The word "marzipan" many have heard repeatedly. But not everyone knows what kind of product it is?

This is not a vegetable or fruit, or even a product of natural origin; it must be prepared. Marzipan is a sweet that is popular all over the world and is one of the most beloved.

In Europe, the marzipan confectionery is considered one of the most delicious. Pleasure is not cheap.

Indeed, for the preparation of marzipan they use selective, it is clear that dear, almonds. Now we will tell you everything about marzipan: its beneficial qualities, harm, cooking method, history of origin and much more.

The second name of marzipan is “March bread”, which is so translated from German.   To make it, you need powdered sugar and almonds, grated to a powder state.

These two ingredients are turned into a malleable paste from which you can create a variety of masterpieces.

Figurines, flowers, animals - all kinds of beautiful decorations for products of the confectionery plan.

Marzipan is so popular in Europe that you can even see the museums of this delicacy and sculptures from it.

In the old days this product was presented as the best gift for emperors and kings.

Today, delicious marzipan figurines are presented for Valentine's Day and Christmas.

Where did marzipan come from?

No one can tell with accuracy how the first marzipan appeared. History of origin is enough. According to one of them, the product was first made in Italy. Once in the country was a very lean year, all crops were gone.

Of the food, only almonds were preserved. Then they made flour from it. Already from this flour, bread, pizza, pasta were prepared and marzipan sweets were also invented.

The following story calls Spain the country of origin of marzipans. In ancient times, there were battles against the Moors. Spain won, but with maximum losses. Many men died.

Then virtually no strong part of the country's population. In everyday life, this was reflected in the fact that there was no one to cultivate the land for growing crops. Local monks managed to find a way out of the situation.

From the trophies received in the war, they took sugar and almonds. Both products were ground into powder, and then they prepared delicacies from it.

The third version says that the Ottoman Empire is the birthplace of marzipan. It spread to other continents when the locals went to war on nearby lands.

Traditionally, marzipan is made from high quality almonds and sugar. Today, you can find many variations with the addition of various ingredients.

Sugar and almonds are the foundation, and pine nuts, pineapples, rum and liquor, juice and lemon zest, egg yolk, and orange are used as additional components. These products give a different flavor and shade to the product.

The leader in the production of sweets is Germany. The most delicious marzipans are cooked in the city of Lubeck.

There is a legend that they have their own special secret, which is to add one bitter to a hundred sweet and high-quality almond nuts. In this case, the treat will be incredibly delicious.

How to make marzipan at home

Want to try this product? Do not rush to the store to find sweets, cook at home yourself. To do this, take almonds, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and water. To begin with, syrup is made from sugar and water.

Then, in a coffee grinder or blender with a special small nozzle, grind the almonds to the state of powder. Before this, almond nuts should be peeled and dried thoroughly in the oven.

Icing sugar and almond powder are combined using a mixer. Stirring everything at medium speed, pour in a little hot cooked syrup. All mix until smooth and set aside to cool.

When the paste has cooled, it is kneaded like a dough to a plasticine state. In principle, the product is ready for use.

But you can add food colors and make different figures, flowers, decorations. Then it will be more interesting to eat, especially to the kids.

To make marzipan sweets excellent, remember a few secrets of their preparation:

* The amount of almond powder in the sweet mass should be at least a third.

* So that when sculpting the treat does not stick to your hands, lightly sprinkle it with granulated sugar.

* For coloring sweets, take only food colors.

* Optionally store marzipan in cling film and in the refrigerator. Then he can lie there for a month. If eggs were one of the components in the preparation, then it is better to eat the product as quickly as possible.

* Egg white will help to connect small details of jewelry and compositions from marzipan. This is a kind of food glue.

* After cooking, the paste turned out to be quite soft and pliable, sometimes it even breaks into pieces. Do not panic, the situation is easy to fix. Add a little more powdered sugar and knead the paste again.

The beneficial properties of marzipan

The marzipan treat is not only delicious, but also healthy. Due to the presence of almonds in it. All its useful qualities are preserved, since the product does not lend itself to any heat treatment. The presence of vitamins is certain.

