The holidays are not complete without something sweet.
If looking for a unique and delicious sweet for your holiday buffet or that perfect gift, Dinstuhl’s Fine Candy Company has just what you need … traditional European marzipan.
“Marzipan is a beautiful hand-painted almond paste candy that’s in the shape of fruit. It a wonderful delicacy for the holidays,” explains Rebecca Dinstuhl, President of Memphis-based Dinstuhl’s.
Available only in November and December, production of these gorgeous candies is very labor intensive. “Each year as we prepare for the Holidays at Dinstuhl’s, we take two days that are special marzipan days and that’s all we make because we have to prepare the almond paste, and then we hand-roll and hand-shape each piece. Then they’re carefully painted with beautiful colors so that they look like different fruits of the season.”
Care is given to each one to not be only beautiful but realistic. “To get the texture of the orange piece, we roll it on a grater to give it the dimples like an orange. The strawberries are shaped like a strawberry and they are rolled in a tinted sugar so that it gives also the texture of a strawberry.”
In addition to the traditional fruits, sometimes other shapes are used.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, marzipan figurines are given as presents to children during Saint Nicholas's Eve. In Germany, it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a loaf of bread at the holidays. In some regions of Spain, marzipan is formed into simple but fun animal shapes.
Whatever the shape, these sweet, hand-painted delicacies should be on your list to try this Holiday season.
This is Jennifer Chandler with The Weekly Dish. Happy Holidays!
