marzipan
noun
- confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal (ground almonds)
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌmɑːzɪˈpæn/ / /ˈmɑːzɪpæn/ / /ˈmɑɹzəpæn/
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from German Marzipan, from Italian marzapane, Venetan marzapane. Believed to be, with influence from pane (“bread”), derived from Arabic مَرْطَبَان (marṭabān, “spice box”) which comes from the name of a Burmese port known for its spice exports, Martaban, now called in Burmese မုတ္ထမ (muthta.ma.).
- A confection made from a paste of almonds, sugar and egg white as a binder.
- A similar confection made using another nut, such as peanut or hazelnut.
“Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and grill […] then grind finely […] then add the caster sugar and ground hazelnuts [to egg whites] and mix to a stiff marzipan paste. Sandwich the pecan nuts together in pairs with a little of the hazelnut marzipan.”
“Hazelnut marzipan. Hazelnuts are used as an alternative to almonds, ground together in a proportion from 11⁄2 to 2 parts nuts to sugar. Almonds may be mixed in according to taste.”
- A piece of such a confection.
“One afternoon not long afterwards you waited byher bedside as she swam through anesthetic. A box of cherry chocolates and a dozen roses in your lap. Cherry chocolates and chocolate-covered marzipans. Then you drove her home. Chocolate-covered marzipans being her favorite.”
“In one hand she held a handkerchief, and in the other she held two cherry-shaped marzipans. Rosalia smiled when she saw the marzipans and took them and the handkerchief from Madre Carmela.”
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from German Marzipan, from Italian marzapane, Venetan marzapane. Believed to be, with influence from pane (“bread”), derived from Arabic مَرْطَبَان (marṭabān, “spice box”) which comes from the name of a Burmese port known for its spice exports, Martaban, now called in Burmese မုတ္ထမ (muthta.ma.).
- To cover with marzipan.
“a marzipanned cake”