Sweetness helps with depression, bad mood, because almond sugar helps to produce the hormone of joy - serotonin.

Of the useful features are also worth mentioning the following:

1) An excellent doctor of blood vessels: cleans them and strengthens the walls.

2) Promotes the release of bad cholesterol from the body.

3) Improves the functionality and functioning of the liver.

4) Strengthens the joints, as well as the myocardium.

5) Helps strengthen the protective barrier against viruses and bacteria that are trying to enter the body.

Do not forget about precautions. Due to the presence of a large amount of sugar in the composition, the product should be limited to diabetics. Overeating with marzipans threatens poisoning, damaged teeth and metabolic disorders.

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 - this is 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. It is 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.

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.

Today we’ll talk with you about unusual sweets. Although this delicacy is widespread throughout the world, many still do not know what marzipan is. What is it? Where did this name come from? Is it possible to make sweets at home? Is this product good for human health? We will talk about all this further.

Marzipan. What is it, a delicacy story

Marzipan is quite widely known in the confectionery business. In Europe, so generally it is considered one of the most delicious treats. However, marzipans are very expensive, since they take the best almonds for its preparation.

This delicacy is translated from German as “March bread”. It contains powdered sugar and ground almonds, powdered. This is all turned into a paste, from which you can make various figures, sweets, flowers, various decorative elements for cakes.

In European capitals, there are entire museums dedicated to this delicacy. There you can find whole sculptures, and even all kinds of models of buildings.

In ancient times, marzipan delicacies were presented to emperors and kings. Today in Europe, the tradition of giving marzipan figurines on Valentine's Day and Christmas is popular.

If we talk about its origin, then it is not known who and when invented this delicacy. There are several stories about this.

According to the first of them, marzipan was invented in Italy, when the entire crop died, with the exception of almonds. At this time, they learned how to make almond flour, and from it they prepared almond pizza, almond bread, pasta with almond sauce, sweet marzipans.

According to the second version, this is a delicacy from Spain, namely from the highlands of Navas de Tolosa. Here the story is as follows. During the battle against the Moors (1212), although Spain won the victory, many men died.

It has become difficult to cultivate the land. But the find was almonds and sugar, which was among the trophies. So in the monastery of San Clemente, the monks ground almonds and sugar, thereby preparing marzipan.

There is a third version, according to which marzipan hails from the Ottoman Empire. Some claim that it was popular there back in 800. When the Arabs decided to conquer the land, the spread of marzipan began.

As you can see, the appearance of goodies is everywhere connected with war or military operations, but what version is more reliable is still unknown.

What is included in this marzipan

In principle, the composition of marzipan has retained its tradition to this day. For the preparation of confectionery sweets, only high quality almonds should be taken, the content of which should be at least 33%.

But, like any dish, marzipan has undergone changes with age. Now in its composition you can find pine nuts, lemon juice and zest, pineapples, oranges, rum, liquor, egg yolk. But only proportions of almonds and sugar are necessarily observed.

To date, Germany is considered the best producer of marzipan. It is in the city of Lübeck that the best confectioners live, who keep their secret of this delicacy secret. There is an opinion that their secret is to add one bitter almond nut for one hundred sweet.

How to make marzipan?

You can cook this delicacy at home. Observing the technology, you will get marzipans no worse than at the famous factories for its manufacture. In addition, preparing it with love, your family will certainly feel it.

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan, set it on a fire and bring to a boil. They should boil for thirty seconds. The result should be syrup.

Almonds should be ground in a coffee grinder until a dusty substance is obtained. Combine ground almonds and powdered sugar, mix everything with a mixer at medium speed.

Without turning off the mixer, add the resulting syrup to the almonds and powder. Pour it in hot. Stir a little more.

Now you should wait until the paste has cooled slightly. After that, knead it thoroughly with your hands. The result should be a “smooth plasticine."

In this state, it can be cut into pieces or sculpted figures and decor as decorations, coloring with food colors.

