History – Page 12 – European Traveler

Magnificent Marzipan

By Sharon Hudgins
Photos by the author

I’ve been in love marzipan ever since I first tasted it as a child. Back then, marzipan candy was a rare and expensive treat, often difficult to find in the United States. But when I later moved to Europe, I discovered a whole world of marzipan, enough to nourish my lifelong love affair with this seductive sweet.

I’ll admit it: I’ve never met a marzipan I didn’t like.

Marzipan is nothing more than a smooth paste of finely ground blanched sweet almonds mixed with sugar. Other ingredients are sometimes added, too, such as water, egg whites, sugar syrup, honey, almond extract, a small amount of bitter almonds, rosewater, orange blossom water and food colorings. But that description doesn’t do justice to the tantalizing taste of this tempting treat, nor to the many ways in which marzipan is used today by professional confectioners and home cooks.

On the grocery shelf, the difference between “almond paste” and “marzipan” is mainly the ratio of sugar to almonds, with marzipan containing more sugar. That ratio varies, depending on the individual producers and the various countries where this confection is made, some of which have laws regulating the proportion of each ingredient. The finest German marzipans contain two parts (or more) of ground almonds to one part of sugar. Others contain 50% almonds and 50% sugar. Danish Odense marzipan, the European brand marketed widely in the United States, has only 28% almonds. (Odense “Pure Almond Paste” contains 45% almonds.)

MARZIPAN MIGRATION
Culinary historians think that marzipan originally came to Europe from the Middle East, where almond trees and sugar cane have been grown since ancient times, and where there’s a long history of making sweets from almond paste. Even though the early Greeks and Phoenicians planted almond trees around the Mediterranean region, it was the Arabs who expanded the almond orchards, introduced sugar cane cultivation, and began producing marzipan in the areas of southern Europe they conquered and colonized between the 8th and 11th centuries. After Arab power waned in those parts of the Mediterranean, during the 11th to 15th centuries, the secrets of marzipan-making were preserved by nuns in Catholic convents, who produced these sinful sweets for sale to support themselves. That’s why former Arab-ruled lands such as Spain, Sicily, and Malta still have strong marzipan traditions today.

Historians surmise that marzipan spread to northern Europe from Venice and the eastern Mediterranean during the time of the Christian Crusades, from the 11th through 13th centuries. Certainly by the Middle Ages marzipan was known in France, England, and Germany, although in many places it was considered a costly medicine, sold only in pharmacies. It soon became a favored confection of the upper classes, whose cooks molded marzipan into elaborate and fantastic shapes for use as showy centerpieces or edible finales to medieval feasts.

MARZIPAN MANUFACTURE
A traditional confection in Europe for several centuries, marzipan is made today by both artisan confectioners and big industrial plants. Centers of marzipan manufacture include Toledo, Spain; Palermo, Sicily; Budapest, Hungary; and Lübeck, Germany. Each has its own style of marzipan, with more or less sugar, baked or unbaked, and modeled into more shapes than you can imagine. At marzipan stores in Europe, I’ve seen this sweetened, colored almond paste formed into fruits, vegetables and flowers, from miniature to life-size; animals from penguins, polar bears and “good luck” pigs (for the New Year) to walruses, lions, hedgehogs and squirrels; Easter eggs and Easter rabbits; Santas and angels; fish and shellfish; lifelike sandwiches, cheeses and sausages; even modern marzipan cell phones and McDonald’s-like cardboard packets full of french fries.

Marzipan has other uses, too. Europeans fill chocolates with marzipan; wrap it around nuts, candied fruits and other sweet fillings; bake it inside cookies; and stuff dates, prunes, peaches and apples with it. They roll marzipan into thin sheets as a covering for fancy cakes and use it as ingredient in tortes and tartes, pies and pastries, sorbets and ice creams, even sweet dumplings, ravioli and roast pork. I once ate at a restaurant in Lübeck that featured “marzipan lasagna” for dessert, made with layers of white marzipan “pasta” and a red and green fondant filling.

