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The World of Marzipan Shapes by Country



In the Jewish Quarter of Toledo, Spain, visitors will find a wonderland of spiraled and dense almondy cakes, topped with studs of candied fruit and swirls of white icing. These are the famous marzipan eels at Santo Tomé, a seventh-generation marzipan and candy shop that opened in 1856 and now has five locations throughout the city. When you walk into the main shop and factory, on Santo Tomé Street, you’re faced with a Guinness-record-breaking marzipan sculpture of Don Quixote (another popular export of the area) rising more than eleven feet and brandishing a lance and sword.

The eels are most popular around Christmastime, ​​Santo Tomé co-owner and director of production Ana de Mesa Gárate tells me, which is about the time when sweet-tooths around the world begin to see marzipan popping up in all manner of shapes, colors, and sizes. A gift of marzipan during the holiday season is meant to bring the recipient luck for the coming year. Depending on where you are, though, the shape of that luck will change. Here’s what you can expect based on the country you’re in.

Spain

Courtesy of Santo Tomé


The marzipan eel in Spain originated with not candy but actual eels. “Eel was a staple on the tables of the upper classes,” Mesa Gárate says. “Legend has it that at one point there was a shortage of eels in the Tagus River as it flowed through Toledo, and that it was the marzipan makers’ guild who ensured that ‘the eel’ was never missing from the tables.” Gárate also notes that at Santo Tomé, the confectioners add scales to the marzipan eels so they look more like a fish, since the Jewish community isn’t allowed to eat eel.

Italy

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Italy’s beautifully painted frutta martorana date back to the 12th century. According to legend, nuns at Palermo’s La Martorana convent were expecting an archbishop to visit, and they wanted to impress him. The trees around the convent were bare, though, so they crafted hyper-realistic fruits out of marzipan and hung them from the trees. The archbishop was impressed, enough that the nuns began to sell frutta martorana to parishioners, and the tradition has continued to this day.

Norway

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Throughout Scandinavia, receiving a marzipan pig for the holidays is the sweetest version of good luck. The tradition evolved out of a German saying, “Schwein gehabt,” which means “having a pig,” or being lucky. The saying stems from the Middle Ages, when it was considered excessively lucky to have a lot of pigs among your livestock.

Germany

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Scandinavia’s pig tradition was likely born in Germany, where tiny pigs are handed out for luck as well. But Germany might be more well-known for marzipan potatoes, or Marzipankartoffeln. The recipe is simple and typically made to use up leftover marzipan (probably from making pigs!). All the crumbs are gathered, rolled into small balls, and covered with cocoa powder to resemble the humble potato.

Switzerland

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On Dec. 11-12 in Geneva, Switzerland, locals celebrate a festival called L’Escalade, which honors the day in 1602 when the Duke of Savoy’s troops tried to climb the walls of the city. The invaders were foiled because of cook Mère Royaume and her pot of vegetable soup. As they climbed, Royaume dumped the scalding pot onto the attackers, knocking them off and leading to a win for the Swiss. The best part of L’Escalade, though, is the big chocolate cauldrons filled with marzipan vegetables meant to represent Royaume’s soup, which are pummeled into bits in homage to the soup spilling over. Throughout the holiday season, you can find smaller chocolate pots filled with marzipan vegetables; these ones are meant to be eaten sans-destruction.

India

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In India, particularly in Goa, marzipan makes the biggest entrance around Easter, in the form of intricately decorated marzipan Easter eggs. (Don’t worry, Goa also enjoys marzipan sweets around Christmastime!) The marzipan is a little different than you might expect, though. Instead of being an almond creation, east India recipes use cashews. That’s because cashews are more readily available throughout India, while almonds generally have to be imported.



Jennifer Billock

2025-12-01 12:27:00