Marsepein is the Dutch word for marzipan: a smooth paste of finely ground almonds and sugar, sometimes with a little glucose, egg white or flavouring. In the Netherlands and Flanders it is eaten year-round in pastries, but its great moment is Sinterklaas, when marzipan is given as small moulded and painted figures — fruit, vegetables, animals, and above all the little pink marzipan pig.
Marzipan reached Europe in the Middle Ages through the Mediterranean trade, and became popular in the Netherlands by the seventeenth century, when sugar and almonds were luxury goods. It was associated with Saint Nicholas early on: in older custom a young man could declare his interest by giving a girl a marzipan figure or heart at the feast, a role later taken over by other gifts.
Composition and quality
Marzipan quality depends mainly on the share of almonds. Cheap products contain more sugar, and some "marzipan" sweets use cheaper fillings; premium marzipan contains a high proportion of almonds. Two regional marzipans have protected status in the European Union: Lübecker Marzipan in Germany, whose makers work to strict minimum almond ratios, and Mazapán de Toledo in Spain, which must contain at least 50% almonds. Persipan, made with apricot or peach kernels instead of almonds, is a cheaper substitute that must be labelled as such. When buying, check the ingredient list: almonds (amandelen) should come first or close to it.
Marsepein should not be confused with amandelspijs, the coarser almond paste used as a filling in Dutch pastries such as the banketletter and gevulde koek.
Marzipan fruit and figures
Dutch Sinterklaas marzipan is mainly sold as figures pressed in moulds and painted with food colouring: strawberries, apples, pears, bananas, carrots and peas in the pod, as well as animals, small Sinterklaas and Piet figures, hearts and letters. Marsepein fruit — miniature fruit that looks convincingly real on the plate — is the classic gift box. Similar marzipan fruit (Marzipanfrüchte) is also made in Germany and elsewhere; what is particular to the Netherlands is the timing, with the figures concentrated around 5 December.
The marzipan pig
The marsepeinen varkentje — a small pink pig, often with a curly tail — is the best-known Dutch marzipan figure. Pigs are an old European symbol of luck and plenty; in Germany and Austria marzipan pigs (Glücksschweine) are given at New Year, while in the Netherlands the pig belongs to Sinterklaas.
Marzipan in France, Germany and Spain
Readers comparing traditions — "traditionele marsepein Frankrijk", for instance — will find that each country uses the paste differently. In Germany, Lübeck is the best-known marzipan city, famous for marzipan loaves and chocolate-covered marzipan, and Königsberg-style marzipan is browned on top. In France, pâte d'amandes is used for coloured petits fours and marzipan fruit, and almond-paste specialities include the calissons of Aix-en-Provence (almond paste with candied melon under a sugar glaze) and the traditional massepains of a few towns. In Spain, Toledo marzipan is shaped into small figures and eaten especially at Christmas. Dutch marsepein shares ingredients with all of these; its distinctive feature is the Sinterklaas figure tradition.
As a Sinterklaas gift
Marzipan figures are typically bought from a baker, chocolatier or supermarket in the days before the feast and given on pakjesavond, alongside the chocolate letter and borstplaat. A marzipan figure is often kept on display for a few days before being eaten — part of its charm is that it looks too good to eat.