SC - Help - How to Candy Almonds

[Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg]

At 9:58 AM -0500 11/5/99, ChannonM at aol.com wrote:

>Marchepane
>
>The sweet confection, currently known as marzipan is made from ground
>almonds, rose water,  confectioners   sugar and egg whites. This sweet was a
>discovery of the later Middle Ages as it required refined sugar to make. The
>origin of marzipan is difficult to determine as many countries claim its
>discovery.   It is believed, however,  that the name marchpane  was first
>used in Italy in the 13th Century11.  Many countries have claimed to be the
>place of origin of marzipan, however, it should be noted that  the name
>marchpane  can be compared to the Arabic word mautaban--meaning glazed
>vessel12.  Recipes for marchpane can be found that date back as far as  13th
>Century France13.

It isn't clear to me what the evidence is that marzipan originates in 
the "later middle ages," or even what you mean by that term. We don't 
have any medieval European cookbooks earlier than the 13th century to 
look for Marzipan in. When was sugar first refined, and how do we 
know?

David Friedman
Professor of Law
Santa Clara University
ddfr at best.com
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/
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