January 12, 2017 - Tanya's Trip to Lake Tahoe - Day 7 - National Marzipan Day

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 89 DAYS

Origin of Marzipan is Unclear...

Thursday here already!! Wow - this week is flying by!

So far so good!  Kelsey Aced her Relligion test and got the highest grade in the class - way to go Kelsey!! Studying does pay off and the good news is, I feel like I'm re-learning 5th grade all over again - lol.

Smoothie Selfie (c)travelincousins.com

Well, if you have been keeping up with Tanya's saga from Lake Tahoe, she has done NO skiing this week due to very bad weather conditions.

I am in a bit of shock, as I know she is, that being out there all week; spending all that money on a condo and not having even one day on the slopes!!

When I spoke with her last night (New York time), she was going a bit stir crazy, to say the least.  So, she and the kids jumped in the car and made their way, once again to the sledding area.
Read her blog for more.

One thing I suggested is that this expreience does make for a great future article: "What To Do When You Go Skiing in Tahoe and Are Not Able to Ski."

Knowing my cuz, she will be all over that idea in the near future to help our readers who may find themselves in a similar situation.

HAPPIER IN HAPPIER SKI TIMES LAST FEBRUARY IN LAKE TAHOE - ACTUALLY SKIING!!

If you've been following along since the beginning  of 2017, you probably notice that Tanya and I are doing more blogging taking into consideration the various daily holidays and celebrations. 

We felt it added a point from which to tie in travel and destination facts and fun.

Today just happens to be National Marzipan Day - one of my all-time favorite sweet delights.

But, did you know that the history of this almond-based dessert is widely disputed.

Let's take a look at what some of the various acounts are ...

MARZIPAN (credit: Escoffier Online Culinary Academy)

Marzipan is a sweet, yellowish paste of ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites, often colored and used to make small cakes or confections or as an icing for larger cakes.

Accoridng to my research, there are several countries that are credited with either inventing Marzipan or as the place where Marzipan originated.

According to Spanish-Food.org, "This delicious sweetmeat's origin is disputed by several nations, however there are two theories which are more backed up by historians than others. Spain claims it was invented in Toledo and Italy says it was in Sicily."

Mazapán de Toledo in Spain, is protected by D.O. (designation of origin) and it's still one of the most prestigious in the world.

Toledo, Spain
For centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in peace, so one theory has Marzipan coming to Europe by the Arabs, for which it is believed to be a variation on an Arabic sweetmeat.

The Spanish invention legend is as follows: 
"Marzipan was invented by nuns of the Convent of San Clemente in Toledo. After the Battle of las Navas de Tolosa, where several of the would be Spanish kingdoms fought the Muslims, as an attempt to reconquer the occupied territory, there was a terrible famine in Castile. At the time there was no wheat stored in the city, but there was plenty of sugar and almonds and the nuns fed a paste made with these two ingredients, and perhaps some others, to the undernourished people of the city." (credit: Spanish-food.org)

(credit: El Aderezo.com

According to this account, marzipan is of Arabiic origin based on its description in One Thousand and One Nights in which it is described as being used during the hardships of Ramadan or as an aphrodisiac.

Today, in Spain, Mazapán de Toledo is protected by D.O. (designation of origin) and it's still one of the most prestigious in the world. ​

(credit: Pinterest)

Sicily, Italy
The story of the Sicilian invention of marzipan centers around a weathy noblewoman who commissions a convent to be build in Sicily, bearing her name, Eloisa Martorana.

The Sicilian legend is as follows:
"In 1193, the nuns of this convent, which were of  Greek origin, spent their time in the elaboration of a paste made of sugar and almond, which they later shaped in miniature animals or fruit. They would then paint it in vibrant colors with different natural dyes, including pigments extracted from roses, saffron and pistachio nuts." (credit: Spanish-food.org)

Sicilian Marzipan - Frutta di Martorana (credit: La Gazzetta Italiana)

The nuns continued making their marzipan until 1575, when it was forbidden by royal decree, since  it was believed this practice got in the way of the nuns' religious duties. Lucky for us, they still found a way to produce it!

Candy: Niederegger Lubeck (credit: BakingMeHungry.com)

If Spain and Italy aren't enough, let's now throw in  Lübeck, Germany.
​
According to GermanPulse.com, "History records marzipan as a valued blend of crushed almonds and honey, which dates back to 1800 BC in ancient Egypt. It is believed that Marzipan was introduced to Europe by returning crusaders in the 13th century."

