Photo by Michael Donahue // Buy this photo
Marzipan at Dinstuhl's Fine Candies.
If your Christmas tree decorations look good enough to eat, buy a box of marzipan at Dinstuhl's Fine Candies before you take that first bite. This beautiful candy looks like an expensive holiday ornament, but also tastes great.
Each piece of the colorful marzipan is handmade at Dinstuhl's to resemble a fruit.
They look like they're hand painted with acrylics; the yellow pear is shaded with orange and the peach is pink with a red blush.
A customer asked if they were edible, said Sherry Ferrell, who works at Dinstuhl's in Laurelwood. When she assured her they were, the customer said, "I didn't think you had anything in here ceramic or resin."
The marzipan fruit is only available at Christmas at Dinstuhl's, a locally owned candy store that dates to 1902.
To me, the fudge-like marzipan tastes a bit like coconut and licorice. It also reminds me of mincemeat pie, my favorite pie.
Their marzipan actually is made with almond paste, said Becky Dinstuhl, president of Dinstuhl's Fine Candies. "It is just crushed almond paste and then we hand roll it," she said. "Then we paint it with a little bit of food coloring so you get the effect of the food coloring it. And we embellish it. Like the pear has a little clove stuck in the top. But's it's all hand done."
The marzipan fruit is a long-time Christmas tradition at Dinstuhl's. "It's been around as long as I can remember. ... I know we've been making it since the '50s. Probably it was made prior to that. It's just such a traditional holiday candy from Europe."
Marzipan is a Christmas tradition in France, Italy, Latin America and Germany. "It can be made with pistachios or pine nuts. We do the traditional German formula."
Their candy includes pear, peach, strawberry, orange and green apple shapes. "It's more of an old-fashioned candy."
People buy the marzipan for various reasons, Dinstuhl said. "It can be used to decorate Christmas party trays."
I suppose you also could hang it on your Christmas tree, but it wouldn't stay on mine for long.
Dinstuhl's Fine Candies locations include 436 South Grove Park Rd. in Laurelwood Shopping Center; (901) 682-3373.
Michael Donahue: (901) 529-2797; donahue@commercialappeal.com
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