MARZIPAN MUSEUMS
Several cities in Europe have marzipan museums, most of them attached to a confection company’s coffee shop, candy shop or factory store. The Niederegger Marzipan Salon, on the second floor of the Konditorei-Café Niederegger in Lübeck, Germany, has a display about the history of marzipan. But the actual shop on the ground floor is even more interesting, where you can buy more than 300 types of the company’s products, including whimsical edibles made out of marzipan and Niederegger’s irresistible Cuandolé marzipan liqueur.

Leu’s Marzipan-Land in Lübeck features a “Marzipan-Show” on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You’ll see all the stages in the manufacture of marzipan, as well as an unusual exhibition of large marzipan sculptures, before pigging out in the shop where you’ll be tempted to buy more marzipan than you should ever eat in one sitting.

Hungary boasts three marzipan museums, all owned by the Szabo confectionery company. My favorite is the Szabo Marzipan Museum in Szentendre, a pleasant (but now overly touristy) little artists’ village not far from Budapest. This small museum is chock full of displays of colored marzipan shaped into Disney characters, a Cinderella coach, a massive wedding cake, a cactus garden and even a detailed replica of the Hungarian parliament building. On the ground floor there’s a traditional confectionery kitchen where you can watch marzipan being made and a shop where you can buy goodies to go. Next door the Szabo café-and-pastry shop offers a wide variety of luscious Hungarian cakes, tortes, ice cream concoctions, marzipan candies, coffees and teas.

The smaller Szabo Marzipan Museum in Budapest features large marzipan sculptures of the Matthias Church, the Fishermen’s Bastion, and the Chain Bridge across the Danube (all local landmarks), a Chinese pagoda, several Harry Potter characters and other curiosities, some made from more than 100 pounds of marzipan. And there’s another Szabo Marzipan Museum in Pécs, also connected with one of their coffee-and-pastry shops.

In Sonseca, Spain, just south of historic Toledo, you can visit the interesting Delaviuda Marzipan Museum at the Delaviuda candy factory, which shows how Spain’s distinctive (and delicious) marzipan is made. And finally, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, also has a couple of small marzipan museums in the Old Town. I just haven’t managed to eat my way that far north yet.

ADDRESSES AND WEBSITES:
Konditorei-Café Niederegger, Breit Strasse 89, Lübeck, Germany
www.niederegger.de/en/cafe_niederegger/marzipansalon/
marzipansalon.php

Leu’s Marzipan-Land, Drechlerstrasse 6, Lübeck, Germany
www.marzipanland.de/eng.html

Szabo Marzipan Museum, Hilton Budapest, Hungary
Szabo Marzipan Museum, Dumtsa Jeno St. 14, Szentendre, Hungary
Szabo Marzipan Museum, Apaca St. 1, Pécs, Hungary
www.szabomarcipan.hu/angol.html

Delaviuda Marzipan Museum, Calle Santa Maria 4, Sonseca, Spain www.delaviuda.com

Lamb Stew Hits the Spot in Ireland

Photos courtesy of Tourism Ireland

County Wicklow is famous for its sheep and wool, and the Wicklow Mountains have been renowned from the earliest times for the native breeds, which are of a distinct type, and have been on the mountains for centuries. The date of origin of the Wicklow Mountain sheep can only be approximated, but one thing is for sure, the Irish have many seasonal, regional and tasty recipes to take care of nature’s providence, including plenty for the less popular cuts.

This recipe is a twist on the typical Irish lamb stew with a few additional flavors thrown in such as basil, oregano, celery, mushrooms and red wine. It comes from Wicklow Lady Fiona Teehan, whose mother is handed a gift of a whole sheep every year in return for some sheep-minding duties by her father. Fiona is manager of Pembroke Townhouse, a superb example of classic Georgian elegance in the heart of Dublin’s Ballsbridge area, just a 10-minute walk from the city center.

