regular confectionery.

Cooking at home

Actually, there is nothing complicated about it. The main thing is to know the composition of marzipan in sweets, and you can reproduce a full-fledged analogue. You will need to take 150 g of almonds and peel them from the dark shell. To do this, they are poured with boiling water for a minute, and then immediately with cold water. After that, the shell can be easily removed, and the nuts themselves need to be dried on a napkin. Next, it remains to grind the almonds into the smallest crumbs in a hand mill or in a blender.

Now you need to add 100 g of powdered sugar to the resulting crumb. It is better to take industrial, since homemade does not turn out such a fine grinding. It remains to add a spoonful of rum and water or milk to this mixture, some confectioners suggest using raw protein from a quail egg. From this, a smooth dough is kneaded. There should be enough liquid in it so that the dough does not stick to your hands and the table. If there is too little liquid, then almond oil will begin to stand out during the kneading process, which is completely unnecessary. From this mass, you can form round sweets, inside which you can place a nut or toffee, and you can pour chocolate on top.

Artworks

Is it really impossible to buy high-quality sweets in the store and you have to make them yourself? Not at all. There is an excellent Grondard online store in St. Petersburg. Marzipan, the composition of which perfectly repeats old recipes, really exists, it is produced and packaged here both to order and in line mode.

This store is very popular among the residents of the Northern capital, as it gives an opportunity to make an exquisite gift, with individual design to colleagues, relatives and friends.

Popular Ritter Sport

You don't have to order it from the online store, because it is sold in every supermarket. How natural is from "Ritter Sport" "Marzipan". The composition is not bad, but it contains no more than 16% marzipan. Everything else is sugar, cocoa, emulsifiers and syrup. Therefore, if your plans include tasting a real, almond recipe, then it is recommended to find another option. In particular, you can master the home production of these sweets, since it is not too complicated. In this case, you will be sure that today was served as a dessert.