1. Product overview

At the beginning – or 600 BC – there was the "Reed that gives "honey" without using bees"! The Persians kept their secret until Alexander the Great spread it around the Mediterranean basin in the 4th century BC. Much later, in the 12th century, the Crusaders brought back the sugar cane that marked the advent of confectionery. In the Middle Ages, a French cook innovated with the concept of "chamber spices", reserved for an elite of lords and kings, which involved coating seeds, pine nuts, cinnamon and ginger with sugar, then caramelizing them in a pan. These may well have been the beginnings of French confectionery.

This was followed by a relatively long period during which sugar was regarded as a remedy used by apothecaries. At the same time, luxury confectionery products appeared in the form of marmalades and candied...