Probably in the world it is impossible to find a person who would be completely indifferent to sweets. So we are arranged that a piece of something tasty can cause a feeling of short-term happiness. Today I want to say a few words about marzipan, an exclusive delicacy. If you tried it at least once in your life, you probably remembered the unique taste and wanted to know more about its composition. Marzipan can 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 are striving to replace it with something else, and add chemical additives for flavor. Quality loses from this, but the product is more affordable and competitive in price.
What we call marzipan
Many of you will now remember the paste for decorating cakes, smooth and shiny. You are right, this is really about her. But what is its composition? Marzipan is a confectionery product based on finely ground almonds and sugar. Classic marzipan is a plastic mass, which allows you to use it, among other things, to create figures and decorations for cakes. It is also used as a filler 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 made from almond nuts, which means that the production of these products should have started where there is a lot of it. Several European countries challenge the palm in the manufacture of this confectionery.
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, a unique composition was kept secret for a long time. Marzipan was not really conceived as an exclusive sweetness. Just almond flour began to be used due to the lack or complete absence of wheat flour. I liked the marzipan bread so much that it began to be used in good times, but already as a dessert.
Area Specialization
Interestingly, until the XVIII century, not only confectioners, but also chemists were engaged in the manufacture of marzipan. Only much later did this skill completely pass to the confectioners. And very soon this product became very expensive due to higher prices for sugar and almonds. But today this sweetness is still highly valued, but now we can already afford it. The prevalence and availability of this treat 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 store shelves today often has nothing to do with this legendary sweetness.
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 come into the general composition. The reader may be interested to know that old records from cookbooks provided for rubbing almonds on a fine grater with the addition of sugar and a long grinding of this mass in a mortar. Thanks to this, the highest plasticity of the mass was achieved. It took a lot of time to produce sweets, which explained the high price.
Marzipan properties
They are determined by what marzipan is made of. The composition, which the manufacturer must indicate on the package, and will indicate whether it is worth buying this product. If it is almonds, then the product made of it completely retains all the properties of this healthy nut. And he is very rich in vitamins of groups B and E, as well as other antioxidants. But most of all there are trace elements in it. Just a few nuts a day will provide your body with phosphorus and potassium, magnesium and much more.
Knowing which nut is part of marzipan, you will well understand what you will get with regular use. Almonds remove sand from the kidneys, normalize the liver and pancreas, and also cleanse the blood. This is a natural analgesic, which also has an anticonvulsant effect. The benefits of this nut are evident in bronchial asthma, stress and insomnia. As you can see, marzipan is much more useful than conventional confectionery.
Home cooking
In fact, there is nothing complicated. 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 almond nuts 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. Then it remains to grind the almonds into the smallest crumbs in a hand mill or in a blender.
Now, to the resulting crumb, you need to add 100 g of powdered sugar. It is better to take an industrial one, since the home one does not get 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. Smooth dough is kneaded from this. The liquid in it should be enough so that the dough is not sticky to the hands and the table. If there is too little liquid, then in the process of mixing, almond oil will start to stand out, which is completely unnecessary. Round sweets can be formed from this mass, inside of which a nut or toffee can be placed, and chocolate can be poured on top.
Works of art
Is it really impossible to buy quality sweets in the store and you need to make them yourself? Not at all. In St. Petersburg there is an excellent online store Grondard. There is indeed marzipan, the composition of which perfectly repeats old recipes, it is produced and packaged here both on order and in line mode.
Among the residents of the Northern capital, this store is very popular, as it gives the opportunity to make an exquisite gift, individually decorated to colleagues, relatives and friends.
Popular Ritter Sport
It does not have to be ordered in the online store, as it is sold in every supermarket. How natural is “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-made production of these sweets, since it is not too complicated. In this case, you will be sure that you served today as a dessert.