Lübeck is famous for its marzipan industry.
The Lubeck legend is as follows:
"Marzipan was first made in Lübeck, possibly in response either to a military siege of the city or a famine year. The story, perhaps apocryphal, is that the town ran out of all food except stored almonds and sugar, which were used to make loaves of marzipan "bread"." (credit: seriouseats.com)

Wow, I feel like I've been all over the world with that historical overview!!

Equally important to the hisotry of marzipan is the wonderful taste and distinct flavor it possesses.

It is also interesting to note is jthat many countries  regulate the percentage of almonds a recipe must have for it to be legally called "marzipan."

​Please head on over to Tanya's Scoop to get more yummy facts about Marzipan!


The rest of my day is pretty usual - errands, which includes the grocery store.  My goodness, these kids go through food fast!!

Gianna has Drama Club try-outs today, for which she was both excited and scared!  They are putting on a production of Alice in Wonderland - I hope she lands one of the main characters!!

That's it for today guys!

Have a wonderful day!

-E
xoxo
​

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: LAKE TAHOE

Survival Mode in Tahoe

Hiya guys! Still in Tahoe here - actually as many of the news outlets have put in we are buried in snow!

Tree in our 'yard' (c)travelincousins.com

(c)travelincousins.com

So pretty (c)travelincousins.com

It is being dubbed the Storm of the Century.

And I can't believe that we've been up here all this time STUCK and haven't even been able to touch the slopes. 

I've got to tell you how I was rather proud of myself (keyword WAS) keeping all positive and keeping it together all week long. 
But then last night happened, and I kinda sorta had a slight breakdown - it all kinda just hit me at once.

Ya see, as Elisa started to tell you, when we found out that we couldn't go skiing yesterday, I decided we should at least go back to the local sledding hill.

The afternoon was going quite lovely, the snow had stopped for a while and we could actually see the lake and the beautiful surroundings for the first time since getting here, so much so that I even decided that we should/could stop at Sand Harbor to get out, stretch our legs and of course snap a few pics.

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

According to AboutLakeTahoe.com:
​Sand Harbor is arguably Lake Tahoe's finest beach.
The area's beauty is derived from the numerous rocks as much as the sand.

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

The kids ran around like pups that were finally let off of their leashes! Shhh don't tell them that I just compared them to canines. LOL

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Sand Harbor (c)travelincousins.com

Anyhow our next stop was to be the sledding hill that was only a few more miles away at the intersection of the hwy 28 and the hwy 50.

It so happened that although I've been to this hill a bazillion times, I totally drove past my turn off and thus passing the hill.

But the thing was is that I never saw it!

So I made a u-turn and as we past the location where the hill was, there was nothing but a wall of snow! The parking lot was gone and all.
You'd never guess that we were just sledding there on Monday afternoon. 

Then as I drove by I spotted the top of the stop sign that was at where the street (our turn off) would've been. Totally snowed in.

Well okaaaaay with nothing else to do we started heading back to Incline Village and started to hear our chains making noice.
I pulled over just as soon as it was possible, thinking that the chains needed to be tightened.

However once we were out of the vehicle we had noticed that it wasn't that the chain needed to be tightened, a few of the rungs had completely snapped - okay well we can still get through this.
That's when we noticed that the opposite chain was completely missing altogether!

So as we continued heading back still hearing the noice, all of a sudden the noice stopped and the chain had apparently snapped off.

Leaving us with no chains whatsoever and another storm on the way!

Waking up today I knew that several things had to go perfect in order for us to get to and on the slopes

• The resort had to be open! 
• The roads had to be clear.
• And the storm had to hold off.

And so I woke up and checked that the resort was in fact finally going to open, but again with limited lifts and runs accessible. But the storm had already hit and the roads ALL had chain control.

Now that would pretty much leave us without being able to get to the resort and no skiing whatsoever on this ski trip. But the bigger picture is that since the weather is finally suppose to be clear tomorrow and we would no longer be stuck and be able to head back to SoCal (in time for the kids Disney rehearsal).

So I got on the phone in hope of finding chains somewhat nearby. I eventually get on the phone with someone very helpful who actully had more than one style of chains that will fit our tires. 

