Marzipan
Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season. In Italy, 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 (the Day of the Dead) on November 2. Among the other possible etymologies set forth in the Oxford English Dictionary, one theory posits that the word marzipan may however 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 pičmáṭ, which is derived from the Greek παξαμάδιον. Another source could be from Arabic mawthaban king who sits still. 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. .It is also rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday and wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. Marzipan can also be made from oatmeal, farina, or semolina. There are proposed two lines for its origin; they are not necessarily contradictory but can be complementary, as there have always been Mediterranean trade and cooking influences.
In the Netherlands Marzipan figures are given as presents to children during Saint Nicholas Eve. In Latin American cuisine, marzipan is known as mazapán and is also traditionally eaten at Christmas, though Mazapan is generally made with peanuts in place of almonds.
Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, for which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year s Day.
traditional marzipan (maçapão) fruit shaped sweets made in the Algarve region are called morgadinhos. Another idea to support this line is the important tradition on another almond-based Christmas candy in Spain: the turron Under EU law, marzipan must have In India, a similar traditional sweet Kaju Barfi is made of cashew nuts, sugar and cream. 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.
Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. It derives its characteristic flavor from bitter almonds, which constitute 4% to 6% of the total almond content by weight. Marzipan became a specialty of the Baltic Sea region of Germany.
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 Germany it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a pig as new year presents, known as a Glückschwein (lucky pig).
In Goa (formerly Portuguese India) almonds are replaced by cashews. Marzipan fruit Fruit shapes molded from marzipan Marzipan pigs Cake covered with marzipan It is often made into sweets: common uses are marzipan-filled chocolate and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. The origin could be from the Latin term martius panis , which means bread of march.
In both cases, there is a reason to believe that there is a clear Arabic influence for historical reasons Although it is believed to have originated in Persia (present-day Iran) and to have been introduced to Europe through the Turks, there is some dispute between Hungary and Italy over its origin. However, the ultimate etymology is unclear; for example, the Italian word derives from the Latin words Massa (itself from Greek Maza ) meaning pastry and Panem 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.
In Toledo, Spain (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. Marzipan (or almond paste) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen.
Some marzipan is also flavored with rosewater. 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 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.
This use is particularly common in England, on large fruitcakes. May 9 and 10 are also special days for eating marzipan in Sicily.
In particular, the city of Lübeck has a proud tradition of marzipan manufacture (Lübecker Marzipan (PGI Another possible geographic origin is in current Spain, Al-Andalus at that time.
