John Myers
Matt white, juicy and sweet, marzipan is one of the traditional Christmas treats. While today it is considered more of a calorie bomb until the beginning of the 17th century marzipan was considered a remedy for indigestion, as well as a strengthening and sexual enhancer. The almonds contained are responsible for these positive effects. They are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, which protect against cardiovascular disease and improve bone density. Almonds also contain magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. But the effect of the healthy almonds is more than canceled out by the high sugar content of the industrially produced marzipan.
Sugar is often the main component of marzipan
Even in the Middle Ages, marzipan consisted of two-thirds almonds, but one-third honey or sugar. Today, ten grams of good marzipan contain 60 calories – twice as many as the same amount of raisins, three dried dates, or two tangerines. However, this only applies to expensive branded products where the almond still tops the list of ingredients. For all other manufacturers, sugar has long been the main ingredient. There is only one way to avoid this trap: making marzipan yourself and reducing the sugar works and is not that difficult.
How to make marzipan yourself
When developing your own marzipan recipes, you follow the original recipe: two-thirds of the almonds are mixed with one-third of the sugar. 65 grams of very finely ground almonds serve as the basis for this, refined with powdered sugar, honey or coconut blossom sugar, rose water, cocoa powder, and bitter almond oil or aroma. The bitter almond oil is a compromise: Actually, some bitter almonds are used to make marzipan. But they contain toxic hydrocyanic acid. In the home, the risk of dangerous dosage is too high – that’s why it’s better to use aroma drops.
Three ideas for marzipan recipes:
- Mix 65 grams of almond flour with 25 grams of powdered sugar. Add some rose water and five drops of bitter almond flavoring. Then knead the mass. In the professional production of marzipan, the mass is stirred in copper cauldrons over an open fire and lightly roasted. In the household, people knead instead and then form the mass into small balls, which are finally rolled in cocoa. The marzipan potatoes are ready.
- As in the Orient, sugar can be replaced with honey. Honey is also mostly sugar and contains as many calories as refined table sugar. However, honey tastes sweeter and finer, which is why you need less to make marzipan than icing sugar: 20 grams of honey are enough for 65 grams of almond flour. Knead again and process into honey marzipan potatoes.
- The same works with coconut blossom sugar. Coconut blossom sugar is often referred to as a healthy sugar substitute because it is said to only cause the blood sugar level to rise very slowly. However, this is controversial. And be careful: Coconut blossom sugar also contains just as many calories as table sugar.
- You can also make a high-calorie snack yourself
- Even if you use less sugar than in the original recipe or sugar substitute, homemade marzipan is not much healthier than store-bought. When buying marzipan, you should make sure that almonds are at the top of the list of ingredients and that their proportion is as high as possible.
