Snapshots from the South of France: Calissons d'Aix
I love nothing better than a bit of food and romance in a story. Luckily, French food lore is full of sexy escapades. (I’ve already told you the one about how Roquefort turned blue.)
The region of Provence brims with food, from the minuscule melons de pays at the roadside produce stands, to the almond trees that clutch the rocky earth, clinging down from the breezy mistrals. The city of Aix-en-Provence, one of the urban heartbeats of a region connected by winding arterial roads through vineyard-plaid mountains, has a magical quality to it. On one winding street you'll pass all the usual modern French shops: Princesse Tam-Tam, Petit Bateau, L’Occitane en Provence. At the corner is a church, and around it you turn. A wrinkle in time. Suddenly before you is an open air market shaded under brightly striped canopies, pocketing the light before it spoils the treasures tucked away in wooden crates below: purple asparagus and purple artichokes; tiny bulots, the escargots of the sea; briny jade olives wrapped in flecks of green pistou. To a foodie, it is a living, breathing, seething miracle.
I had read in my guidebook about several bakeries throughout the city that sold the famed Calissons d’Aix, but I am quite pleased to say that the ones I bought came from the vender Calissoun at the Marché d’Aix. Calissons are tiny petal-shaped cookies made from the produce of the region: melons and almonds, and usually flavored with orange, although we also found indigenous fig and lavender varieties. The chewy marzipan-like base is coated in a simple, crisp white glaze. They are sweet, yes, but still have that nutty, fruity reprieve of something healthier that might have been found in California.
Calissoun Calisson varieties at the Aix Market: orange (in orange), fig (in green), and lavender (in purple).
The Traditional Calissons, flavored with orange.
And now for the racy French story behind them. Legend has it that at the second marriage of Good King Réné in 1473, he had these suggestively petal-shaped confections served to his young, fresh second wife. With these, named for "caress," over time, he won her over—mind, soul, and, after awhile, body. So if there’s anyone you fancy this summer, I suggest you either get on a plane to Aix-en-Provence, or get baking. Maybe a (figuratively) dirty kitchen isn't such a bad idea after all.
About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the French in a Flash and The Secret Ingredient series for Serious Eats.
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12 Comments:
These are the original crack.
simon at 10:22AM on 07/01/09
Oui oui!
juliebugsmama at 10:46AM on 07/01/09
OH GOD, I feel so dumb saying this but a few years ago when I was in France for four freakin' months, I didn't buy any calissons! But I know I like em; my mom bought them once when I was younger and I thought they were some of the tastiest things ever.
Now I want some. :(
roboppy at 10:49AM on 07/01/09
I might be the only person in the world who doesn't like calissons. But they sure do look pretty!
laurelie at 11:08AM on 07/01/09
no recipe?! awww :(
I've never had these, but I'm pretty sure I would love them, as I seem to love all French pastries and sweets. Especially when they're small and require any sort of special baking pan and/or technique to make lol.
violetcassis at 12:11PM on 07/01/09
oh these look delightful! any ideas if they can be found anywhere in the big apple?
cdeegs at 1:43PM on 07/01/09
done with such style and finesse..... they look as beautiful as they must taste.....
pooch at 2:39PM on 07/01/09
Do you know what days is the the market in Aix open?
MicaBArg at 3:41PM on 07/01/09
@cdeegs: I have never seen them anywhere in New York--although admitted, I haven't searched very hard. But really, I've never seen them outside of Provence.
@MicaBArg: I'm not completely sure, but the stall that sells these lists that they are present Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
@violetcassis: Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe! If I find one, I'll post one. But after learning how to make macarons from scratch, sometimes I figure some French pastries are more fun to buy fresh than to make fresh!
Kerry Saretsky at 3:52PM on 07/01/09
so pretty!
af307 at 9:12AM on 07/02/09
If your going to tell me all about another miraculous french baked good then you have to do some work and get a recipe. This is the one thing that sends me to pissed off land in blogville.
I cannot stand when someone says OH look at the marvelous cake I made and the recipe is at so and so magazine or so and so book but I am not telling you anything just stare at my pictures.
Come on now Kerry stop teasing us and get some recipes.
JerzeeTomato at 4:39PM on 07/03/09
http://www.cuisineaz.com/recettes/calissons-d-aix-49514.aspx
Here's a link to recipe, but it's in French.
and one more: http://cakesinthecity.blogspot.com/2008/12/en-provence-pas-un-nol-sans-calissons.html
Here's a link in English http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/calisson.htm
but I don't know how authentic it is.
laurelie at 12:57PM on 07/07/09