Comfits are confectionery consisting of dried

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in parti ...

s, nuts, seeds or spices coated with

sugar candy Sugar candy is any candy whose primary ingredient is sugar. The main types of sugar candies are hard candies, fondants, caramels, jellies, and nougats. In British English, this broad category of sugar candies is called ''sweets'', and the ...

, often through

sugar panning Sugar panning, or simply panning, is a method for adding a sugar-based "shell" to confectionery or nuts. Popular products that employ this process in their manufacture include dragées, chocolate buttons, gobstoppers, konpeitō and jelly beans. ...

. Almond comfits (also known as "sugared almonds" or "

Jordan almonds Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

") in a

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured. Muslin of uncommonly delicate hand ...

bag or other decorative container are a traditional gift at

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost in ...

and

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

celebrations in many countries of Europe and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, a custom which has spread to other countries such as Australia and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. While licorice comfits (sometimes sold as torpedoes) are multi-coloured, almond comfits are usually white for weddings, but may be brightly coloured for other occasions. A late medieval recipe for comfits*British Library,

Harleian collection The Harleian Library, Harley Collection, Harleian Collection and other variants ( la, Bibliotheca Harleiana) is one of the main "closed" collections (namely, historic collections to which new material is no longer added) of the British Library in ...

, BL MS Harley. 2378. ''Composite Miscellany of Medical, Culinary and Alchemical Texts and Recipes''. late 14th-15th cent.. is based on

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

seeds, and suggests also making comfits with

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

coriander Coriander (;

, and diced

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of le ...

. These aniseed comfits seem to be a precursor of modern aniseed balls. File:Dragees.jpg, French almond comfits for a baptism File:Confetti rossi.jpg, Red almond comfits, called "Confetti rossi", are used in Italy to celebrate the conferring of a degree.

References

Confectionery Almond desserts {{confection-stub

See also

References