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New ZealandFlavors · Aix-en-Provence
Sweet shaped like a navette made of ground almonds and candied melon, on a wafer base and covered with royal icing of egg white and sugar. Specialty of Aix-en-Provence and one of the thirteen sweets of Provençal Christmas.
Traditional sweet from Aix-en-Provence, Provença-Alpes-Costa Azul
Also known as: calisson, calissons d'Aix, calisson d'Aix-en-Provence
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Calisson d'Aix — Aix-en-Provence, France
The calisson d'Aix is a small sweet shaped like a navette, an elongated diamond with rounded ends. The paste is made from finely ground almonds mixed with candied melon and orange peel, sometimes scented with orange blossom. It is spread over a thin wafer sheet and covered with a white layer of royal icing made of egg white and sugar.
The origin of the sweet is unknown. A 12th-century Latin text already mentions a calisone, an almond-and-flour cake similar to marzipan. Aix tradition links the calisson to King René, count of Provence in the 15th century: the legend says that at his marriage to Jeanne de Laval in 1454 the bride tasted the sweet and smiled, and that the name came from a Provençal phrase uttered on that occasion. It is a legend.
The calisson is part of the thirteen sweets served at the end of the Christmas supper in Provence, alongside dried fruits, pompe à l'huile and others. The city of Aix regards it as part of its living heritage.
Aix producers formed an association to defend the name calisson d'Aix and applied for a protected geographical indication; the application went through several stages over the years.
Aix-en-Provence , Provença-Alpes-Costa Azul
Confectionery specialty of Aix-en-Provence, part of the thirteen sweets of Provençal Christmas.
Ground almonds; candied melon; candied orange peel; sometimes orange blossom; sugar; wafer sheet; royal icing (egg white and sugar).
Whole, in one or two bites, with coffee or tea, or at the end of a meal. It is sold in boxes and often given as a gift.
Year-round; it has a fixed place among the thirteen sweets of Provençal Christmas, in December.
Your questions
From ground almonds with candied melon and orange, on a wafer base, covered with royal icing of egg white and sugar.
It is unknown. A 12th-century text already mentions an almond sweet with a similar name, and Aix tradition links it to King René in the 15th century, in a story that is a legend.
A selection of sweets and fruits served at the end of the Christmas supper in Provence. The calisson is among them.
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