• Tips and tricks, thanks to which, you can cook the most delicious marzipan:
• The main rule is that at least 33% of the almonds should be contained in the sweet mass.
• Sprinkle marzipan with granulated sugar while sculpting so it will not stick to your hands.
• If there is a need for coloring marzipan, use only food coloring.
• Shelf life of marzipan is 1 month, but provided that it is in the refrigerator and in tightly wrapped cellophane. If eggs are used in the recipe, then it is advisable to eat such sweets as quickly as possible.
• It is best to fasten the individual elements of the figures with egg white, which is an excellent food glue.
• If the sweet mass is too soft, add a little sugar into it and mix well.

The benefits and harms of marzipan

The fact that marzipan contains almonds makes it very useful. This happens because this delicacy is not amenable to heat treatment, so all the beneficial substances of almonds are not lost.

What is useful in it? This is the content of a series of vitamin B, vitamin E, which the body really needs. Also, sugar, which is in marzipan, produces serotonin (a hormone of joy).

Due to such properties, this delicacy was once used to treat depression, nervous breakdowns, and apathy.

You can summarize the positive effects:

• strengthens the myocardium;
• blood vessels are cleansed, their walls are strengthened;
• excess cholesterol is excreted;
• the liver works better;
• joints are strengthened;
• the body is protected from bacteria and viruses.

The harm of this confectionery is the same as that of everyone else. With excessive use, deterioration of the teeth, metabolic disorders. The presence of sugar imposes a restriction on their use by patients with diabetes.

But overall, this is a very healthy and tasty confectionery. Observing the measure, you can completely enjoy it in moderation.

How? You have not read:

Sometimes called marzipan is also a mass of other nuts, as well as products with it. For example, marzipan buns with peanuts are common in Russia.

Story

It is not known exactly where marzipan was first prepared. A number of European countries - France, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Hungary - claim the title of the motherland of the product. As far back as the 19th century, the Lübeck and Konigsberg marzipan enjoyed great success in Europe.

According to one legend, the reason for the invention of marzipan was hunger, when the only raw material for bread was almonds. It is sometimes said that marzipan was invented as a cure for mental disorders, as it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.

Marzipan in the cuisine of the peoples of the world

Marzipan is also used in the form of:

• sweets glazed with chocolate or sugar glaze (mozartkugel)
• figurines of fruit or other figurines, without glaze, but with dye
• in its pure form ("marzipan bread" or marzipan cookies, for example, Frankfurt Christmas betmenchen)
• marzipan liqueur
• cake decorations (often low in bitter almonds)
• toppings for cakes and other confectionery

Marzipan recipe

The main ingredients of marzipan:

• sweet almonds
• bitter almonds

Bitter almonds are sometimes replaced by essence, almond liquor, bitter almond oil, or are generally excluded from the recipe. In the latter case, marzipan mass can be used for decoration, but it does not have a specific “marzipan” taste.

Sugar may be contained in the form of powder or syrup, or may be substituted with another sweetener.

The proportions of the main ingredients are usually the trade secret of the confectionery industry.

Additional ingredients:

• flavors (cocoa, liquors, orange peel, rose water, spices, etc.)
• dyes (natural or artificial)

Basic cooking methods:

• cold on the egg
• cold without eggs
• hot

Cold method

The cold method of making marzipan is based on grinding the ingredients and mixing them. In this case, powdered sugar is taken.

As a rule, the oil content in almonds is such that the mass has a plasticine consistency and is easy to sculpt. If there is not enough oil in the almonds, then these almond kernels are of low quality. In the absence of high-quality almonds or for the manufacture of surrogates (apricot kernel kernels - see persipan), recipes recommend adding an egg to the mass. Keep in mind that adding raw eggs is dangerous due to salmonella and significantly reduces the shelf life of the product.

Hot method

A hot method of making marzipan involves the use of sugar syrup. Thick sugar syrup is added to the pre-ground remaining ingredients (nut mixture).

In order for marzipan to keep its shape well, it must be thoroughly kneaded, like dough.

