They are not as popular as the Macarons, but the Calisson and the Nougat remain the candies of choice for many French citizens. Due to the continuing popularity of these treats, they remain highly demanded and heavily supplied. But only seldom do people know the history and the remarkable stories behind these iconic delicacies of the French confectionery industry. For example, did you know that Le Roy René, a famous pastry company, produces no less than 50 million Calissons every year? Whether you have a lot of knowledge or not, prepare yourselves to dive deep into the stories of the Nougat and the Calisson.
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The Secrets of the Calisson
The Legends behind it
The Calisson, a traditional and ancient food, is acclaimed as the chosen sweet treat of Provence, France. Calissons were invented in the fifteenth century yet remain one of France's most popular candies. The Calisson is often associated with an intricate legend of its very creation. It involves a tale of a noble marriage; Jeanne de Laval was displeased when she found out that her father signed her off to wed a King called René without her consultation, as many noble young women were typically treated at the time.
Of course, marriage to the King bore many rewards, titles and riches, yet she remained in a slump- as you see, she was vibrantly still in her youth, while he was an unattractive ‘old man’ already in his 40s. Not to mention, he was a widower with multiple children who weren’t hers, and some were even as old as her. Regardless of what Jeanne may have wanted or preferred, she did as her father ordered and married this strange man of royalty.
She did all that she was supposed to do but remained uninterested during the whole ordeal. Most significantly, she made a somewhat unconscious vow never to smile at anyone ever again. The King did not know how to please his new wife; he brought her the funniest jesters and fools to humour her, he bought her the latest and most expensive fashion, and he got her shining jewels. Yet, the new Queen Jeanne remained in a neverending gloom. She still refused to smile.
So in 1457, King René and his Queen Jeanne travelled back to his castle at Aix-en-Provence after three long and gloomy years. The people of Aix threw a massive celebration to honour their safe arrival. King René, still as clueless as he was before on pleasing his wife, ordered his chef to create a unique and mouth-watering candy for their dinner, in a last-ditch effort to appeal to Queen Jeanne and have her smiling in front of her new people. And so, the highly talented chef did as they were instructed, cooking up a treat that intentionally took the shape of the new Queen Jeanne’s sad and miserable eyes, including sugary fruits and almonds as its core ingredients.
At Queen Jeanne’s welcoming dinner that night, she did not feel an appetite for any of the main dishes presented to her. Jesters, fools, musicians and dancers were high in supply at the event, and still, their beautiful Queen adamantly refused to crack a smile. Nobody in attendance could comprehend why their new Queen remained distraught and unamused. Finally, the chef’s dessert was presented right in front of her. Uninterested, she picked up one of the eye-shaped candied treats and popped it right into her mouth. And for the first time in the King and Queen’s marriage, Queen Jeanne smiled.
She was thoroughly pleased with this new and unique delicacy and rewarded the room with a dazzling smile that warmed the hearts of all who beheld it. All attendees at the dinner felt overwhelmed to see their queen smile and were heard saying hr smile felt like a hug. This part of the story is essential to the treat’s name because “Little hugs'' translates in Provencal language as “di calin soun." Hence, the candy is called the Calisson. The marriage of René, King of Provence, to Jeanne de Laval, was finally marked by the new beautiful Queen’s sudden smile only when she tasted this fabulous treat, is what gave the Calisson its name. The confection was a victory for the King and his people by finally winning over their Queen.
However, interestingly enough, yet another legend based on the treat exists as well. In 1630, a plague devastated the city of Aix-en-Provence and left very few inhabitants alive in the town. One of the few men of nobility who remained steadfast by not fleeing was Assessor Martelly. He held a service to pray to the patron saint of the City of Aix, to protect himself and the rest of the remaining living citizens from this new and cruel disease. Calissons were offered at the service, and miraculously, there were no more cases of the illness after that. Ever since then, besides being a typical dessert, Calissons have held a religious significance and are blessed every first Sunday at each annual thanksgiving service in Provence, France.
Its Production and Influence
Most people from the area can attest that the Calisson remains a treat that demarcated most childhoods in Provence, especially during Christmas dinners in December. The candy has held such an emotional and nostalgic significance besides its historical and religious importance. Whether eaten at dinners as desserts or washed down with a steaming cup of tea, they are sure to please all who eat them.
The most well-known producer of the Calisson in Aix-en-Provence, Le Roy René, celebrated its 100th anniversary back in 2020. They seek to increase the number of locally grown almond trees to make this key ingredient locally sourced. They launched an initiative in 2015 to plant more almond trees on their land. Almond trees take around four years to grow any nuts, so they only recently started seeing any results. Now, they use more almonds grown in Provence for their Calissons than ever before. Though they are more expensive as the almonds are still very limited, customers have been known to pay more for locally produced and high-quality products created with ethical values as an uncompromised priority. However, Le Roy René, which was created back in 1920, still makes a small number of Calissons with almonds mainly imported from Spain as these almonds are equally high quality and are rich in essential oils. The managing director of Le Roy René is the highly accomplished Laure Pierrisnard.