WICKLOW STEW
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 tablesp sunflower oil
1 shoulder of Wicklow lamb, boned, trimmed of excess fat and cut into small cubes
3-4 sticks of celery, chopped into 1 inch lengths
1 onion, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms, halved
1/2 c. red wine
1 c. vegetable stock
1 tablesp cornstarch
1 tablesp fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1 teasp dried basil)
1 tablesp fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1 teasp dried oregano)
1 teasp grated lemon rind
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To garnish: freshly chopped herbs (some or all of basil / oregano / parsley)
To serve: mashed potato (or buttered noodles or boiled long grain rice to your preference)

Method
1. Heat half of the oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the lamb cubes and fry them, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until they are well browned. Transfer the meat to a plate.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a casserole. Add the celery, onion and mushrooms and continue cooking over the heat until the onion is just soft.
3. Add the wine to the pan and boil well for two minutes.
4. Blend the stock together with the cornstarch and pour the mixture into the pan.
5. Add the basil, oregano, lemon rind. Season with the salt and pepper. Then, add back the cubed lamb. Mix well with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Cover with a lid or tinfoil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 40-45 minutes or until the lamb is tender.
7. Sprinkle with a garnish of freshly chopped herbs (as above). Serve piping hot with mashed potato, (or buttered noodles or boiled long grain rice to your preference)

Optional: If you like garlic, add four cloves of minced Garlic with the onions.

To freeze: This dish freezes well. Cool quickly and pour into a freezer-proof container or bag. Label and freeze. Do not store in freezer for longer than two months.

For more info, go to Discover Ireland.

Germany’s Black Forest: Home of the Famous Wooden Cuckoo Clock

Jack, the cuckoo clock demonstrator in the Black Forest, explains the history and manufacturing process at the Familia Drubba’s Hofgut Sternen in Breitnau, Germany.

By Marilyn Heimburger
Photos by the author

One of my early childhood memories is watching my aunt change the time on her cuckoo clock so I could hear the cuckoo sound over and over again.

My grandfather, who emigrated from Germany at the age of 22, bought the clock during his only visit back to his homeland, after World War II. Since my fascination with the clock has continued into adulthood, I was happy to learn more about them during a trip to Familia Drubba’s Hofgut Sternen. Breitnau, in Germany’s Black Forest, which was a stopover destination included in a Rhine River Viking Cruise I took recently.

GREETED BY CUCKOO AND MUSIC

If you pull into the Hofgut Sternen parking lot at the top of the hour, you’ll be greeted by the cuckoo, music, and dancing characters of one of the largest cuckoo clocks in Germany. The two-story-high clock is built into the side of the shop.

Inside the building, Jack, the cuckoo clock demonstrator, briefly explains the history and manufacturing process of Germany’s most popular souvenir. A primitive form of the cuckoo clock dates back to the mid-1600’s and used stones as weights (the original “rock around the clock,” according to Jack.) It had no minute hand, only one hand to tell the hour. Shield clocks, with a flat face board painted with colorful flowers and scenes, were made around 1720, with the first cuckoo appearing in one around 1760. The station house clock, with a peaked roof and hand-carved leaves and animals, appeared around 1860.

The cuckoo sound was chosen for the clock because it was an easy sound to imitate. Two different sized bellows send puffs of air into two wooden pipes, to produce the two-pitched cuckoo sound.

At least two pinecone-shaped weights hang on chains beneath the clock: one to operate the cuckoo and one for the cog-driven timing mechanism. If the clock has a third weight, it has been fitted with a music box, which plays after the call of the cuckoo. The clocks are “wound” by pulling the chains to raise the weights to their highest position. Clocks with large pinecone weights are wound once a week; clocks with small pinecones are wound every day. While my aunt had to still the oak leaf pendulum every night to stop the clock and quiet the cuckoo, many clocks now have a switch that turns off the cuckoo and music, but allows the clock to keep running.