Museums of Marzipan

• Museums of Marzipan in Eger, Hungary
• Marzipan Museum in Szentendre, Hungary
• Marzipan Museum in Tallinn, Estonia
• Marzipan Museum in Lubeck, Germany
• Marzipan Museum in Kfar Tavor, Israel
• Keszthely Marzipan Museum, Hungary
• Marzipan Museum in Budapest, Hungary

The largest manufacturers

• "Niederegger", Lubeck, Germany. The company also founded the Marzipan Museum in Lübeck.
• "George Lemke & Co", Berlin, Germany.
• Grondard, St. Petersburg, Russia. Marzipan factory in Russia.
• "Pomatti", Kaliningrad, Russia. A rich history souvenir marzipan, Konigsberg marzipan. pomatti.com

Write a review on Marzipan

References

Excerpt from Marzipan

“Do not take prisoners,” continued Prince Andrei. “That alone would change the whole war and make it less violent.” And then we played war - that’s bad, we are magnanimous and the like. This generosity and sensitivity - like the generosity and sensitivity of a lady, with which she makes nausea when she sees a calf being killed; she’s so kind that she can’t see the blood, but she eats this calf with sauce with sauce. They talk to us about the rights of war, about chivalry, about parliament, to spare the unfortunate and so on. All nonsense. In 1805, I saw chivalry, parliamentarianism: we were cheated, we cheated. They rob other people's houses, issue false bills, and worst of all, they kill my children, my father and talk about the rules of war and generosity towards enemies. Do not take prisoners, but kill and go to death! Who came to this as I did, by the same suffering ...
  Prince Andrei, who thought that he didn’t care whether they would take Moscow or not take it like they did Smolensk, suddenly stopped in his speech from an unexpected convulsion that grabbed him by the throat. He walked silently several times, but his body shone feverishly, and his lip trembled when he again began to say:
- If there was no generosity in the war, then we would go only when it is worth it to go to certain death, as now. Then there would be no war for the fact that Pavel Ivanovich offended Mikhail Ivanovich. And if war is now, so is war. And then the intensity of the troops would not be what it is now. Then all of these Westphalians and Hessians led by Napoleon would not have followed him to Russia, and we would not have gone to fight in Austria and Prussia, without knowing why. War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and we must understand this and not play war. This terrible necessity must be taken strictly and seriously. That's it: throw away the lie, and war is war, not a toy. And then war is the favorite pastime of idle and frivolous people ... The military estate is the most honorable. And what is war, what is needed for success in military affairs, what are the mores of military society? The purpose of the war is murder, the instruments of war are espionage, treason and its promotion, the ruin of the inhabitants, their robbery or theft for food of the army; deception and lies, called military tricks; morals of the military class - lack of freedom, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery, drunkenness. And despite this - this is the upper class, revered by all. All the kings, except for the Chinese, wear a military uniform, and the one who killed the people more is given a big reward ... They will converge, tomorrow, they will kill, kill, tensile thousands of people, and then prayers of thanks will be given for breaking many people (of whom they add numbers), and declare victory, believing that the more people are beaten, the greater the merit. How God looks from there and listens to them! - Prince Andrew shouted in a thin, squeaky voice. - Ah, my soul, lately it has become hard for me to live. I see that I began to understand too much. But a man is not good at eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... Well, not for long! He added. “However, you are sleeping, and it’s for me too, go to Gorki,” Prince Andrew suddenly said.
  - Oh no! - answered Pierre, looking frightenedly with condolencing eyes at Prince Andrew.
  “Go, go: you need to get enough sleep before the battle,” repeated Prince Andrey. He quickly went up to Pierre, hugged him and kissed him. “Goodbye, go,” he shouted. “See you, no ...” and he, hastily turning, left for the barn.
  It was already dark, and Pierre could not make out the expression that was on the face of Prince Andrew, whether it was malicious or gentle.
Pierre stood for some time in silence, wondering whether to follow him or go home. “No, he does not need! "Pierre decided on his own," and I know that this is our last date. " He sighed heavily and rode back to Gorki.
  Prince Andrew, returning to the barn, lay on the carpet, but could not sleep.
  He closed his eyes. Some images were replaced by others. On one, he happily stopped for a long time. He vividly recalled one evening in Petersburg. Natasha with a lively, excited face told him how she got lost in a large forest last summer, going for mushrooms. She incoherently described the wilderness of the forest, and her feelings, and conversations with the beekeeper whom she met, and, interrupting in her story every minute, said: “No, I can’t, I’m not telling you this; no, you don’t understand, ”despite the fact that Prince Andrey reassured her, saying that he understood, and really understood everything that she wanted to say. Natasha was unhappy with her words, - she felt that the passionately poetic sensation that she had that day and which she wanted to turn outward did not go out. “It was such a charm this old man was, and it was so dark in the forest ... and he was so kind ... no, I don’t know how to tell,” she said, blushing and worried. Prince Andrei smiled now with the same joyful smile that he smiled then, looking into her eyes. “I understood her,” thought Prince Andrew. “Not only did I understand, but this spiritual strength, this sincerity, this spiritual openness, this soul that seemed to bind the body, this soul I loved in it ... so much, so happily loved ...” And suddenly he remembered about how his love ended. “He didn’t need all this. He did not see or understand anything. He saw in her a pretty and fresh little girl, with whom he did not deign to associate his fate. And I? And still he is alive and cheerful. ”

