Eat like a local - Dragées de Verdun

“It gives my family and I a lot of pride to keep running the business. This is part of France’s heritage, a bit of the country’s brand image,” said Nathalie Bour, manager of Maison Braquier who was brought in by stepfather Bernard in 2000, to save it from going bankrupt.

It was not the first time Maison Braquier had been on the verge of closing.

Founded in 1783, the shop and factory withstood three battles against Prussian and German armies: during the French Revolution, the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and World War One. It was rebuilt from scratch in 1916 after repeated shelling from German artillery.

Because dragées means big business in Verdun.

Locals, French and foreign kings, emperors and presidents have all eaten them for eight centuries, since around 1220 when a local apothecary coated almonds with sugar and honey. It was a source of great commerce, Colbert wrote to Louis XIV in 1660.

Their quality was so great that it became a French expression. ‘Il n'est dragées que de Verdun’ - there could only be dragées from Verdun – means that something is of the greatest quality.

Sugared almonds are most often offered – and eaten – during baptisms, communions and weddings.

“It is everyday here,” said Ms Bour, with a laugh.

Sugared almonds are about two products: sugar… and almonds. Shocker.

Where you can tweak is with the flavour of the paste. It goes from the obvious, almond once again, to nougatine, mirabelle plum alcohol, coffee seed, etc. There are 45 different sorts of dragées at Maison Braquier.

The company always chooses the avola almond, a variety bred and harvested in Sicily. It is the most expensive but also the best in the world, said Ms Bour.

Maison Braquier is the last French company to produce homemade sugared almonds from each stage of the creative process of sugared almonds.

Almonds are kept in a room at 4°C to kill mites. Then they are dried at 80°C for 48 hours. They are then scrubbed to prevent the inner oil leaking out, thus protecting it. They are placed in turbines and mixed with sugar, gelatine and water.

The constant friction from hours twirling in the turbine creates a thin protective layer. Sugar syrup is added to plug every hole, a step called grossissage. It usually takes a day for employees to coat almonds with sugar, pouring from over 30 to 60 ladles of sugar.

They are finally mixed by hand by employees during the final drying out part of the process, giving them their white colour. Different colours can be created thanks to food powder.

Dragées, much like Maison Braquier, have ridden various wave trends for eight centuries. They had long been a delicacy for the rich and happy few prior to the French Revolution, before getting more popular across all parts of the population and the world.

People have trouble associating them with either a bonbon or a confiserie. “They are both,” said Ms Bour, in pure business-savvy fashion.

Bonbons, the likes of Haribo, and chocolate bars have proven a tough competitor for dragées. Children nowadays would say they are a bit old-fashioned.

Covid was the latest hard blow because of the many cancellations of weddings and baptisms. But Maison Braquier, like with many previous battles and revolutions, eventually fought back.

Last October, Maison Braquier took part in the fourth edition of La Grande Exposition du Fabriqué en France, an exhibition by the government and hosted at the Elysée Palace to place the spotlight on homemade products.

“It feels great to showcase our skills,” said Ms Bour.