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Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
In Apt, the fruit's water has been replaced with sugar since the Middle Ages — a patient craft that has made this Luberon town the world capital of candied fruit.
Confectionery from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
The craft of candied fruit has been documented in Apt since the Middle Ages, a tradition that the presence of the popes in Avignon helped popularise in Provence, candying then being widespread in neighbouring Italy. In 1342, Pope Clement VI chose the Apt confectioner Auzias Maseta as « écuyer en confiserie », a founding episode that the Confrérie du Fruit Confit d'Apt still claims today as its lineage. A little later, in 1365, the inhabitants of Apt offered candied fruit to Pope Urban V, confirming how early this savoir-faire became rooted in the life of the town.
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In the 19th century, several confectionery houses built the national and then international reputation of Fruit confit d'Apt, among them Jaumard, Rambaud, Marliagues and Barielle. Six independent artisan confectioners joined forces in 1962 to create the Aptunion factory, presented today as the oldest candied fruit factory in the world. The Confrérie du Fruit Confit d'Apt, founded in 1992, has since perpetuated this heritage through inductions, competitions and gastronomic events.
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The craftsmanship of candying in Apt earned the town recognition from the Sites Remarquables du Goût association under the designation « Fruits confits d'Apt », a network it joined upon its creation in 1994. Its renown was further strengthened in 2018 when its craft was listed in France's inventory of intangible cultural heritage by the ministère de la Culture.
Appearance
Whole candied fruit, in slices, cubes, peels or quarters depending on the chosen presentation; the final glaze, a thin layer of sugar, gives it a translucent or glossy appearance.
Taste
Candying replaces the fruit's water with cooked sugar whilst preserving as much of its original flavour as possible — the very definition adopted as early as 1909 by the Congrès international pour la répression des fraudes.
Texture
Tender flesh, whose sugar glaze preserves its melting softness without altering its flavour.
Certain local varieties are particularly sought-after for candying: the abricot rosé de Provence from the Pays d'Apt, the Cérésine pear, the Petite Marseillaise fig, the prune de Brignoles or the prune Perdrigonne, the griotte cherry and the Hedelfingen bigarreau from the Vaucluse, or the Prescott melon from Saint-Martin-de-Castillon, renowned as more flavourful than the Charentais melon. Around three-quarters of the candied fruit comes from the Vaucluse, the remaining quarter — pineapple, citrus and other exotic fruits — being imported.
the fruits are peeled, cut and stoned according to their variety.
excess syrup is removed from the candied fruits.
the fruits are dusted with a thin layer of sugar that preserves their flavours and consistency.
the fruits are arranged on racks for up to ten days, depending on the variety.
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Fruit confit d'Apt is enjoyed on its own, as a sweet treat, or features in emblematic Provençal pastries — the tarte aptésienne, the colombier, the brioche aux fruits confits or the gâteau Galapian, created in 1994 during a pastry competition organised by the syndicat du Bigarreau to showcase the bigarreau cherry of the Apt terroir. La Maison du Fruit Confit, a boutique-museum run by Aptunion in Apt, offers a discovery tour and direct sales of the range.
Fruit confit d'Apt bears none of the six official quality signs. Its recognition comes through an unofficial distinction: the Sites Remarquables du Goût association classified it under the designation « Fruits confits d'Apt », a network that Apt joined upon its creation in 1994, and its craft has been listed in France's inventory of intangible cultural heritage since 2018.
Brotherhood
Artisanal manufacturer
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Located in Apt, in the Vaucluse, Aptunion is described as the oldest candied fruit factory in the world. Under the brand Les Fleurons d'Apt, the company operates La Maison du Fruit Confit, a boutique-museum where visitors discover the ancestral know-how of candying fruit through an exhibition space and a direct-sales shop.
This craftsmanship earned it the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label, awarded in 2017 and renewed in 2023. The company offers an extensive range of candied fruit — melon, Provence stone fruit (cherries, apricots, plums), citrus fruit (orange, lemon, clementine, citron), as well as exotic fruit such as pineapple and kiwi. Part of this production is certified organic.
| Address | Salignan — 84400 Apt |
| 04 90 76 31 43 | |
| lesfleurons-apt.com | |
| Visits | Yes — boutique-museum La Maison du Fruit Confit |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2018. |