Pralines for the Sun King
Even the most flattering portraits of the Sun King, Louis XIV, can’t hide the fact that the ruler was a great gourmand. It was not only quail, partridge, rabbit, and other delicacies of the forest and field that contributed to his size, but also, and most of all, sweets. Louis XIV could thank a certain Marechal du Plessis-Praslin for one of his favorite desserts. The sergeant stumbled over a delicacy by accident: an inexperienced kitchen boy had spilled icing over a bowl of roasted almonds. Although the sergeant wanted to punish him for it, he changed his mind when he tasted it. The name of the kitchen boy remained unknown, but Sergeant Praslin boasted in the court of the Sun King that he had invented a new sweet, which he gave his own name, ‘Praslin,” which became “praline” as the original “recipe” was refined.