Pistachio Marzipan

[Lior]

Today I made homemade pistachio marzipan. I still need to process it more but my machine got a bit hot so I am letting it cool down. In the meantime it is nice and green, tastes good, smells good but is still a bit too grainy. Any tips or such would be welcome.

[Kerry Beal]

Today I made homemade pistachio marzipan. I still need to process it more but my machine got a bit hot so I am letting it cool down. In the meantime it is nice and green, tastes good, smells good but is still a bit too grainy. Any tips or such would be welcome.

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I'm sure this answer is no help to you - but a fellow I know here in town is using his indian stone grinder to make his marzipans and pastes very smooth.

Here is a Santha stone grinder being used to conch chocolate.

[HQAntithesis]

The only way to reduce the graininess is to continue to process it. Generally you need a process with a high rpm, if not a broyeuse. For a rough idea on the speed required, I've not had success on robotcoupe's with a maximum rpm of 1500 but find that the 3000 rpm robotcoupe's do a very good job. There's still a slight graininess but I find it preferable as it seems more rustic.

[Lior]

Oh thanks for the responses! I would love a grinder like that, Kerry!! I wonder what rpm mine has. I am sure it isn't great!! I also don't mind a bit roughness- I totally agree- there is some pride and romance in a slighly grainy homemade marzipan! Would time have an effect= the longer it operates? I will go see if mine has info on it!

[Lior]

Just thought to update those following this. I have been processing on and off all day!!! I am nuts!! WHen the machine heats up I wait for it to cool... Anyway this last time a change occurred. It suddenly became a paste- really quite soft, too soft to mold like dough!! Now it also got hot! Perhaps that is why! I hope this heat did not ruin something! Now I am waiting for it to cool down.

[gap]

Hi Lior, sounds like you may have got the mixture too hot and released the oil. I have always been told the idea is too make the marzipan paste without getting the mixture too hot and releasing the oils. I know when we made marzipan in class, we would put the mixture in the freezer to cool it before blitzing. If the machine got too hot, we'd put the whole bowl into the freezer.

[Lior]

oh dear!! So that must have been what happen. No way to repair? I put it ina bagin the fridge... It is also less green...

[gap]

Sorry, I don't know of any way of repairing it. Maybe you could add some icing sugar but really I'm just guessing here - I have no idea if that would work or taste any good. Maybe test it with a small portion of the mixture first?

[Lior]

It tastes delicious, but looks greenish=brown and is not the right consistency!! I guess that how it is with experimentation!! Maybe I will find a use for it - in a ganche or something!

Thanks Gap!

[Rehovot]

As a big fan of pistachios, I'm sure it would be great in a sandwich cookie or macaron, too.

Or dotted on ice cream... Or as a tuile filling... I could go on.

[Sif]

When you've drawn out the oil, there's not really anything you can do to save it. But as long as it tastes good... I'd probably try my hand at a frangipane or a similar baked item, just to see if it would work.

[Lior]

Thanks for the suggestions! I really want it for chocolate though! Maybe just mixed with chocolate, slabbed and dipped? I will look through my books and see if I get ideas!

Thanks anyhoo.

[HQAntithesis]

The fading of the green is natural, you can slow it down by the usual measures: keeping it cool, away from light and avoiding excessive exposure/incorporation of air. Adding cornstarch/icing sugar can be used to counteract the oil coming out but it won't really be the same. A higher sugar content in the recipe will make the problem easier to avoid to begin with but makes it less enjoyable to eat: a 50-55% pistachios to 45-50% sugars is probably a good ratio. Dextrose powder and trimoline can be used in place of some of the sucrose to prevent drying and crystallising of the sugars. You can also consider adding a bit of tempered cocoa butter to the marzipan to firm it up to make for a nicer cut/degustation.

[Lior]

Well thank you so much! I will keep it cool next time! I just cam eto post updates when I saw your tips! They relate tomy very problems! Anyway I took the drippy brownish greenish goop out of thefridge this morning to figure out what to do with it. I added teaspoon byteaspoon of 96% spirit to it until Ihad added about 6-7 tsp and... WALLA!! It emulsified and came together like playdough! I was fascinated!! It is still a bit oily and the color can take your mind off pistachio paste to other undesirable places but I have what I need!!

and:

[reenicake]

If the flavor is still good, you can probably make small balls/sticks and dip them with a fork... I agree the color is not that appetizing but having added the spirit that gave you enough liquid to re-emulsify the oils... or try making a nougat with it! That would probably taste very yummy.

[fiftydollars]

Would adding a bit of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) help preserve the color?

