No Jordan Almond Will Do

Dragées in France have a deep rooted history. Some people claim that the word "dragée" comes from "Dragatus". Julius Dragatus was a Roman who coated almonds with honey and gave them to crowds on celebration days. In the Britannica World Language dictionary, the dragée is defined as a "sugared piece of candy" or a "sugar-coated pill". Coating pills with sugar was the idea of an apothecary in the Middle-Ages who thought the medication would be easier to swallow. Around 1220, a confectioner took that idea and used the same technique to coat almonds. Both the apothecary and the confectioner were from the same town: the town of Verdun situated in the northeast of France. It was by the 13th century that Verdun became known for its dragées.

Dragées from Verdun are indeed very special. Not only are they coated with an extremely thin layer of sugar, which makes them refined, but they are made from avola almonds that are considered by connoisseurs to be the best almonds in the world. Different types of almonds can be used for making French dragées: "Lerida" and "Planetas" almonds come from Spain, "Longuette" almonds from Catalonia. As for "Avola" almonds, they are collected in Avola, 30 kms from Syracuse in Sicily. They are recognizable by their flat shape, their pure form and delicate fragrance. Their high price is explained not only by their rarity but also by their preparation. A lot of the making is done manually: the almonds are sorted, dried and scrubbed by hand. They are then coated with sugar. This process lasts for a whole day during which the almonds get successive layers of sugar. The last step is the smoothing process when the dragées are placed in a copper pan until they obtain a satin-like aspect. So next time you go to Paris, stop at a "confiserie" and ask specifically for these exquisite dragées de Verdun. They will redefine your view of candied almonds.