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Thirteen Desserts
The thirteen desserts ( Occitan: ''lei tretze dessèrts'') are the traditional dessert foods used in celebrating Christmas in the French region of Provence. The "big supper" (''le gros souper'') ends with a ritual 13 desserts, representing Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles. The desserts always number thirteen but the exact items vary by local or familial tradition. The food traditionally is set out Christmas Eve and remains on the table three days until December 27. Dried fruit and nuts The first four of these are known as the "four beggars" (''les quatre mendiants''), representing the four mendicant monastic orders: Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites. * Raisins (Dominicans) * Walnuts or hazelnuts (Augustinians) * Dried figs (Franciscans) * Almonds (Carmelites) * Dates, representing the foods of the region where Christ lived and died * Dried plums from Brignoles Fresh fruit * Apples * Pears * Oranges * Winter melon * Grapes * Tangerines Sweets * Biscotins (bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dried Fig
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.''The Fig: its History, Culture, and Curing'', Gustavus A. Eisen, Washington, Govt. print. off., 1901 ''Ficus carica'' is the type species of the genus ''Ficus'', containing over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species. A fig plant is a small deciduous tree or large shrub growing up to tall, with smooth white bark. Its large leaves have three to five deep lobes. Its fruit (referred to as syconium, a type of multiple fruit) is tear-shaped, long, with a green skin that may ripen toward purple or brown, and sweet soft reddish flesh containing numerous crunchy seeds. The milky sap of the green parts is an irritant to human skin. In the Northern Hemisphere, fresh figs are in season from lat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almond Paste
Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to ''marzipan'', but has a coarser texture. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries, but it can also be found in chocolates. In commercially manufactured almond paste, ground apricot or peach kernels are sometimes added to keep the cost down (also known as persipan). Uses Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries of many different cultures. It is a chief ingredient of the American bear claw pastry. In the Nordic countries almond paste is used extensively, in various pastries and cookies. In Sweden (where it is known as mandelmassa) it is used in biscuits, muffins and buns and as a filling in the traditional Shrove Tuesday pastry semla and is used in Easter and Christmas sweets. In Denmark (where it is known as marcipan or mandelmasse), almond paste is used in several pastries, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It can also be used in biscuits or rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday cakes, wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. Almond paste, Marzipan paste may also be used as a baking ingredient, as in stollen or banket (food), banket. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day or Christmas. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season. Around the world Europe The Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union recognize two marzipans in Europe. One in Toledo (Spain) and another one in Lübeck (Germany). So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calisson
Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing. They have a texture similar to that of marzipan, but with a fruitier, distinctly melon-like flavour. They are often almond-shaped and are typically about five centimeters (two inches) in length. Calissons are traditionally associated with the town of Aix-en-Provence, France; consequently, most of the world's supply is still made in the Provence region. History The calisson is believed to have its origins in medieval Italy. Among the first known references to calissons was in Martino di Canale's ''Chronicle of the Venetians'' in 1275. An earlier 12th century text written in Medieval Latin used the word ''calisone'' to refer to a cake made with almonds and flour. Yet another candy that is thought to be a relative of the modern calisson is ''kalitsounia'', which was made with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus reticulata'', the mandarin orange. ''Citrus tangerina'' is also treated as a synonym of ''Citrus deliciosa''. It is a group of orange-colored citrus fruit consisting of hybrids of mandarin orange varieties, with some pomelo contribution. The name was first used for fruit coming from Tangier, Morocco, described as a mandarin variety. Under the Tanaka classification system, ''Citrus tangerina'' is considered a separate species. Under the Swingle system, tangerines are considered a group of mandarin ('' C. reticulata'') varieties. Some differ only in disease resistance. The term is also currently applied to any reddish-orange mandarin (and, in some jurisdictions, mandarin-like hybrids, including some tangors). Tangerines are smaller and less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, and the fruit has been used as human food over history. Eaten fresh or in dried form (as raisins, currants and sultanas), grapes also hold cultural significance in many parts of the world, particularly for their role in winemaking. Other grape-derived products include various types of jam, juice, vinegar and oil. History The Middle East is generally described as the homeland of grape and the cultivation of this plant began there 6,000–8,000 years ago. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the discovery of alcoholic drinks such as wine. The earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Melon
''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus ''Benincasa''. It is native to South and Southeast Asia. The wax gourd is widely grown throughout Asia, including Java and Japan, the places where it is thought to have originated. One variety of the plant, called '' chi qua'' (''Benincasa hispida'' var. ''chieh-qua''), is commonly used in Asian cuisine. Etymology The name "winter melon" that is sometimes given to this plant is based on the Chinese name (); however, the character () can also mean “gourd” or “squash.” It is likely that the name “melon” is given because this gourd is sometimes candied or made into a sweet tea. The name "wax gourd" comes from the wax coating in the fruit's skin. Description The plant grows thick vines with coarse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orange (fruit)
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family (biology), family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to Citrus × sinensis, ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × aurantium'', referred to as bitter orange. The sweet orange reproduces asexually (apomixis through nucellar embryony); varieties of sweet orange arise through mutations. The orange is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid between pomelo (''Citrus maxima'') and Mandarin orange, mandarin (''Citrus reticulata''). The chloroplast genome, and therefore the maternal line, is that of pomelo. The sweet orange has had its full Whole genome sequencing, genome sequenced. The orange originated in a region encompassing Southern China, Northeast India, and Myanmar, and the earliest mention of the sweet orange was in Chinese literature in 314 BC. , orange trees were found to be the most Tillage, cultivated fruit tree in the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees. The tree is medium-sized and native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture. About 3,000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide, which vary in both shape and taste. The fruit is consumed fresh, canned, as juice, or dried. Etymology The word ''pear'' is probably from Germanic ''pera'' as a loanword of Vulgar Latin ''pira'', the plural of ''pirum'', akin to Greek ''apios'' (from Mycenaean ''ápisos''), of Semitic origin (''pirâ''), meaning "fru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ''Malus sieversii'', is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by European colonization of the Americas, European colonists. Apples have Religion, religious and mythology, mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse mythology, Norse, Greek mythology, Greek, and Christianity in Europe, European Christian tradition. Apples grown from seed tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. Generally, apple cultivars are propagated by clonal grafting onto rootstocks. Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and much slower to fruit after plantin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brignoles
Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Provence; their castle dates from the thirteenth century. In 2017, the commune of Brignoles had a population of 17,179. Population Notable people It was the birthplace of: * Antoine Albalat (1856–1935), writer specialising in French literature. * Louis of Toulouse (1274–1297), bishop of Toulouse. * François de Porchères d'Arbaud, (1590-1640), poet * (1768-1821), French soldier. * (1803–1874), poet and author. * Fabrice Hadjadj (born 1971), philosopher and dramatist, teacher at the Lycée Sainte Jeanne d'Arc since 2002. * (born 1965), French film director. * Joseph-Louis Lambot (1814–1887), the inventor of ferro-cement which led to the development of reinforced concrete. * Catherine Matausch (born 1960), French journalist. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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