Peppermint Pigs

Thanksgiving Day rolls around and on Thursday morning I go out to my storage room and start bringing in boxes when after about box 8 I realize the box with the Christmas tree in it is not in there. My tradition of decorating the tree on Thanksgiving evening will not be happening. I am perplexed as to where the tree has apparently moved itself to. I have no recollection of hauling it to Goodwill or any other donation location. Strange! I do have the option of going out and getting a deeply discounted tree at one the many black Friday sales. After a wonderful afternoon and dinner with Mother I choose to go home and sleep. Saturday morning I am up and headed for Home Depot where I find a lovely tree and only 3 other customers. There is only one other person over in Garden Ridge Pottery so I am shopping in Rock Star status. I have discovered the perfect time to shop over Thanksgiving weekend! No traffic, no crowds I was back home by 10:30 and decorating my tree.

For years I have seen pink peppermint candy pigs for sale at Christmas. I have no idea what it is about as it was not a tradition at our, or either of my grandparents homes. Yet it is a tradition that has been around since the 1880s. 

 In Victorian culture fat round pigs represented good health, prosperity and happiness. A Candy store in Saratoga New York created a peppermint candy pig for the Holidays as an after dinner treat to be shared around the table. The tradition is to put the pig in a small bag and whack it with a tiny hammer until it breaks into many pieces. The tidbits of peppermint are then passed around the table with everybody eating a piece for good fortune in the New Year.

These pigs were an accident that succeeded. They were designed to be pigs but they were supposed to be marzipan. Lacking marzipan the creator went to his uncle’s apothecary shop and picked up a bottle of peppermint extract and used that to make the candy. He was a success.

 Today the candy is made the same way in small batches with only five pigs per kettle batch. They are poured into molds that are copies of the one surviving original mold. There is even a very real pig that lives at the factory and greets guests at the front door.

This leads to what is marzipan exactly? It is a confection or candy that is made from sugar or honey, almond meal and a bit of almond extract. They are molded into shapes of fruit, vegetables or tiny pigs and given as candy treats.

 It can also be rolled, glazed and used as icing on cakes and cookies. In England it is used to ice Christmas Cakes or Fruit cakes.

 In the Netherlands and Belgium the tradition of marzipan as treats originated as a pig instead of fruit shapes that is eaten at New Years to bring good luck. It is called Glücksschwein meaning Lucky pig.

Go back to Saratoga, New York which was a resort town back in its heyday with a world famous racetrack, Saratoga Downs, casinos and 2 of the world’s most opulent European Hotels staffed by chefs from … Europe where marzipan pigs were a Holiday tradition. The reason the marzipan pig could not be made was the lack of almonds.

Marzipan, according to some legends, comes from Persia and was written about in the tales The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. It was brought to the Mediterranean area of Europe by the Turks,  reaching Germany via the Baltic Sea.

The origination of the word Marzipan is a mystery, shrouded in folklore and involving similar words from many geographical locations. I believe I prefer it that way.

Sending all of you piggy wishes this Holiday season.