[Sca-cooks] Follow up on Marzipan question

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Olwen the Odd:
>>Also sprach Anne duBosc:
>>>On Saturday, December 21, Brighid wrote:
>>>>The oldest recipe for marzipan (though it doesn't use that name) is
>>>>an Arabic one.  I *think* it's from the 13th century Anonymous
>>>>Andalusian Cookbook.  The oldest recipe which uses that name (or
>>>>a variant thereof) is in the 14th c. Catalan confectionary manual:
>>>>"Per Fer Mersepa".
>>>
>>>>Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
>>>
>>>Brighid, is this the recipe from The Anonymous Andalusian?  And
>>>where could I get a copy of Per Fer Marsepa?
>>>
>>>>From Charles Perry's translation of An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook:
>>>[62]Sukkariyya, a Sugar Dish from the Dictation of Abu 'Ali al-Bagdadi
>>>Take a ratl of sugar and put in two šqiyas of rosewater and boil it
>>>in a ceramic pot until it is on the point of thickening and sticks
>>>between the fingers. Then take a third of a ratl of split almonds,
>>>fried, not burnt, *****and pound well***** and throw the sugar on them and
>>>stir it on the fire until thickened. Then spread it out on a dish
>>>and sprinkle it with ground sugar.
>>
>>Isn't this more like praline than like marzipan? Even though there's
>>a rosewater element involved, which what we think of , classically,
>>as praline, doesn't, it's the whole cooking process which makes me
>>think this. The sugar appears not to be cooked to a caramel, but then
>>the almonds are slightly toasted. I always thought of marzipan as a
>>dough, though, rather than as a cooked product. YMMV.
>>
>>Adamantius
>
>****and pound well****...I think you missed that Master A.

As it happens, you're right, I did. But this is still cooked, and
praline is very frequently used ground into a powder, too. So, I
guess what we need to know is if there are any early marzipan recipes
calling for a syrup instead of ground/grated/powdered sugar. I know
modern versions of marzipan can be made that way, but I don't recall
any of the more obvious period Western versions that do that.

Adamantius