The Marzipan Machine and traditions of Yuletide

I personally love the fact that Family Farm incorporates regional traditions in its Quests and Missions.  The most recent time-restricted Quest is that of 'Darryl's Pipe Dream'.  It involves Black Peter in the form of Zwarte Piet and the White Horse Amerigo.  This is not the first Quest to be centred on the White Horse that usually is the property of St. Nicholas himself and not his companion Black Peter.

A very close friend of mine from Germany, now deceased, remembered Black Peter from his childhood and sent me a copy of a book of poems about the character.  He had hunted down a reproduction of a very old, formerly out-of-print book in order to renew his own acquaintance with the tradition.  Both he and I were rather astounded by the actions of Black Peter towards the naughty boys and girls at Yuletide.  One poem involved the consumption of children's fingers!

Cannibalism is not a rare topic in folktales and fairytales.  Every one is familiar with the tale of Hansel and Gretel and the Witch who fattens them in a cage in order to make a feast of them.  Their ultimate revenge is to shut her inside her own oven.  The whole business of cannibalism is related to ancient rites of fertility, of making grand sacrifices in order to bring fertility to the soil.   'The Golden Bough' includes an entire chapter on human sacrifice.  It originally was more of a barter system that anything else.  Crops and Animals were considered to be as valuable as human beings and the sacrifice to the land of the latter was the price paid to gain a good harvest and have good hunting.

In any event, part of the new Quest is the placement, completion and use of a Marzipan Machine.  It is a delightful little machine with the figure of a toy duck upon it.  Almond Flour, added to the list of Flour types that the Mill can grind some months ago, is one of two ingredients that make Marzipan.  It is the second ingredient that determines the type of Marzipan that is produced.

The types of Marzipan are:

Marzipan Pig Candy: 89 Coins
  Made with Lychees
Marzipan Koala Candy: 128 Coins
  Made with Chocolate
Marzipan Cow Candy: 86 Coins
  Made with White Chocolate
Marzipan Frog Candy: 85 Coins
  Made with Lime
Marzipan Duck Candy: 78 Coins
  Made with Pears
Marzipan Hippo Candy: 150 Coins
  Made with Blueberries