In my opinion, marzipan is a bit underrated in the world of sweets.
It’s not a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer like chocolate, or a Halloween icon like gummy bears, or an after-dinner favourite like mint. Marzipan occupies the same tier as, say, licorice. Those who love it, live for it. Those who don’t…find it disgusting.
Furthermore, it’s rare to find folks who like both marzipan and licorice. It’s like Messi and Ronaldo. You’ve gotta pick a side.
I’m in the pro-marzipan, anti-licorice camp, and I’ll tell you why.
First, there’s the holiday connection. Marzipan is the secret superpower in Christmas cake, right between the layer of icing and the cake itself. Licorice has no holiday connections that I’m aware of, and frankly, I’d rather get a stocking full of coal than a stocking full of Licorice All-Sorts.
Second, marzipan isn’t a spotlight hog. Licorice is so full of itself it thinks you’d be happy to have it on its own. Marzipan is modest. It’s a helper, a key ingredient in many chocolates and the aforementioned Christmas cake.
Finally, licorice comes from a plant called Glycyrrhiza glabra which, first of all: ridiculous name. Completely off the rails. But more to the point, doctors have advised that black licorice can cause complications that are “acutely life-threatening” according to heart.org. Marzipan meanwhile comes from the honourable almond, jam-packed with vitamin E, protein, and calcium among much else.
So eat your marzipan. And while you’re at it, listen to Marsipan by Swedish lofi artist Onyx Value.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The guitar and horns are delicious natural ingredients.
2. The bossa flavour is as sweet as sugar.
3. A modest little piano solo in the second minute.
Recommended listening activity:
Splitting something sweet with someone sweet.