A Calisson is created in a stretched oval shape, consisting of three layers of deliciousness. The base layer is made of a thin layer of wafer, while the middle layer is made of a combination of ground-up almonds and candied fruit with icing. Calisson makers specifically use melons from Provence as its chosen fruit. While Calisson makers use the same recipe for its traditional Calissons, they also have options of varying flavours such as ginger, blackcurrant, and lime. Making every Calisson is a skill passed down for generations, and the people in charge of creating them are known officially as Calissonières.
The processes to make Calissons are done manually by the Calissonières because the techniques, such as applying white icing, need to be done by hand for the finest detail. Every finished Calisson batch must be pristine, smooth and iridescent, without faults or flaws to be suitable enough for commercial sale. Calissonières must be incredibly diligent and knowledgeable about the ingredients that they use. They must be highly adaptive to different scenarios while producing the treat, such as being in a condition where humidity may affect the fruit used. Packaging the Calisson also requires great care, as they are fragile. If they are mishandled while being packaged and transported, hours or even possibly days of work could go to waste just by dropping them once.
Authentic Calisson producers make 50 million Calissons a year, requiring around 200 tonnes or more of almonds to create these delicacies on a mass scale. They are sold all over major cities in France and can even be shipped to the US, the UK, and Canada- although purchases in foreign lands aren’t as high as in France. Due to a Chinese company selling a fraudulent reproduction of the Aix-en-Provence Calissons, the Aix-en-Provence Calissons were given the right to have the Indication of Geographical Protection label in 2020. The IGP covers seven areas around Aix-en-Provence, and the Calissons produced there must contain almonds and candied fruit, preferably melon as the chosen fruit, to be protected.
The Tales Behind the Nougat
Its Origins
On to yet another iconic French treat produced by the legendary and visionary Le Roy René; The Nougat. It's unlikely to think of Provence confectionaries without the Nougat quickly coming to mind. Even the original product of Le Roy René was Nougats, besides Calissons, of course. Nougat is a traditional delicacy that dates back to the 15th century and even ancient Rome. Its history is unclear as it has traceable origins from multiple countries around Europe, such as Italy, France, and Spain. The texture of Nougat can range from gentle chewiness to crunchiness, as it all depends on the ingredients and the amounts of them used while producing the treat. The name “Nougat” is derived from Occitan "pan nogat,” which roughly translates to nut bread.
There are three main existing types of Nougat, but the most popular is the white Nougat. The white Nougat first appeared in the early 15th century and the 18th century in Montélimar, France. The white Nougat is made with nuts, beaten eggs and honey. Another type of Nougat is the brown Nougat, often called Nougatine in France and the "mandorlato'' in Italy. The brown Nougat is made with honey and nuts but intentionally made without eggs, so it has a more brittle, solid and crunchy consistency. And finally, the third type of Nougat is the Viennese or German Nougat. The Viennese or German Nougat is just a chocolate and hazelnut delicacy. It is created with chocolate, possibly dried fruits, honey, sugar, and nuts. The nuts that are most commonly used are macadamia nuts, pistachios, almonds, and hazelnuts.
Its Production
The unique and mouth-watering Nougat recipe has been passed down for generations until today, much like the Calissons. Carefully selected ingredients such as honey sourced from Provence, dried fruit for the very best taste and candied fruits are combined to form this amalgamation of pure French culinary delight. Indeed, the Nougat recipe is proudly French with a delicious and distinct flavour, always of the highest standard. It is a confection made by mixing nuts and sometimes fruit in a sugary paste.
It gets its unusual ingredients and its recipe due to having origins from Mediterranean countries, where nuts like hazelnuts and almonds along with honey and eggs were mixed, then left under the hot sun to dry up. However, this is a preparation method of the past. In the more modern and updated rendition of Nougat, a mixture of eggs, honey, and sugar is cooked in a kitchen and added to even more sugar. But quite noticeably, unlike a lot of other treats, milk is never added.
So Many Varieties
However, renditions of the Nougat in the United States and the United Kingdom differ from traditional European recipes by often consisting of milk powder. These renditions of the Nougat are used for candy bar recipes, with chocolate or caramel typically added. These sorts of Nougat are used in notable mass-produced brands like Snickers, Milky Way, Double Decker, Reese bars and ZERO bars. The Nougat is sometimes traditionally made in the UK and adheres to classic European recipes, to be sold at seaside motels. While Le Roy René offers traditional Nougat with just the main ingredients; eggs, honey, sugar, and nuts, it produces Nougat options with various fruits, either candied or dried.
In Conclusion
The Calisson and the Nougat are paramount treats of Provence. While enjoying these savoury delicacies, it is crucial to know the stories behind them.
If you are stopping by in Provence, a museum at Le Roy René is dedicated to the Calisson, right next to the Aix-en-Provence town centre. If you’re looking for a tourist attraction on a budget, visits to the museum are free! But only for €6, a tourist guide can come to your aid to give you a detailed tour of the place and a Calisson production demonstration.
Also, for any bookworm out there, to learn more about the Calisson and the Nougat, be sure to pick up the book Calissons Nougats from Le Roy René by Marie-Catherine de La Roche and co-written by Sophie Brissaud.
Be sure to check out Best of France’s other incredible articles about Provence Cuisine and the best place to study in France, and tell us more about your other favourite French treats in the comments down below!
