Marzipan: Secret Ingredient in Heritage Holiday Baking
What do German Stollen, British Christmas cake, Danish Kringle and Spanish Anguilas de mazap?n share in common?
Marzipan, a bit of old world sugarcraft gaining popularity in the US.A confection that dates to biblical times, marzipan is a mixture of ground peeled almonds and sugar, gently cooked into a pliable confection. (Its close cousin, almond paste, contains a higher percentage of almonds and is used as an ingredient in fillings, in cakes or to make marzipan.)
Like edible modeling clay, marzipan can formed into surprisingly realistic shapes.
And it can be tinted then rolled to provide a smooth surface on cakes. Often, marzipan is flavored, citrus and rum work nicely, before being dipped in chocolate.
Wherever almond trees grow, from central Asia westward to Europe and the Mediterranean, marzipan cakes and confections are popular.
One tradition shared in many regions is the molding or sculpting of miniature fruits and figures from marzipan. In Southern Italy and Sicily, the frutta de martorana are fanciful fruit molded or sculpted by hand then painstakingly tinted. Saverio Leonetti, pastry chef, and owner of Leonetti's Pastry Shop, Long Island, NY is among many Italian chefs in the US who make these fruits for the holidays.
Germans, among the world's largest consumers of almonds, pride themselves on their fruit-studded yeast bread, the Christmas stolen.
Tucked inside the dough is a plump log of marzipan.
When eating stolen, the trick is to taste a small nibble of marzipan with each bite of the buttery cake.
Perhaps that's the secret behind the popularity of British Christmas Cake, a dense fruit cake iced with a generous layer of marzipan. Each slice of the cake is a balance between rum-soaked fruit and sweet almond icing. And what do dashing bachelors in Toledo, Spain give their girlfriends on Christmas Eve? Las Anguilas de mazap?n, elaborate marzipan serpents with terrifying gum drop eyes made from a mixture of marzipan bound with egg yolks.
Wherever Spaniards settled, a taste for marzipan, though not necessarily shaped like snakes, followed.
Today in South and Central American, marzipan candies are still prized. In similar fashion, immigrants from Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Italy and the British Isles brought their traditional pastries and holiday traditions to this continent.
"My sister-in-law is from Austria. Marzipan is her kids favorite candy", says Suzanne Scott, Administrator of the New Jersey Bakers Board of Trade.
But newer immigrants are also bringing their love of marzipan stateside.
Tunisian-born Maguey Marek has introduced a whole community of friends in the Boston-area to plump dates filled with tinted marzipan. In her work with retail bakers in New Jersey and the northeast, Scott has seen the growing interest in marzipan first hand. "Marzipan really is growing in popularity in the US". More bakeries such as Reinwald Bakery in Huntington, Long Island are adding marzipan figures to their cookie assortment. "Kids really come in for it" says Barbara Calantonio whose father taught her the marzipan craft.
Frogs, lizards, and snakes are popular at all times but for the holidays she'll be adding cookies topped with marzipan candy canes.In Solvang, California, a village settled by Danish immigrants nearly 100 years ago, marzipan has always been in fashion. Looking much like a Danish Disneyland, Solvang boasts 4 Danish bakeries whose cases are filled with almond pastries such as kringle, flaky pastry wrapped around almond and fruit fillings and kranskage, almond horn-shaped cookies. But it is the passion for marzipan that stands out. There are no doughnuts in sight; chubby logs of marzipan dipped in chocolate, tart shells filled with marzipan and mocha cream take center stage. For those in search of their own marzipan memories this holiday season, here are three recipes to try at home.
Marzipan Fruits are simple to make with these detailed instructions. For a more soign? treat, try these Chocolate Marzipan Almond Truffles. Requiring few ingredients ? marzipan, chocolate and chopped almonds ? these truffles make an elegant edible gift. And for the home meister baker, this Holiday Stolen can be made a few weeks ahead and frozen before eating during the holidays..
