- By Charlotte Brown
- October 08, 2024
ORANGE AIGUILLETTES ARE HARD TO RESIST! THESE DELICIOUS STICK-SHAPED DELICACIES ORIGINATE FROM BOTH A TRADITION, THE CONFIT, AND A FRUIT, THE ORANGE, WHICH TOOK OFF IN THE WEALTHIER CLASSES OF SOCIETY FROM THE RENAISSANCE ONWARDS. EVEN TODAY, IN ADDITION TO THEIR TASTE, WHICH COMBINES SWEET, BITTER AND TANGY, CANDIED ORANGE AIGUILLETTES ADD VISUAL PLEASURE BY DECORATING OUR GÂTEAUX, CAKES AND OTHER PASTRIES.
Text by Eric Birlouez – photographs by Xavier Ferrand (Featured in the October 2024 issue of Pastry1 Magazine)
Iconic desserts
an essential for any window display
"But above all she'll be charmed by your breeches, attached to the doublet with aiguillettes... and a needle-punched lover will make a wonderful dish for her." The aiguillettes mentioned in this extract from L'Avare have nothing to do with the confectionery of the same name! In Molière's day, the word referred to a cord or piece of fabric, fastened at both ends, used to fasten or trim clothing. In today's food industry, aiguillette refers to "a piece of poultry or game cut in the shape of a point" (duck or chicken aiguillettes). In confectionery, the field that interests us here, the aiguillette is the name given to a small stick of orange (or lemon or other citrus) peel candied in a sugar syrup.
Sweet Orange...
In their natural state, the sweet orange with which aiguillettes are made originates from the borders of modern day India, China and Burma. The fruit was first cultivated and domesticated in southern China. Production in southern Europe only began in the early 16th century, using plants introduced by the Portuguese from India and China. First cultivated in Lisbon, oranges then conquered other Mediterranean regions under the name of "Portuguese apples". In the rest of the continent, they were thought to be grown in the orangeries of aristocrats or wealthy middle classes. However, it wasn't until the 19th century that, thanks to advances in transport, commercial production began to appear in southern Europe and California. But it wasn't until after the Second World War that the orange really became a common fruit (previously, it was given as a gift at Christmas).
The orange was first cultivated and domesticated in southern China
Candied
Fruit jamming has been around since antiquity: the process was used to preserve these highly perishable foods. The Romans, who had not yet discovered sugar, used honey to preserve figs, plums, pears and cherries... At the end
of the Middle Ages, sugar (cane) started becoming more common on the tables of Europe's social elite. Nevertheless, it remained a luxury item, imported mainly from the islands of the Atlantic (Madeira) or the Mediterranean (Cyprus, Crete, Sicily...). Sugar was reputed to be excellent for health, and medieval European doctors recommended the practice of confisage to help digest fruit. The technique was applied not only to local fruits, but also, from the 16th century onwards, to the zest of oranges recently introduced to our continent: the candied peels were offered in pretty boxes to guests, who took them home to nibble in their bedrooms before going to bed.
At the end of the 19th century, the jam industry in France expanded rapidly
During the Renaissance, the growing availability of sugar, imported from the recently colonized West Indies, increased the use of candied fruit by the nobility and wealthier people. All the cookery books of the time included recipes for making them: Nostradamus, the famous 16th-century physician-alchemist, published works detailing (among other things) how to candy orange and lemon peels. Over the following centuries, the taste for candied fruit didn’t fade, quite the contrary. At the end of the 19th century, the jam industry expanded rapidly in France, in regions rich in orchards and citrus fruits such as the Côte d'Azur.
Candied Orange and Chocolate: A Winning Combination
Orange aiguillettes are often coated in dark chocolate, in which case they are called orangettes. Many foodies are seduced by their crunchy, melt-in-the-mouth texture and bittersweet, tangy taste. The two flavors of orange and dark chocolate are particularly well suited to each other... Their alliance is thought to have originated shortly after the Conquistadors discovered cocoa on the American continent in the early16th century. In Europe, chocolate, which was initially only consumed in liquid form, was sometimes flavored with orange blossom water. The first association between orange and solid chocolate was only achieved in 1920, in the form of an English delicacy called Jaffa cakes: these were soft sponge cakes filled with orange jelly and coated with dark chocolate. This combination of flavors was so popular with consumers that many British brands went on to develop cookies and sweets, which became emblematic of the festive season.
The chocolate-covered orange aiguillette is said to have been invented in 1904 by Félix Bonnat, a chocolatier from Voiron
The chocolate orange aiguillette is thought to have been invented in 1904 by Félix Bonnat, a chocolatier from Voiron. He is said to have been commissioned by his friend Paul Krug, owner of a champagne house in Reims, whose wife was said to be particularly fond of candied oranges and chocolate. The Isère-based chocolatier had originally named his new creation krugette, in homage to the couple.
The candied orange peel is sometimes replaced by lemon (citronnette), grapefruit (pamplemoussette) or candied ginger. Other variations on the traditional recipe are available with milk or white chocolate.
Sources : Dictionnaire de la gourmandise. Annie PERRIER-ROBERT.Robert Laffont. 2012
La très belle et très exquise histoire des gâteaux et des friandises. Maguelonne TOUSSAINT-SAMAT.
Le Pérégrinateur éditeur. 2018 Larousse.fr
Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales : https://www.cnrtl.fr
Encyclopédie des plantes alimentaires. Michel CHAUVET. Editions Belin. 2018.