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Pays de la Loire
A tetrahedral sweet of coloured pulled sugar, born of the great West Indian sugar trade along the quays of Nantes — each flavour has its colour, and each colour its childhood memory of Nantes.
Confectionery from Pays de la Loire.
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The history of the berlingot nantais is steeped in legend. The most widespread tale claims that a canteen woman with Bonaparte’s armies brought the recipe back from the Italian campaign of 1796 — but archival research disproves this account: she was in fact born in 1817. The berlingot is actually of Italian origin (the berlingozzo, a type of macaron or ring cake), which likely travelled via Provence, where the berlingot provençal is documented as early as 1511; the machinery required for its industrial manufacture was, moreover, developed there in Carpentras as early as 1851, ahead of Nantes.
In Nantes, it was at the end of the 19th century that the confection of the berlingot found a permanent home on rue de la Fosse, in the oldest establishment still operating today: founded in 1823 by Rogier at 8 rue de la Fosse and relocated to number 9 in 1838, it passed to Jules Suard, who, partnering with Georges Gautier from 1892–1893 onwards, won a silver medal at the Exposition universelle de Paris in 1900. Industrial manufacturing developed in parallel from the 1860s, driven by the importation and refining of West Indian sugar in the port of Nantes; several industrial confectionery works then coexisted, notably in the Malakoff district, until the interwar period.
The cradle of the berlingot nantais spans just a few streets in the city centre: place Royale and rue de la Fosse, where several confectioners rivalled one another — notably Bénardin Renaudineau at 4 place Royale, and Jules Suard in partnership with Georges Gautier at 3 rue de la Fosse. This was also the neighbourhood where sugar from the Antilles was unloaded, the raw material driving this booming sugar trade.
Anne-Julienne Couët, a cook from the pays de Rennes, married Jean Dupont in 1866; she is believed to be the "famous vendor of place Royale" recalled in 1888 by Léon Brunschvicg, who fondly remembered her paper cones of piquants (mint berlingots). Prior to the First World War, her granddaughter ran the shop "À la Renommée des berlingots nantais" at 4 place Royale.
Following the Second World War and the influx of American sweets, only two industrial confectionery makers from Nantes survived, Bonté and Pinson, which merged in 2006 before relocating their production to Vendée in 2011. Today, only artisan production endures in Nantes, carried on by Gérald Debotté, who took over the Gautier shop on rue de la Fosse in 1989 and remains the sole confectioner in Nantes still crafting berlingots in the district where they first emerged.
Appearance
Flattened triangular sweet, surface striped lengthwise, translucent colour (mint pink, lemon yellow, blackcurrant black, coffee brown).
Aroma
Clean, sweet scent, with distinct notes of the flavouring (fresh mint, zesty lemon, blackcurrant, roasted coffee).
Taste
Pure and crunchy sugar, dissolving rapidly, with a concentrated burst of flavour (very fresh mint, tangy lemon, bittersweet blackcurrant, bittersweet coffee).
Texture
Characteristic hardness and brittleness of pulled sugar (snaps cleanly in the mouth), not sticky.
Granulated sugar, glucose syrup and water, cooked to a very precise temperature to achieve the correct consistency.
The paste is kneaded by hand and gradually shaped into a ball.
The sugar ribbon passes into the "découpeuse" (cutter), which pinches it into its characteristic shape.
The berlingots are gently tumbled to separate them from one another and obtain the finished product.
Suck slowly, savouring the flavour. Children love them; grown-ups with a sweet tooth do too. Ideal as a gift or enjoyed on their own. Can accompany tea or coffee to create a delicately fragrant pairing.
Currently without official PGI (IGP) status. Recognised as an informal part of Nantes's gastronomic heritage.
Family-run
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