‹ The Method
I
Origin
Pâte d'amandes, almond paste, belongs to the confectionery and pâtisserie of the Mediterranean basin, where almonds and sugar met through the trade routes of the Arab world. In France it is carried by the pâtissiers and confiseurs, and in Provence it is bound to the calisson d'Aix. The professional kitchen treats it as a foundation: it is made, or bought at a fixed almond content, and then worked into confectionery, fillings and modelling.
II
Description
Pâte d'amandes is a smooth, pliable paste of blanched sweet almonds (Prunus dulcis) ground fine and bound with sugar, the proportion of almonds to sugar fixing its character. A paste made with equal weights is firm and fine in flavour, while one with more sugar is cheaper, sweeter and easier to roll. It may be made by pounding or milling the almonds with a sugar syrup cooked to the boule stage, or by working them with icing sugar and a little egg white or glucose. It is then rested and kneaded until it is homogeneous, matt and without grain, ready for rolling, moulding, colouring or enrobing.
III
The Thread
—Lübeck marzipan rests on the same principle of ground blanched almonds bound with sugar, and is governed by a minimum almond content. It is generally made with a higher proportion of almonds and is often finished by a light colouring in the oven, whereas the French paste is usually kept pale and used as a working material. German
—Toledo mazapán is also almonds and sugar worked to a firm paste, and shares the Arab-Mediterranean origin of the French preparation. It is shaped and baked until lightly golden as a sweetmeat in its own right, where the French paste is more often a component of a larger confection. Spanish
—Sicilian marzipan uses the same union of almonds and sugar and is modelled by hand into fruits and figures, then painted to resemble them. The French paste shares the plasticity but is chiefly employed to cover, fill and bind other pastries. Italian
IV
Flavour Context
Pâte d'amandes is eaten in small quantities within pastries, petits fours and confectionery, often beside fruit such as apricot, cherry, orange or pear, and with coffee, tea or a sweet wine such as Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. The reason is structural: its sweetness and fat are heavy and rounded, and they need the acidity of fruit or the bitterness of coffee to give them a clean finish. Its fine, dense texture also contrasts with crisp or aerated components.
V · Quality Hierarchy
Blanched sweet almonds of the first quality, freshly ground and used at a high proportion,… Good blanched almonds ground by the pâtissier, with sugar in a measured proportion near equal…
VI · Sensory Tests
touch: The finished paste should be supple and smooth under the hand, yielding without sticking and holding a clean shape…
VII · Where the dish lives or dies
The pivot is the cooking of the sugar syrup and the temperature of the paste during grinding and kneading. A syrup cooked too low leaves…
Pillars V — VII
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