Marzipan from Toledo
One of the most traditional gifts that we can bring home after visiting Toledo, as well as being one of the most famous products of the city, is marzipan. If you walk around the city centre you can find many shops that exclusively sell this delicious homemade product.
In the rest of Spain, marzipan is typical at Christmas time but in Toledo you can find it and enjoy it all year round. We can buy it in different kinds: from the one that is packaged in souvenir and food shops to the one that is sold by weight -which is the case in the traditional shops-. That is without mentioning some of the convents in the city where the nuns make the marzipan themselves as well as other sweets as a way of life.
Marzipan is made from such simple and common ingredients like almonds, sugar, honey and eggs, but it is the technique when mixing it and putting it in the oven that makes the whole difference. In Toledo, the tradition and craftsmanship of the local artisans mean that it is made with a special standard of quality, which has even earned it a Protected Geographical Indication.
Marzipan is especially sold in small chunks of different shapes, the typical figurines, but in Toledo it is also traditional to sell it in the shape of a spiral known as anguila, to which they add glazed fruit or candied spaghetti squash.
There are many marzipan artisans in Toledo and it is not hard to find somwhere where to buy it. However, there are some places that are more famous for it than others among the wide range of shops. El Obrador de Santo Tomé, located right on Plaza de Zocodover, -the most famous square in Toledo- is one of the most popular ones in the city; but we cannot miss out on convents such as the ones of San Clemente el Real or the one of Agustinas Calzadas.
Without doubt, it is a sweet that you have to try when you stay in the city of Toledo.