The History of the Praline

Pralines, a type of candy made of sugar and nuts, can trace their roots to seventeenth-century France. Today, more than 200 years later, they are considered a delicacy as well as a popular Christmas tradition all throughout the American South. During the holiday season, they are served at parties and given out as gifts, and they are especially popular in New Orleans. Many praline shops and bakeries are located in the city’s French Quarter. Visitors and locals alike can watch the popular candy being made and try samples of different recipes.

Although the praline is commonly associated with New Orleans, it was popular in France long before the recipe made its way to the United States. Because this candy is so popular and revered in the South, many different tales exist concerning its origins. However, most agree that a French diplomat conceived the idea for the candy in the 17th century. It is said that a count named Cesar de Plessis Praslin created the recipe for pralines in Paris in the 1800s. However, many people think that the candy was actually created by Clement Lassagne, Praslin’s personal chef.

There are many different stories about how Lassagne thought of the idea for the praline. One story says that he got the idea the idea from children who were eating almonds and caramel leftover from one of Lassagne’s pastries while looking for scraps of food in the kitchens. Another story tells the tale of Lassagne following children who stole almonds from his kitchen. He smelled something delicious, and when he set out to find the source of the smell, he found the children caramelizing the almonds in sugar over a candle flame.

Still another legend has Lassagne thinking up the praline recipe when his clumsy apprentice knocked a container of almonds into a vat of cooking caramel. Another account credits Cesar de Plessis-Praslin with the idea because he wanted a special candy to use as a calling card while courting beautiful French noblewomen. Praslin, a notorious ladies man, asked Lassagne to come up with a sweet, delicious candy that he could put into little parcels marked with his name and give out to the ladies he was courting.

French confectioners and candy makers originally made pralines by boiling almonds in a carmelized sugar solution. At the time, almonds were the most prevalent nuts in France. When the candy made its way to Louisiana, French colonists put their own spin on the recipe. Once the colonists arrived in Louisiana, they began substituting pecans for almonds. Pecans are native to Louisiana and could be found in large quantities at the time the French colonists settled there. In addition to substituting pecans for almonds, confectioners also started adding milk to the recipe because doing so made the candy creamier.

Anders Abadie