Vichy Pastilles
{{Short description|Candy}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Vichy Pastilles
| image = Pastilles de Vichy - Moinet.jpg
| caption = A box of Vichy Pastilles.
| alternate_name =
| country = France
| region = Vichy
| creator =
| course =
| type = Confectionery
| served =
| main_ingredient =
| variations =
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}}
Vichy Pastilles ({{langx|fr|pastilles Vichy}}), less often pastilles of Vichy ({{lang|fr|pastilles de Vichy}}), are a French confectionery invented in 1825 and produced in the spa town of Vichy in central France. They are recognizable as a white, octagonal type of candy pastille bearing the word "Vichy" in all-caps.
Ownership
The Vichy Pastilles brand belonged to the Vichy-État Company in 1940.{{cite book|last1=Body|first1=Jacques|title=Jean Giraudoux: The Legend and the Secret|date=1991|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|location=Madison, New Jersey|isbn=9780838634073|oclc=869150657|page=114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUenRQ4rqzsC&q=Vichy+Pastilles&pg=PA114}} It was acquired by Cadbury France, a division of Cadbury, in 2003.{{cite news|last1=Lorut|first1=Denis|title=Les pastilles Vichy redeviennent françaises|url=http://www.lamontagne.fr/vichy/economie/agroalimentaire/2016/04/12/les-pastilles-vichy-redeviennent-francaises_11867934.html|access-date=October 21, 2017|work=La Montagne|date=April 12, 2016}} It later belonged to Kraft Foods (later known as Mondelez International). In 2016, it was purchased by French company Eurazeo for 250 million euros.
History
The pastilles were invented in 1825 in Vichy, a spa town in the department of Allier, France.{{cite book|title=France|date=2017|publisher=Lonely Planet|location=Carlton, Victoria, Australia|isbn=9781786573254|oclc=983481938|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiA2DgAAQBAJ&q=Vichy+Pastilles&pg=PT1324}}{{cite book|last1=Granville|first1=Augustus Bozzi|title=The Mineral springs of Vichy|date=1859|publisher=Churchill|location=London, U.K.|page=i|url=https://archive.org/details/mineralspringsv00grangoog|quote=Vichy Pastilles.|oclc=504881624}} As early as 1839, they were originally made purely from bicarbonate of soda and taken for their digestive properties.{{cite journal|title=Properties of the Blood|journal=The Lancet|date=1839|volume=1|page=637|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(02)83945-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBVAAAAAcAAJ&q=Vichy+Pastilles&pg=PA637|access-date=October 21, 2017|url-access=subscription}} Empress Eugénie de Montijo is said to have been a fan. Later, they were made with mineral salts extracted from the local spring water.{{cite book|last1=Bragança|first1=Manuel|last2=Tame|first2=Peter|title=The Long Aftermath: Cultural Legacies of Europe at War, 1936-2016|date=2015|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York City|isbn=9781782381532|oclc=946968757|page=136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBDJCQAAQBAJ&q=Vichy+Pastilles&pg=PA136}} Nowadays, they include sugar and are flavoured with mint, lemon, or aniseed.
The pastilles were mentioned by French author Guy de Maupassant in his short story, The Magic Couch.{{cite web|title=The Magic Couch|url=http://www.online-literature.com/maupassant/4270/|website=The Literature Network|access-date=October 21, 2017}}
During World War II, the sweets were used as "branding and marketing" by Vichy France. By August 1942, shops in Vichy gave Vichy pastilles to customers, while other victuals were rationed.{{cite book |last1=Cointet |first1=Michèle |title=Vichy capitale 1940-1944 |date=1993 |publisher=Perrin |location=Paris |isbn=9782262010133 |pages=93–120 |chapter-url=http://www.cairn.info/article.php?ID_ARTICLE=PERRI_COINT_1993_01_0093&DocId=95473&hits=1360+1359+1358+ |chapter=La Ville |oclc=410952762 |via=Cairn.info |chapter-url-access=subscription |language=fr}} However, the mayor of Vichy decided to mark sweets as cheese on their ration cards to avoid running out of them.
In Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias, American author Alexander Theroux opines that due to its connotation to Vichy France, "many French citizens are still made uneasy" by hearing the phrase.{{cite book|last1=Theroux|first1=Alexander|title=Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias|date=2017|publisher=Fantagraphics Books|location=Seattle, Washington|isbn=9781606999769|oclc=1002177582|page=410|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XpSDAAAQBAJ&q=Vichy+Pastilles&pg=PA410}} In The Long Aftermath: Cultural Legacies of Europe at War, 1936-2016, Manuel Bragança and Peter Tame agree, as they argue that Vichy France's use of the sweets as propaganda eventually "backfired."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.carambarco.com Carambar&Co]
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