The Linden Tree wood is used in the clocks because it is easy to carve and features very little grain.

CLOCKS FROM LINDEN TREE WOOD

Most cuckoo clocks are made of wood from the Linden tree, because it is easy to carve and has hardly any grain. Since the wood is so moist, it has to dry for two years before it can be used. To make the frame board for the front of the station house clock, a stencil is placed against the flat board, and the basic outline is lightly spray-painted. This design is cut using a scroll saw or jig saw. Nothing else is done by machine. The rest of the frame board is hand-carved, a process that can take six to eight weeks for a large clock. Vines, oak leaves, birds, rabbits and stags are the traditional decorations on station house clocks.

Character clocks add humor to timekeeping. One clock at Hofgut Sternen features a man shoveling a dumpling into his mouth with each sounding of the hour. The “mother-in-law clock” has a woman bopping a lazy son-in-law on his head at the top of the hour, to encourage him to get to work.

An interesting observation: during all of the years I’ve looked at cuckoo clocks, I had never noticed that the Roman numeral used for the number four on the clock face is IIII, and not IV. Two theories sem to be most popular explaniations for this. In ancient Roman times, “IV” was an abbreviation for the Roman god, Jupiter. IIII was therefore used out of respect so that Roman public sundials or clocks didn’t have “1 2 3 GOD 5” on them. Later clock markers continued to use this alternative Roman numeral system on their timepieces. The other theory is simply one of symmetry on the clock face. The number eight, or “VIII” on the clock dial, is the heaviest number, consisting of four characters. Using IV (only two characters) for the number 4 on the opposite side of the clock face, would ruin the symmetry. Therefore the four-character “IIII” is preferred.

I am now the proud owner of my aunt’s cuckoo clock. The carved oak leaf decorations show evience of being dropped and re-glued by my uncle. But the cuckoo still works, and now enchants my grandchildren just as it did for me.

In the Black Forest, these men and women, in typical colorful garb from the region, are tour guides who know the towns, mountains and legends of this famous area.

IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION…

These retailers sell German-made cuckoo clocks on the web. We have listed them as a convenience to European Traveler readers, but we have no specific recommendations who to buy them from: www.clockway.com, www.german-cuckoos.com, www.BlackForestGifts.com and www.designedintime.com.

The Christmas Markets of Hamburg

Perhaps surprisingly, Hamburg’s Weihnachtsmarkt at the Rathaus in the center of Hamburg is a relative newcomer to the world of Christmas Markets in Germany.

Several years ago the city fathers decided to look for a new concept for its holiday market, and found a creative partner in Bernhard Paul, director of Roncalli’s Circus. With its colorful circus-themed market stalls and entertainment, including a nostalgic carousel and historic fairground organ, the Christmas market at the Rathausmarkt opened for only its eighth year in 2007. In that short time, however, it has become one of the most popular markets in northern Germany, with nearly three million visitors each year.

LEBKUCHEN AND GLUHWEIN ABOUND

About 80 dealers from all over Germany gather to sell their handicrafts and food specialties. Shoppers enjoy the smell of roasted almonds, Lebkuchen and Gluhwein as they stroll through the rows of vendors, who are grouped according to their wares.

One row is filled with toys, including model trains. Handcrafters such as glassblowers, makers of hats or lanterns and amber jewelry are in another aisle. There is a food specialties area that includes cheese from Tirol, Christstollen from Dresden, Lebkuchen from Nurnberg and candy makers in action. Tired shoppers can enjoy genuine German refreshments indoors at the colorful Art Nouveau Viennese café at the market.

Three times each day Santa Claus, in his sleigh pulled by reindeer, flies high over the market to the sound of American Christmas carols –is that Bing Crosby I hear? Standing in a basket suspended under the moving sleigh is the Christkind (Christmas angel who delivers gifts to the children), waving at the crowd in the market below.

