Jonesin' For Marzipan

On the long weekend, (praise be to Catholic saints and their ever-present holidays), we take a daytrip to Toledo, famous for swords and marzipan. The former I'm not too interested in, not having sold my soul to the Lord of the Rings and not yet feeling the need for a reenactment of the battle of Minas Tirith. No, it is the marzipan, unlike the swords, which has become an addiction of mine these past few weeks.

For those not in the know, marzipan is basically clumps of sugar shaped into small figures. The most common of the figures here seems to be either a trumpet or a whale. I have vague memories of the movie The Marzipan Pig from when I was younger, and my brother and sister and I always did wonder what marzipan was exactly. The fact that it is edible was apparent, as you can see from the picture above: the pig is laying on its side while being snacked upon. That's one scene I won't forget. Marzipan is made of crushed almonds and the best marzipan here is apparently made by nuns who aren't allowed to show you their faces or speak. They open a small door in the convent, you stick your money in, and they shove some marzipan at you. It all seems quite shady, like the old nuns are in fact manufacturing crack in-between bible studies and rosary clicking. Can't I just buy my marzipan out in the open?

In addition to me and the nuns, it would seem that Martha Stewart loves it, too.