# Where can I get good marzipan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 18, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025 "2024-06-18T20:37:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/41 "2024-06-20T00:19:53Z")
Pompeii is certainly nice as well. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/42 "2024-06-20T12:14:51Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > They’re good, but like Froot Loops there is a hint of disappointment because the different shapes and colors actually taste the same but you expect them not to. I think that’s why I was always disappointed in marzipan as a kid; the little decorative items looked so delicious, but the taste was always blandly disappointing. I think I’ll stick with chocolate-covered almonds over chocolate-covered marzipan. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/43 "2024-06-20T13:22:24Z")
Don’t rush it! I like to start with an aperitivo, usually something sparking 🍾, to go with the antipasti. Then a vitelo tonnato before the primo piatto, probaly a simple pasta dish, spaghetti vongole for instance, or risotto milanese. Then the secondo, the main course: perhaps ossobucco milanese, saltimbocca a la romana or fish, if it looks promising. _Then_ the gelato, followed by some [Vin Santo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vin_Santo) with amaretti cookies or cantuccini and the espresso. Or a bit of marzipan, to stay in the thread. Plenty of reasons to visit Italy! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/44 "2024-06-20T14:41:09Z")
I love marzipan, regardless of which European country I get it from. Just be aware that the low-grade stuff is frequently cut with peanuts. Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/45 "2024-06-20T15:14:51Z")
There’s a Mexican concoction called mazapan that is 100% peanut and sugar. It’s extremely crumbly, but I prefer it to marzipan, which I find tends to be way too sweet for my taste on its own. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/46 "2024-06-20T17:43:27Z")
[de la Rosa is the common brand](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0430/5489/1157/products/4_900x.png?v=1616122462) near checkout in many convenience stores ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/47 "2024-06-20T18:19:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > but I prefer it to marzipan, which I find tends to be way too sweet for my taste on its own. Try marzipan from Lübeck, which by definition has more almond and less sugar. It’s great. Especially Lübeck _Fine_ Marzipan has no more than 10% sugar. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/48 "2024-06-20T18:35:04Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Especially Lübeck _Fine_ Marzipan has no more than 10% sugar. Or maybe I can chew on almonds. 0% added sugar, pure almond goodness. For some tastes, more sugar is better, because otherwise why pay more for almond butter? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/49 "2024-06-20T19:05:38Z")
> [@Retzbu\_Tox](#): > > This is the only sort of marzipan I’ve ever eaten. We used to make it ourselves when we were in the SCA. I don’t recall it as being difficult to make. It’s not _difficult_ to make. That is, it doesn’t require any special techniques or equipment, but it’s fiddly. Any time you’re making little pieces of something, it’s time-consuming and boring. I used to make chocolate truffles, but I just got tired of making so many little pieces. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/50 "2024-06-20T19:09:35Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > it doesn’t require any special techniques or equipment, but it’s fiddly And sticky. We used to make it when I was a kid. > [@gnoitall](#): > > pure almond goodness Sure, but the question was about marzipan, not about why the OP (or other posters) might want to eat something different. Marzipan is sweetened. I like almonds very much, but they’re not marzipan. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/51 "2024-06-20T19:16:37Z")
If I’m eating plain almonds, I want them toasted. _Love_ toasted almonds. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/52 "2024-06-20T19:17:48Z")
I’ll see if the Polish groceries by me have any — they tend to have a lot of German sweets. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/53 "2024-06-20T19:20:37Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > If I’m eating plain almonds, I want them toasted. _Love_ toasted almonds. I think that might be part of the disconnect in what people expect marzipan to taste like if they haven’t had it before. You hear almonds and sugar and expect to taste like toasted or roasted sugary almonds. But instead, its made out of blanched almonds. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/54 "2024-06-20T19:24:11Z")
Actually, I love almonds in all their forms. I love Jordan almonds, too. I got some at a shop in Birmingham MI with a thin layer of chocolate between the shell and the almond. Excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/55 "2024-06-20T19:28:07Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > You hear almonds I realized this part might not be clear. It’s the _general_ ‘you’. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025/56 "2024-06-20T20:01:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Or maybe I can chew on almonds. > [@susan](#): > > I like almonds very much, but they’re not marzipan. > [@Folly](#): > > You hear almonds and sugar and expect to taste like toasted or roasted sugary almonds. But instead, its made out of blanched almonds. Marzipan (and the almond paste you get at the grocery store in the baking aisle) is indeed made with almonds, but it’s flavored with bitter almond oil, which is why it tastes the way it does. It’s a very different nut and flavor than almonds. Bitter almonds are too high in cyanide to use for marzipan in the US (in fact bitter almonds can’t be sold to US consumers), but in Europe they allow some small amounts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-good-marzipan/1003025.md?page=2)