It is unlikely that there will be a modern patisserie that does not offer its visitors sweet pastries with marzipan. What is it, what is it prepared from and how does it affect the human body? I’ll talk about this today.

The composition of the dessert is not a secret. To obtain nutritious and healthy goodies, almond kernels, crushed into flour, are mixed with powdered sugar or sugar syrup in a certain proportion. Moreover, both sweet and bitter almonds are used. Bitter almonds give marzipan special flavor.

But the proportions of the product, as a rule, constitute a trade secret of each manufacturer. Bitter almonds are sometimes replaced with almond essence, bitter almond oil or almond liquor. Without this component, the finished product lacks a specific taste called marzipan confectioners.

One of the legends says that sweetness was invented during the famine, and almonds were almost the only available food product, which was taken as the raw material basis for bread products. After all, the kernels of this nut contain almost the entire set of nutrient compounds necessary not only to satisfy the human need for food, but also to saturate the body with basic substances.

There is no reliable information about where marzipan was first made. It is only known that this is exactly one of the European countries - Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Norway, Holland, Estonia or the Hungarian Republic. Sometimes other nuts are taken to make pasta, for example, in the post-Soviet countries, pastries with peanut paste are very popular. Therefore, it can be argued that marzipan is a sweet nut mass.

Cooking and calories

In addition to sugar and almonds, auxiliary ingredients, for example, eggs, natural or synthetic dyes, flavorings (cocoa powder, citrus zest, spicy herbs, rose water, liquors, etc.) can be used in marzipan.

There are two ways to make marzipan - cold and hot. In the first case, the nut powder is combined with icing sugar and thoroughly kneaded, like dough. Sometimes, with the cold method of making marzipan, eggs are introduced into the recipe.

Due to the fats present in abundance in nuts (only high-quality kernels are taken to obtain a product, not its surrogate), almond powder, when combined with sugar, forms a plastic adhesive mass from which figures are easily molded. A hot technique involves the use of thick sugar syrup, which is combined with chopped almonds.

The calorie content of the product is 480 kcal / 100 g. In this case, the nut mass contains up to 6.8 g of proteins, up to 21.3 g of lipids and up to 67 g of carbohydrates.

The use of marzipan in the confectionery business is very diverse. Most often, buns, cakes, croissants, cakes, sweet rolls are stuffed with nut pasta. The same mass is used to decorate confectionery masterpieces.

On sale are delicious sweets with marzipan filling, coated with powdered sugar or chocolate icing. Figures molded from marzipan (without the introduction of cocoa powder), the color of which depends on the food colors added to them, are also considered a variety of sweets.

