Dragees, A French Touch For Your Next EventPosted by Rye Bille on May 22nd, 2021 Dragees can be a great addition to your wedding, baby shower celebration, or even your next birthday party. These candy covered almonds are an easy way to add some color and taste to any celebration.. Here you can learn a bit about the history of the dragee, how the French use them, plus some decorating ideas for your next party. If you have attended a wedding, a christening or a first communion party in France, you most likely attended across dragees. At these events, a small package of candy coated almonds are traditionally directed at guests in a want good health, abundance, and also fertility. Nowadays, dragees, also called Jordan Almonds, are becoming popular as wedding and party favors beyond Europe. The First Dragees It is commonly thought that the first dragees were invented over 2000 years back by way of a Roman candy maker named Julius Dragatus. It had been he who supposedly first dipped almonds in honey and began the chain of culinary events resulting in the modern day dragee.. At copious French banquets in the Middle Ages, a number of candied fruits and spices, some from a long way away lands, were offered to guests by the end of meals. These treats were known as dragees and were purported to help digestion and freshen the breath. Les Dragees de Verdun Verdun is really a city in the Lorraine region in the east of France. It was there, many hundreds of years ago, that a druggist, wishing to preserve an almond crop, developed the idea of coating the nuts with cooked sugar and honey. These French dragees, which were quite like the modern dragee, were once again said to be best for digestion and freshening the breath, but in addition they were touted as helping to prevent sterility. It was at this stage that dragees started on offer nearly as good luck gifts at family events, particularly marriages and baptisms, and Verdun earned a reputation for its dragee confection that continues even today. The Modern Dragee The confection of the modern day French dragee follows a meticulous method. The almonds are first roasted so they have a nice crunch when you bite into the candy. From then on the candy maker patiently adds layer after layer of sugar syrup, allowing each layer to dry before the next. The final layer is carefully smoothed so the dragee presents a flawlessly shiny surface. There are plenty of modern variations on the initial candy coated almond. Each is meant to delight the eyes and also the palette. All of the various dragees share the characteristic of being a hard, shiny candy with a delicacy at the interior. In case you are thinking about adding dragees to the next celebration consider some of the possibilities: Filling: The interior went beyond the almond and you will now find dragees with chocolate, fruit jelly and nougat centers. Shape: Traditionally a dragee follows the almond in shape, but now that there are different fillings being used, the form can vary as well. You will discover rounds, ovals and heart shaped dragees . Color: Most spectacularly perhaps will be the color possibilities that have gone far beyond the traditional pastel shades of white, baby blue and pink, to include just about any color imaginable. This makes them ideal for decorating a party with, for you can coordinate them with anything.Like it? Share it! |