Bergamot

The fruit

The bergamot orange was created by accident, in the form of a hybrid, in the citrus fruit fields of southern Italy, between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This citrus fruit is reproduced by grafting a lemon tree onto a wild orange tree. Its essence is collected after pressing the rind several times.

The Candy

By mixing this natural essence with cooked sugar, we then make the Bergamot candy, in our store and workshop in Nancy, producing this refined sweet with a fine amber colour and inimitable taste.

History

René d’Anjou and René II, both Dukes of Lorraine and Kings of Sicily, introduced essence of bergamot to Nancy well before 1750.

Key dates in the history of the Nancy Bergamot

From 1750: bergamot is reserved exclusively for Royalty. Gilliers, chef to King Stanislas, creates barley sugar with bergamot, which soon becomes the King’s favourite sweet.

1857: bergamot becomes a Nancy speciality for the “general public” thanks to the confectioner Godefroy Lillig who gives it its definitive square shape; he also had the idea of adding essence of Bergamot from a perfumer friend to a boiled sweet.

The IGP Bergamot

The label “Bergamote de Nancy”is the warranty of linkage between a product and its territory of origin.
This label garanties a product related to the geographical location in which the product is a least produced or transformed, a voluntary and collective approach from the producers and strict productions conditions validated by the State.

Everything you need to know about bergamot