In Germany, marzipan cookies are popular (it is still called old-fashioned marzipan bread), which is always present on the Christmas table. The product and manufacturers of liquors did not ignore the product. Having tasted marzipan liquor once, you will forever become its ardent admirer.

The beneficial properties of marzipan

Did you know that mental disorders were treated with marzipan in the old days? Yes, it is this sweet confectionery based on almonds with added sugar that helps to stabilize the nervous system and improve the emotional state.

What is the secret of marzipan? The use of the product is due to the chemical compounds of its main ingredients - sweet and bitter almonds and sugar syrup (powder).

Almond kernels contain easily digestible proteins and all the essential amino acids, including those that are converted into hormones of joy (tryptophan - serotonin) in the body through biochemical reactions. Nuts contain a large amount of valuable lipids, so vegetable oils are made from them.

Almonds, like the kernels of other nuts, are a storehouse of polyunsaturated fatty acids that the body does not synthesize, but without which not a single biochemical process can do.

Almonds saturate every cell of our body with omega-3 acids, fat-and water-soluble vitamins (E, D, A, group B, PP), microelements (potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, sulfur, iodine, boron , manganese, etc.).

Well, sugar, as the second ingredient in marzipan, is the main source of glucose needed to saturate our body with energy, and the brain - with all the nutrients.

Based on the biochemical composition, we can conclude that the use of marzipan has the following beneficial properties for the body:

• improves brain activity and stimulates cognitive functions of the brain;
• activates carbohydrate and fat metabolism;
• cleanses the body of toxins and toxins;
• neutralizes the effects of stress;
• saturates cells with antioxidants;
• rejuvenates the body at the cellular level;
• calms the nervous system;
• helps in the fight against depression, insomnia, apathy;
• improves mood and emotional state.

Contraindications

The dessert is quite high-calorie, so it is consumed in a limited way. It is not recommended to include marzipan in the daily diet for patients with obesity and diabetes. In the presence of individual intolerance to almonds and other nuts, even small portions of the paste can cause allergic reactions (rash, flushing of the skin, itching, overthrow, swelling and even anaphylactic shock).

In order to fully enjoy the dessert with nut mass, it is not necessary to go to the confectionery for products with it or to search for the term “marzipan” as part of the finished confectionery. To be sure of the absence of synthetic additives, I will provide information on how to make marzipan yourself.

How to cook marzipan at home?

Knowing what marzipan is made of makes it easy to prepare this healthy dessert at home, and only then use it in the recipe for a wide variety of desserts.

For homemade marzipan, a hot manufacturing method is best. First of all, for 15 minutes, with continuous stirring, the peeled almond kernels are fried in a pan without adding oil (a full glass). Fried kernels are ground in a coffee grinder.

Then sugar syrup is prepared by boiling 0.2 kg of sand with ¼ cup of water. When the white crystals completely dissolve, and the mass thickens, almond powder is introduced into it, mix well to a homogeneous consistency and simmer on fire for 2 minutes.

After removing the paste from the fire, 2 drops of almond essence (bitter almonds) are added to it, mixed again and spread on a large board, spread out with a thin layer and covering the surface with cling film. After the marzipan has cooled, it is transferred to a table or work surface, previously sprinkled with powdered sugar, and formed.

Having given the product the desired shape and size (balls, whetstone, sausage, marzipan figures, etc.), it can be removed in a refrigerator or freezer for storage, pre-wrapped with cling film. In frozen form, the paste can be stored for up to 8 months.

To prepare desserts, the desired amount of pressed nut mass is cut off, thawed at room temperature and used, according to the recipe, for example, for filling buns or making curly items doused with chocolate or powdered in powdered sugar.

• The given step-by-step recipe for marzipans at home is quite simple, it will not be difficult to cook it even for a beginner confectioner.

Have you tried making marzipan? After all, confectionery with him is the personification of a delicate taste, prestige and well-being. They can be a real highlight of any feast and forever fall in love with your household. Sweet to you marzipan dreams!