[Lior]

That could be a good idea! But I guess it would have to be added at the beginning.

In the end Imade a layer of almond marzipan and a layer of my pist marzipan. I willpostpicslateron. They taste very nice but I think the almond marzipan outdoes the pistachio layer.

[Genny]

Lior, I'm fascinated! I never even considered making my own marzipan. What process & recipe did you use. What other nuts are considered choice candidates for this? I'm guessing a lower fat nut since higher fat ones tend to become butters.

Thanks!

Genny

[John DePaula]

Well thank you so much! I will keep it cool next time! I just cam eto post updates when I saw your tips! They relate tomy very problems! Anyway I took the drippy brownish greenish goop out of thefridge this morning to figure out what to do with it. I added teaspoon byteaspoon of 96% spirit to it until Ihad added about 6-7 tsp and... WALLA!! It emulsified and came together like playdough! I was fascinated!! It is still a bit oily and the color can take your mind off pistachio paste to other undesirable places but I have what I need!!

and:

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I am wondering if you could add a bit of chlorophyll to make it greener without the use of artificial colorants...

[Lior]

I will look into that green idea! Clever! Well here are my pralines before dipping:

and marbled- extra and in between pieces after cutting out (hence that flexi Pavoni ganache mould would be handy) :

and finished. The top Pistachio layer kind of drooped a bit due to the warm chocolate.:

Recipe:

250 g raw pistachio nuts- I shelled and that's it. I think if I blanched and peeled the outer thin peel my color may be better.

62g of almonds, bought blanched broken pieces and ground

125g sugar

3g water

First I ground the almonds in my little coffee grinder (2 batches)

Then I did the same with the Pistachios- in small batches!

Then I put it all in the food processor as I thought it may work just as well!

I put the water and sugar in a small pot and mixed and stirred and wiped down sides till it reached 121C It quicky passed that by a few degrees... be careful and prepared!

So mine was a golden colored syrup and I think it should have been opaque. So my pistachio paste has a slight caramel tone to it- not at all bad!

I added this to the food processor while it was working. Then I just continued grinding till the machine heat up. I wold allow the machine to cool down and I would then continue. Until it was too much! The rest is history recorded above!

Enjoy!

editted for space bar issues!

Edited June 6, 2008 by Lior (log)

[Lior]

squares and truffles up close:

[Genny]

Lior, those are beautiful! What purpose are they for? Playing in the kitchen, an event, for sale?

[andiesenji]

I have used hazelnuts, brazil nuts, (steamed to soften) as well as almonds. I got some advice from an Italian friend many years ago to deal with paste that had been processed a bit too much and "broke" or released the oil.

She suggested kneading the paste on my marble slab and adding small amounts of chestnut flour to take up the excess oil. It is a neutral flavor so does not change the taste of the nuts and the texture is lovely.

My first batches of marzipan back in the early '60s were made with a food grinder (The Universal hand-cranked grinders had a special fitting for making nut pastes) as it was long before the advent of food processors and blenders were not up to the challenge.

I have a collection of antique and "vintage" food grinders, some are well over 100 years old so do count as antiques.

For a fig, coconut and nut candy that is similar to the texture of the filling in "Newton" cookies, I use an electric food grinder, alternating the ingredients. It is one way to avoid overheating the batch.

[Tiny]

Lior, I made marzipan in class today (I made a toasted hazelnut and almond one). From what we did in class, a few things you might want to try different next time would be first off to blanch the nuts first (this softens them and also adds extra water to the recipe which helps with the emulsifying) by bringing the water to a boil, putting in the nuts, bringing back to a boil and turning off and letting soak for 5 min. The team that made pistachio marzipan pealed them first, but it still came out a sorta brownish green. I think the best way to get a really really green color wold be to use sicilian pistachios. Also you might want to throw a percentage of almonds into the nut mix, they have the ideal solid to oil ratio that really helps with texture.

Now when your marzipan separated (mine did in class too) you did the right thing by adding more liquid. Marzipan is a fat in water emulsion and can be fixed this way. The key is to add very very small amounts until it stops being oily but not so much that it sticks to the processor. It's okay if it heats up (the natural friction from the grinding is unavoidable), ours was quite warm when it came out, once it cooled it firmed up nicely.

Very nice making your own marzipan btw....I don't think Id ever try it outside of a professional kitchen....props to you!!!!

[Lior]

I am bumping up this topic. I purchased ready made pistachio paste. Just pistachios-like peanut butter-ground up and smooth and also oily. Now I thought to try making the marzipan again using this. It is quite liquidy/ oily. Before I begin are there any ideas, recipes or warnings anyone can offer?