Vichy Pastilles

Vichy Pastilles (French: pastilles Vichy), less often pastilles of Vichy (pastilles de Vichy), are a French confectionery produced in the spa town of Vichy in central France. They were invented in 1825. They are recognizable as a white, octagonal type of candy pastille bearing the word "Vichy" in all-caps.

Vichy Pastilles
A box of Vichy Pastilles.
TypeConfectionery
Place of originFrance
Region or stateVichy

Ownership

The Vichy Pastilles brand belonged to the Vichy-État Company in 1940.[1] It was acquired by Cadbury France, a division of Cadbury, in 2003.[2] It later belonged to Kraft Foods (later known as Mondelez International).[2] In 2016, it was purchased by Eurazeo, a French company, for 250 million Euros.[2]

History

The pastilles were invented in 1825 in Vichy, a spa town in the department of Allier, France.[3][4] As early as 1839, they were originally made purely from bicarbonate of soda and taken for their digestive properties.[5] Empress Eugénie de Montijo is said to have been a fan.[3] Later, they were made with mineral salts extracted from the local spring water.[3][6] Nowadays, they include sugar and are flavoured with mint, lemon, or aniseed.[3]

The pastilles were mentioned by French author Guy de Maupassant in his short story, The Magic Couch.[7]

During World War II, the sweets were used as "branding and marketing" by Vichy France.[6] By August 1942, shops in Vichy gave Vichy pastilles to customers, while other victuals were rationed.[8] However, the mayor of Vichy decided to mark sweets as cheese on their ration cards to avoid running out of them.[8]

In Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias, American author Alexander Theroux opines that due to its connotation to Vichy France, "many French citizens are still made uneasy" by hearing the phrase.[9] In The Long Aftermath: Cultural Legacies of Europe at War, 1936-2016, Manuel Bragança and Peter Tame agree, as they argue that Vichy France's use of the sweets as propaganda eventually "backfired."[6]

See also

References
  1. Body, Jacques (1991). Jean Giraudoux: The Legend and the Secret. Madison, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 114. ISBN 9780838634073. OCLC 869150657.
  2. Lorut, Denis (April 12, 2016). "Les pastilles Vichy redeviennent françaises". La Montagne. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  3. France. Carlton, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet. 2017. ISBN 9781786573254. OCLC 983481938.
  4. Granville, Augustus Bozzi (1859). The Mineral springs of Vichy. London, U.K.: Churchill. p. i. OCLC 504881624. Vichy Pastilles.
  5. "Properties of the Blood". The Lancet. 1: 637. 1839. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)83945-9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  6. Bragança, Manuel; Tame, Peter (2015). The Long Aftermath: Cultural Legacies of Europe at War, 1936-2016. New York City: Berghahn Books. p. 136. ISBN 9781782381532. OCLC 946968757.
  7. "The Magic Couch". The Literature Network. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  8. Cointet, Michèle (1993). "La Ville". Vichy capitale 1940-1944 (in French). Paris: Perrin. pp. 93–120. ISBN 9782262010133. OCLC 410952762 – via Cairn.info.
  9. Theroux, Alexander (2017). Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books. p. 410. ISBN 9781606999769. OCLC 1002177582.
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