Marzipan Day

What the day is

Marzipan Day is observed on January 12. Marzipan is ground almonds and sugar, and almost everything people dislike about it comes from getting that proportion wrong.

Origin and background

Good marzipan is almond-heavy, often around two parts almond to one of sugar, which tastes of almond and has a firm, slightly oily texture. Cheap marzipan inverts that, and what results is essentially sweetened paste with a suggestion of almond, which is what has given the whole category its reputation among people who think they hate it.

Two European cities defend their versions in law, with protected status recognizing recipes tied to Lübeck in northern Germany and to Toledo in Spain, both of which require a high almond content.

There is also a substitute worth being able to spot. Persipan is made the same way but from apricot or peach kernels rather than almonds. It is cheaper and turns up in industrial baking, and it tastes noticeably different. Its existence connects to the traditional flavoring of marzipan itself, because the characteristic almond aroma comes from bitter almonds, and a small proportion of them was historically included for exactly that. Both bitter almonds and apricot kernels contain the compound that releases cyanide, which is why the quantities are regulated and why most modern production uses a flavoring compound instead.

The etymology has never been settled, with candidate origins in Arabic and in medieval Latin, and no version commands agreement.

Its traditional uses are seasonal: baked through German stollen, layered into Battenberg, and formed into the eleven balls that sit on a simnel cake, one for each apostle except Judas.

How to take part

• Check the almond percentage on the packet before deciding you dislike marzipan.
• Make it yourself with ground almonds, sugar and a little egg white or syrup. It takes minutes.
• Toast a slice of stollen so the marzipan inside softens.
• Try the Toledo and Lübeck styles side by side.
• Model something with it. It is the most forgiving edible modeling material there is.