Almond paste
Encyclopedia
Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal
and sugar
, typically 50-55%, with a small amount of cooking oil
, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added to bind the two ingredients. It is similar to marzipan
but marzipan contains more sugar than almond paste, and often contains additional ingredients such as food preserves and food coloring.
Almond paste has much less sugar, typically 50-55% compared to 75-85% sugar for marzipan of cheap quality. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries
, but it can also be found in chocolate
s and as a higher quality alternative to marzipan. In commercially manufactured almond paste, ground
apricot
or peach
kernels
are sometimes added to keep the cost down (also known as persipan
).
(where it is known as mandelmassa) it is used in biscuits, muffins and buns and as a filling in the traditional spring season pastry semla
and is used in Easter and Christmas sweets. In Denmark (where it is known as marcipan or mandelmasse), almond paste is used in several pastries, for example as a filling in the Danish traditional pastry kringle
.
In the Netherlands
, almond paste is used in gevulde speculaas (stuffed brown-spiced biscuit) and banket
. It is used as filling in the fruited Christmas bread Kerststol
, traditionally eaten at Christmas breakfast. In Germany, almond paste is also used in pastries and sweets. In the German language
, almond paste is known as Mazipanrohmasse and sold for example as Lübecker Edelmarzipan, i.e. "high quality marzipan from Lübeck
".
Almond paste is the main ingredient of French traditional calisson
candy
in Aix-en-Provence
. It is used as a filling in almond croissant
s. Other types of croissants are plain or butter, and chocolate (filled). (All types of croissants are baked now in the United States as well.)
The Chinese
use almond paste in sweetheart cakes. The sweetheart cake or wife cake is a traditional Chinese pastry made with winter melon
and almond paste.
In Turkey, almond paste is traditionally made in Edirne, once the capital of Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman era of Turkish history, it was a royal delight mostly used in palace. It is now sold at delight shops in Istanbul and Edirne.
Almond meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds , whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds...
and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, typically 50-55%, with a small amount of cooking oil
Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added to bind the two ingredients. It is similar to marzipan
Marzipan
Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels...
but marzipan contains more sugar than almond paste, and often contains additional ingredients such as food preserves and food coloring.
Almond paste has much less sugar, typically 50-55% compared to 75-85% sugar for marzipan of cheap quality. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
, but it can also be found in chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s and as a higher quality alternative to marzipan. In commercially manufactured almond paste, ground
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
or peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
kernels
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
are sometimes added to keep the cost down (also known as persipan
Persipan
Persipan is a material used in confectionery. It is similar to marzipan but apricot or peach kernels are used instead of almonds. Persipan consists of 40% ground kernels and 60% sugar...
).
Uses
Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries of many different cultures. It is a chief ingredient of the American bear claw pastry, derived from many northern European types. In Scandinavia almond paste is used extensively, in various pastries and cookies. In SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(where it is known as mandelmassa) it is used in biscuits, muffins and buns and as a filling in the traditional spring season pastry semla
Semla
A semla or fastlagsbulle , laskiaispulla or fastelavnsbolle is a traditional pastry made in various forms in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden and Norway associated with Lent and especially Shrove Monday or Shrove Tuesday.The name semla is a loan word from German Semmel,...
and is used in Easter and Christmas sweets. In Denmark (where it is known as marcipan or mandelmasse), almond paste is used in several pastries, for example as a filling in the Danish traditional pastry kringle
Kringle
Kringle is a Scandinavian pastry, a Nordic variety of pretzel, which arrived with Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century, especially in Denmark...
.
In the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, almond paste is used in gevulde speculaas (stuffed brown-spiced biscuit) and banket
Banket (food)
Banket or Letterbanket is a sweet pastry that originated in the Netherlands and is popular in the Christmas season.Banket is made by rolling pastry dough around an almond paste filling and then baking it. The log is then cut into short lengths for serving...
. It is used as filling in the fruited Christmas bread Kerststol
Kerststol
Kerststol is a traditional Dutch oval-shaped fruited Christmas bread loaf.-The pastry:The pastry is made of yeast-bread dough with dried fruits, raisins and currants, lemon and orange zest, water, milk, butter, sugar, vanilla, brandy and cinamon....
, traditionally eaten at Christmas breakfast. In Germany, almond paste is also used in pastries and sweets. In the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, almond paste is known as Mazipanrohmasse and sold for example as Lübecker Edelmarzipan, i.e. "high quality marzipan from Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
".
Almond paste is the main ingredient of French traditional calisson
Calisson
Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing. Calissons have a texture not unlike that of marzipan, but with a fruitier, distinctly melon-like flavor...
candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
. It is used as a filling in almond croissant
Croissant
A croissant is a buttery flaky pastry named for its distinctive crescent shape. It is also sometimes called a crescent, from the French word for "crescent". Croissants are made of a leavened variant of puff pastry...
s. Other types of croissants are plain or butter, and chocolate (filled). (All types of croissants are baked now in the United States as well.)
The Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
use almond paste in sweetheart cakes. The sweetheart cake or wife cake is a traditional Chinese pastry made with winter melon
Winter melon
The winter melon, also called white gourd, ash gourd, or "fuzzy melon", is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is fuzzy when young. The immature melon has thick white flesh that is sweet when eaten...
and almond paste.
In Turkey, almond paste is traditionally made in Edirne, once the capital of Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman era of Turkish history, it was a royal delight mostly used in palace. It is now sold at delight shops in Istanbul and Edirne.