Pâtes de fruits, confitures sèches (or “dry jams”), moreish bonbons—
French fruit jellies have collected multiple names and a star-studded list of historical fans since they were first made in the 10th century to use up a surfeit of luscious fruit in the volcanic Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Philosopher Voltaire was famously an aficionado, and Napoleon III’s brother-in-law strategically established a beet sugar plant near confectioneries to satisfy ever-growing demand from royals, nobles and gourmands. What sets these candies apart? These jellies had to be mostly made up of the pulp of “noble” fruit (quince, pear, apricot, berries and the like) to qualify as pâtes de fruits, which gave them their signature taste and firm texture.