Calissons d'Aix Léonard Parli

BBD: 05/24/2023

Ingredients: 44% candied melon, 42% almonds, glucose syrup, sugar, water, egg white , wafers (potato starch, sunflower oil)

Nutritional information per 100g

Calories: 1920 Kj / 458 Kcal
Fat: 20.1 g
Of which saturated fat: 1.71 g
Carbohydrates: 58.9 g
Of which sugar: 50.4 g
Egg white: 9.5 g
Salt: 0.041 g

Léonard Parli was a master confectioner specializing in candied fruit who, like many of his compatriots, fled Switzerland in the 19th century to escape famine. He ended up in Aix-en-Provence and in 1874 founded a company that made the city's famous specialty, the calisson. After inventing a machine to speed up production, Léonard Parli was producing 300 kilos of the small almond-shaped delicacies a day until 1908. The company, which is considered to be the first manufacturer of calissons in Aix-en-Provence, is still run by the Parli family.

Today, since 1910, the Parli factory has been in its ancestral home near the Aix-Centre train station (Parli chose this location to be able to send its products quickly by train).

Above the door is his coat of arms carved in stone, a Swiss cross framed by palm branches, representing Provence.

Inside the little rococo shop, calissons are of course offered - both in decorative cellophane bags and in the distinctive white, diamond-shaped box used by all calissons makers.

It's still a very small operation, employing a few dozen people depending on seasonal demand: at peak times, like Christmas, the factory produces 500 kilos of calissons a day. The other surprise is that much of the process is done by hand. The main ingredients of calissons are all Mediterranean: canned melon, orange peel and almonds.

Manufacturer: Léonard Parli, La Grande Fabrique Pôle d'activité des Milles
95 rue Famille Laurens 13290 Aix en Provence FRANCE