A city as large as Hamburg will, of course, have more than one Christmas market to attract visitors.

Of the 12—that’s correct, 12—Hamburg Christmas markets, one of the trendiest is Weihnachtsmarkt Jungfernstieg, which overlooks the beautiful Inner Alster Lake. White is the theme color of this market:
white lights highlight the vendor booths, which are covered by soaring white roofs, and are topped with white star-lit peaks. Open for only its second season in 2007, this unique market boasts an ice-skating rink and an open-air lounge, which supplies warm blankets to customers. Shoppers can find clothes and jewelry along with traditional nutcrackers and food specialties.

MINIATUR WUNDERLAND

If rainy weather limits your time at the outdoor Christmas Markets, take advantage of some of the many attractions that Hamburg has to offer. Miniatur Wunderland is the world’s largest model railway and is housed next to the Elbe River in Hamburg’s warehouse district. The trains run on several different levels of the building, and a full-time paid staff monitors the miniature world.

Allow several hours to enjoy the more than 700 model trains, which run through scenery modeled after Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and even the Western United States. See a circus in action, cars driving on highways and ships sailing the ocean. See fires break out and emergency trucks speed to the rescue. And then there are the trains—they are everywhere—and they are of every kind, all running as if they were on prototype railroads. And every half hour, daylight becomes nighttime inside this miniature HO scale world. There is an admission, and a nice gift shop.

It will be hard to pull kids away; perhaps dads won’t want to leave, either! Check out this fascinating world at www.miniatur-wunderland.de

BALLINSTADT EMIGRATION MUSEUM

Hamburg’s BallinStadt Museum offers an amazing and detailed look at the history of emigration to America via the port of Hamburg.

The museum is named after Albert Ballin, director of the HAPAG shipping company, who had a 30-building departure city built between 1901 and 1907 for emigrants. The museum is located on this site and housed in three reconstructed Housing Pavilions.

A model constructed beneath the floor and viewed from above through glass, shows the layout of the original departure city. Interactive exhibits tell the emigrants’ stories, and show what daily life was like as they awaited their journey to America. A family research center at the museum offers the opportunity to access Hamburg passenger lists from 1850 to 1934.

Easily reached by public transportation, the BallinStadt Museum shows how the Port of Hamburg became known as the emigrant’s gateway to the world. www.ballinstadt.de

If you’re ready for more shopping, and weather is still dampening the outdoor markets, try indoor shopping at the Europa Passage. Architect Hadi Teherani designed this structure with a glass ceiling and 21 arches, which connects five floors filled with 130 shops and restaurants. Located with a view of the Inner Alster, (one of Hamburg’s lakes), the mall offers modern, upscale shopping in light-filled arcades. www.europa-passage.de

For accommodations within walking distance from the Europa Passage, the Rathausmarkt, and the Christmas market Jungfernstieg, try the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski. First opened in 1909, this luxury hotel next to the Outer Alster served passengers awaiting their departure on ocean liners. Now it is a local landmark, recognized from afar by its white-lit rooftop globe and ladies emblem, which was used in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies.”

A sumptuous breakfast buffet and beautifully appointed lobby with tea service, offer the traveler warmth and welcome after a full day of rewarding Hamburg experiences.
www.kempinski.atlantic.de

For more information about Hamburg, visit their website at www.hamburg-tourism.de

Christkindlmarkt Nuremberg-Style

By Marilyn Heimburger
Photos by Marilyn and Don Heimburger

When you think of Christmas markets in Germany, Nuremberg usually comes to mind first. It has a very long history and is considered the “queen” of the Christmas Markets.

The Christkindlmarkt of Nuremberg was first called “Kindelsmarkt” in an inscription on a wooden oval box dated 1628.