And now get this: while on the phone with the associate he asks where we need ot go, and then explains that one of the styles he has are not even being accepted over the passes - the style that he was referring to is the same style that we just lost yesterday!
Sooooo losing our chains and having to deal with yet another mess was really a blessing in disguise.
More reinforcement that EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON!
​

Now let's talk about something sweet and something that I am a big fan of:
                      MARZIPAN (Yummmm)
Here are 17 interesting and fun facts about the sweet treat:

1. The word “marzipan” is derived from German Marzipan or Italian marzapane, most likely after St. Marcus; the Estonian name is martsipan. 
2. In the city of Tallinn, Estonia - they offer Marzipan tours and have a Marzipan Gallery, where you can mould and paint your very own marzipan figurine.
3. Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
4. The recipe is a trade secret.
   Usually having three ingredients: sugar, almond paste, and the magical-trade-secret-ingredient. Over time, it’s recipe has changed very minimally. First with honey instead of sugar, but that was short lived, and rose water was also an ingredient until recently when it was replaced by this mysterious secret ingredient.
5. There are two proposed lines of origin for marzipan (read more about this in Elisa's column); they are not necessarily contradictory and may be complementary, as there have always been Mediterranean trade and cooking influences. In both cases, there is a reason to believe that there is a clear Arabic influence for historical reasons (both regions were under Muslim control). Other sources establish the origin of marzipan in China, from where the recipe moved on to the Middle East and then to Europe through Al-Andalus.
6. In the Middle Ages, marzipan was sold by pharmacists. They recommended it as a medicine for treating physical and mental disorders. Pharmacies used special Latin name Marci panis for it. In those days marzipan was a really exquisite delicacy, available only to the wealthy.
7. Was widely sought after from Merchants trading in Venice. Thanks to the Silk Road, obtaining spices, textiles, animals, and other wares from the Orient, Venice became the biggest center of export/import from the Far East. One of the items that was widely fought over traded was marzipan.
8. In Russia, marzipan became known from tales of Andersen, Hoffmann and Grimm brothers, where it symbolizes the children’s happiness and magic. Under the tsars marzipan was produced for more than one hundred years. Only very wealthy people could afford such rare and exquisite delicacy. It was a gift worthy of the emperor himself – a truly royal treat!
9. In the Soviet Union they made marzipan in the “Westernized” Estonia, which served as a showcase for the entire country. Until today the Danish-owned factory “Kalev” makes its famous brand chocolates with marzipan, well-known to those born in the USSR, along with marzipan in chocolate and other marzipan products.
10. The world’s largest pistachio marzipan sweet weighed 9,255 lb 14 oz and was made by 225 chefs in an event organised by Spacetel Syria at Hamadanya Stadium, Aleppo, Syria on 1 July 2003.
11. They say that confectioners of an old Hanseatic city of Lübeck (Germany) know nearly two hundred recipes: marzipan with oranges, pineapples or rum. True connoisseurs know that marzipan is made according to a fairly complex formula and, ideally, contains at least 28-33% of almonds. Almonds themselves must be of high quality. All the details are important: sort of nuts, their flavor, moisture and time of harvest.
12. Marzipan is also made with other nuts (Indian nuts or peanuts). In such a case production is cheaper, but, in fact, the resulting product cannot really be called marzipan, as the real marzipan consists only of sugar and almonds.
13. January 12th is National Marzipan Day.
14. In Germany, there are life-sized statues made of this sweet almond confection!
15. Niederegger makes about 30 kilos (66.13 pounds) of it EVERY DAY in over 300 varieties
    Such varieties can seem endless but there are also the kind with a teaspoon of alcohol in them, such as these Grappa truffles. 
16. WEIRD FACT: There is a character in the Homestar Runner universe named Marzipan, who happens to be the only female character among the primary residents of the Homestar Runner universe. 
17. Due to almonds it contains (the source of lecithin), marzipan stimulates the nerve cell activity and is recommended as an “energy bomb” to those engaged in hard work, as well as to pupils and students preparing for their exams. Marzipan gives you energy without harming the body unlike some modern “energy drinks”. The only thing to remember is that eating marzipan in very large quantities can damage your figure.

There ya have it - who'd ever thought that there could be 17 facts all about Marzipan?!

I've gotta go take a hike in the snow now and fetch us some new chains.

Catch ya tomorrow,
​-T