Calisson

The calisson is a specialty of Aix-en-Provence, documented since the fifteenth century. A widely repeated local legend ties its creation to the wedding of King Rene — Rene d'Anjou, Count of Provence — to Jeanne de Laval in 1454, when the king's confectioner is said to have made the candy to please his new bride, who is supposed to have rarely smiled. The legend is retold by regional sources but its documentary basis is uncertain. The candy's characteristic almond shape, its smooth almond-and-candied-fruit paste on a wafer base, and its royal-icing crown were well established in Aix by the sixteenth century. Calissons are closely associated with Christmas in Provence and are a component of the region's thirteen desserts tradition.

A calisson is a small almond-shaped lozenge, the top a smooth white shield of royal icing, the base a thin, dry wafer. The paste within is pale yellow, smooth, and chewy — the flavor a balance of almond, candied melon, and orange, often with a breath of orange blossom. The texture is dense and uniform; the flavor is sweet but tempered by the almond's bitterness and the citrus's acidity. Eaten in a single bite with coffee or tea.

The calisson rests on a finely ground paste bound with sugar syrup. Blanched almonds and candied melon and candied orange are ground together to a smooth, homogeneous paste — the fineness of the grind is the defining step, and is traditionally achieved with heavy stone mills. A sugar syrup, cooked to a specific concentration, binds the paste and gives it its dense, smooth texture; the paste is shaped on a thin wafer base — the hostie — which provides a dry, structural platform. Royal icing — whisked egg white and sugar — is spread on top and air-dried into a hard, white shield that both finishes the candy and seals the soft paste beneath from drying out. No baking is involved; the calisson is air-dried.