Unknown facts about dragees or the history of natural sweets

A delicious and simple treat, known in many countries, but having a variety of names - "Jordanian almonds", "confetti" (in Italy), or "molabbas" (in Arab countries) - dragee was invented during the Roman Empire. In those ancient centuries, honey-covered almonds were considered the main traditional dish at weddings and birthday celebrations. Until the Renaissance, crispy dragees were glazed with honey, only with the introduction of sugar cane into European cuisine in the XV century, the nut delicacy gained its now characteristic form. For dragees used almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, as well as dried fruits and fragrant seeds.



Preparing a dragee is a job that requires maximum patience and attention to detail.



In handicraft production, almonds are harvested with special long sticks by hand, as machine processing can seriously damage trees. After almonds are sorted and cleaned in special machines. The nuts are then placed in rotating pools. When rotating, liquid sugar slowly pours into the container, which allows you to cover the almonds with the thinnest layer of glaze. After that, the nuts are left for a day to freeze, and the procedure is repeated again. Proper glazing of the dragee takes 4 days.



For the factory production of dragees, starch and sugar are used as a coating. Starch speeds up the process of making sweets, but makes them heavier and changes the flavor.





Researchers find reliable references to the dragee as early as 1350, and in letters from 1487 it is stated that 120 kg of confetti was exhibited for a banquet at the wedding celebration of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d’Esta, the son of the Duke of Ferrara. It is known that 12 boxes of dragees were presented to Henry III on the day of his coronation in 1574. And in 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte solemnly passed under the Arc decorated with almond candy, which necessarily indicates that the dragee was never considered a simple and common dish, but, on the contrary, was a symbolic privilege of monarchs and aristocrats.



The cult of dragee gradually spread throughout Europe (mainly in France, Spain and Italy). The apogee of its popularity nut candy reached in the XVIII-XIX centuries, when the first confectionery factories appeared.



Today, confectionery masters prefer long-standing craft technology and delight gourmets with exclusive handmade dragees. It turned out that in the preparation of a dragee, a dessert with a limited set of ingredients, chefs can show maximum creativity, turning a nut into a glaze into a real pastry masterpiece. Researchers note that dragee is one of the few delicacies that has preserved the aura of “secular” dishes today.



Draget is an attribute of pure and sincere celebrations, baptism and wedding ceremonies, as well as an integral symbol of the transition of a person to a new life stage. Offering their guests bags of dragees, tied with a gentle ribbon, the bride and groom express their respect to the guests and gratitude for the wedding gifts.

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