How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Perhaps the number one complaint of women trying to watch their weight during pregnancy is that they are hungry all the time. True, pregnancy does result in an increased metabolic demand on the body, which can cause you to be hungry. Many women also experience a number of cravings during pregnancy, which can make healthy eating challenging.The first thing to remember is that the idea that you should eat for two is wrong. You only need an additional 300 calories per day, and generally you don't need these calories until you are well on your way to the second and third trimesters.So what can you do to help manage your weight and stick to a healthy diet?Remember that during pregnancy it is vital that you do not cut back on your caloric intake. This has the potential to rob your baby of essential nutrients that are necessary for his/her growth and development.
Here are some tips to help you stick to a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy:Avoid skipping meals. If you have a habit...
How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Chocolate > How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Perhaps the number one complaint of women trying to watch their weight during pregnancy is that they are hungry all the time. True, pregnancy does result in an increased metabolic demand on the body, which can cause you to be hungry. Many women also experience a number of cravings during pregnancy, which can make healthy eating challenging.The first thing to remember is that the idea that you should eat for two is wrong. You only need an additional 300 calories per day, and generally you don't need these calories until you are well on your way to the second and third trimesters.So what can you do to help manage your weight and stick to a healthy diet?Remember that during pregnancy it is vital that you do not cut back on your caloric intake. This has the potential to rob your baby of essential nutrients that are necessary for his/her growth and development.
Here are some tips to help you stick to a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy:Avoid skipping meals. If you have a habit...
How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Chocolate > How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Digital Chocolate Hits U.K Mobile Game Charts with Three Sumea Titles in Top Ten
Digital Chocolate, Inc., a developer of innovative applications for mobile phones, including games, lifestyle, and entertainment applications, today announced that three of the company's Sumea brand mobile games have reached the Top 10 list of mobile game downloads in the UK. The Official Mobile Games Java Download Chart, maintained by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), tracks Britain's best-selling mobile games. The list includes downloads from mobile operators O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The Sumea titles in ELSPA's mobile game Top 10 are "Racing Fever 2", "Mafia Wars" and "Street Soccer". Sumea is the only game brand with three titles on the list.
"Sumea is becoming a household name in mobile gaming," said Mr. Ilkka Paananen, the company's Managing Director for Europe. "Having three of our titles in Britain's Top 10 chart clearly validates our strategy of offering innovative, easy-to-learn mobile games that provide high-quality entertainment...
Digital Chocolate Hits U.K Mobile Game Charts with Three Sumea Titles in Top Ten
Chocolate > Digital Chocolate Hits U.K Mobile Game Charts with Three Sumea Titles in Top Ten
Booozah Picks Cronin Ice Cream as its Distribution Partner
Stow, MA (ContentDesk) April 24th, 2006 -- BOOOZAH, the Phoenician Frozen Dessert Company, producing the latest twist in the Ice Cream industry, has selected Cronin Ice Cream as its Distributor for the New England region. I am very please to have found Cronin& said Karim Raad, Owner of Booozah LLC, & Carlton Cronin and his team are very dedicated and will go out of their way to please our customers..
For over 5 generations, Cronin Ice Cream has been dedicated to providing quality products, as well as unsurpassed customer service.
They truly understand that communication is essential and adjusting to customer needs is a critical ingredient to a successful business relationship. &Due to increased demand for Booozah products in the past couple of months, it was very obvious for me that we were going to have to expand our delivery capabilities.
Although Booozah already had its delivery truck making weekly rounds to all its customers, I decided we could serve...
Chocolate > Booozah Picks Cronin Ice Cream as its Distribution Partner
Theme Ideas for the Perfect Wedding
Theme weddings are growing in popularity because they are fun and offer the bridal couple the opportunity to express themselves in a different way. If the couple loves the beach, the sea, and anything to do with water, for example, perhaps a beach or nautical themed wedding would be appropriate. Or if they love a sensual, romantic atmosphere, a passion themed wedding might be more to their liking.
Elements of a themed wedding include decorations, food type, location, favors, invitations, attire, and much more. Essentially, you are creating a wedding around a theme, and your options are limitless.
Numerous resources are available for those planning a themed wedding. From craft stores to online merchants like americanbridal.com, you can find all the items you need to ensure your perfect wedding goes off without a hitch.
Here are several popular themes to consider:
Beach themed wedding
A beach themed wedding usually uses white, blue, and yellow...
Chocolate > Theme Ideas for the Perfect Wedding