Admonter Marzizoni
Admont Marzizoni: A recipe dating back over 300 years, created by the then Abbot Anton of Admont Abbey, is now available once again in the museum shop as a speciality found nowhere else in the world. Its distinctive flavour captivates visitors from near and far.
What was the biggest challenge in making the marzizoni?
Many years ago, Dr Sepp Hasitschka found this recipe in the archives of Admont Abbey whilst conducting research for his monastery cookbook. As he was unable to recreate it successfully himself, he commissioned my boss, August Stockhammer, to bake the original recipe. Because it dries out very quickly, this product was never included in the range. Three years ago, I was commissioned to produce the Marzizoni for the museum shop. As I was aware of the problems with the recipe, I wasn’t particularly keen on taking on this commission at first. After consultation, I was allowed to modify the recipe.
The proportion of almonds and sugar is the same as in the original recipe. However, to make the Marzizoni last longer, we use a large proportion of the almonds to make marzipan, which consists of two-thirds almonds and one-third sugar. In addition, the spice mixture has been reduced to achieve a flavour that is intensely spiced yet pleasantly mild (ginger). To ensure better preservation, we use white and dark chocolate. The shape and colour of the Admonter Marzizoni diamonds correspond to the abbey’s coat of arms. It took us around 40 attempts to get this right. We are proud to have succeeded in creating this version, as it allows us to produce a unique product that is available exclusively from us. As we deliver door-to-door, they are freshly made to order.
The recipe for Admont Marzizoni, which is over 300 years old and was written by Anton, the then abbot of Admont Abbey, finds its way to the Stockhammer patisserie and, as a finished product, back into the shop.
What is so special about this recipe and its ingredients?
The Benedictines are very hospitable and well known for taking pride in having a table laden with food. However, as the most important festivals fell during Lent, this product – although very small – enabled them to demonstrate their prosperity to their guests. At that time in history, all spices were imported from India. These reached Central Europe either via the Silk Road or by sea. It was not for nothing that spices were once valued as highly as gold. Similarly, sugar was not yet available here in that century, as the sugar beet was only discovered much later, quite by chance, for sugar production. Sugar was mostly imported from the Caribbean in the form of sugar cane. Here, we used honey to sweeten our food. The same applies to almonds. So you can see that no ordinary person could have afforded such ingredients. What is now gold leaf on foodstuffs that are beyond our means used to be, quite simply, exotic spices.