The main market square between the Schoener Brunnen (beautiful fountain) and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is the site of this famous Christmas market. The 180 market stalls with their red and white-striped canvas roofs are arranged in rows and fill the area with the aromas and lights of the holiday season. The popular Christkindlmarkt has been called a “Little Town of Wood and Cloth.”

PRUNE MEN ARE SPECIALITY

Vendors offer the beautiful craft wares and decorations found in many markets. But one special item you can find here are prune men: figures 6-8 inches tall with arms and legs made of dried prunes and heads made of walnuts.

An edible specialty of Nuremberg is its tiny sausages, which weigh exactly 23 grams and are about the size of a little finger. According to legend, they were made small enough to fit through the keyhole of a door, just in case someone was locked out of the city gate after curfew and needed something to eat!

Another treat is Nuremberg’s famous Lebkuchen (gingerbread). Lebkuchen Schmidt ships its goods all over the world, and is available in beautifully decorated tins, even music boxes (www.lebkuchen-schmidt.com.)

Unique to the Nuremberg Christmas market is Christkind, who officially opens the market at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before the first Sunday in Advent. The Christkind, or Christmas Angel, represents the Christ Child as the one who gives gifts on Christmas, as opposed to St. Nicholas, who delivers gifts into the waiting shoes of good children on December 6.

Every two years since 1969 a young girl is elected by a combination of popular vote and jury selection to represent the Christkind. Strict rules govern the age and height of a Christkind candidate. She must also be a good student, since her many appearances force her to miss school, and she must not be afraid of heights, because she must stand on a balcony near the top of the Church of Our Lady to deliver her market-opening pronouncement!

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Nuremberg is understandably proud of its Christkindlmarkt. In order to protect the market’s reputation, war toys are banned, as are decorations of plastic firs, products displayed in cardboard boxes, and canned Christmas music.

A short walk away from the main market square is the Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square) where you can find 14 vendor stalls from Nuremberg’s partner cities offering their unique wares.

In addition to the Christkindlmarkt in Nuremberg’s main market square, a special Kinderweihnacht (Children’s Christmas Market) on the Hans-Sachs-Platz has entertained families since 1999. A 100-year-old steam Ferris wheel, a steam railway and a merry-go-round offer rides. Vendor stalls have lower counters to invite children to see and touch, decorate cookies and candles, and have pictures taken with Santa. Across from the children’s market is the Sternenhaus (Star House), which serves as headquarters for the Christkind and offers cultural programs for children.

One very special market open all year round, but is especially magical during the Christmas season is the Handwerkerhof. Located across from the main train station, the stone and half-timbered structures look as old as the King’s tower and fortification walls that surround them. But the entire little town was built in 1971 as an additional attraction during the Albreacht Durer 500 anniversary celebration. It has remained a year-round attraction highlighting craftsmen who work with pewter, leather, glass, candles, precious metals, gingerbread and dolls.

You can watch bakers make Lebkuchen, shop for tin toys, wood and glass ornaments, have a mug of hot spiced wine, and then eat at the Bratwurstglocklein, a wonderful wood-paneled, low-ceilinged pub with waitresses dressed in traditional dirndls, and food served on pewter plates. Try the tiny sausages each of three ways: cooked with vinegar and onions, smoked and grilled. Served with potato salad, saurkraut and beer, it’s a tradional Nuremberger treat. The Handwerkerhof is open six days a week (seven days a week during Christkindlmarkt) from the middle of March through December 31 (www.handwerkerhof.de.)

Wonderful accommodations for your Christkindlmarkt visit can be found at the Maritim Nuernberg (www.maritim.de.) It is conveniently located just a short walk from the main train station, and across the street from the Handwerkerhof. Another short walk takes you to the main market square and the Christkindlmarkt in the shadow of the Schoener Brunnen.

One more suggestion: before leaving the main market square, look carefully at the Schoener Brunnen until you find the gold ring. Make a wish and turn the ring three times to make your wish come true. Perhaps you will wish to return to this beautiful market again next year!