sucre d’orge

Sucre d'orge des religieuses de Moret-sur-Loing was first made by Benedictine nuns at the Prieuré de Notre Dame des Anges in Moret-sur-Loing in 1638. The barley sugar candies were a hit under Louis XIV, but production ended with the Revolution.

The recipe seemed to be lost forever until the last surviving nun, Sister Félicité, returned to Moret-sur-Loing and passed on the secret recipe to a confidante before she died.

When the nuns returned to their convent, the confidante gave them the recipe, and by the 1830s the sisters were back in business. In 1972, when they were forced to move, they passed on the secret to a local confiseur and when his family could no longer make them, they sold the rights to a company in Nemours.

Tours is also famous for its sucre d’orge, which come in bright colours, flavoured with elderflower or vanilla.

Sucre d’orge is also used for candy canes (although canne en bonbon is more common).