The idea for the confection that eventually became the praline traveled with French immigrants to New Orleans well over 200 years ago. In their original incarnation, pralines were almonds coated with boiled sugar, a treat first concocted in the home of 17th century French diplomat Cesar du Plessis Praslin by one of his chefs. The name "Praslin" eventually evolved into "praline." ~ Almonds weren't generally available in Louisiana, so pecans were substituted and cream was added (no surprise there, in New Orleans, a recipe without either cream or butter is eyed with a certain amount of suspicion!). And, so, a delicious New Orleans tradition was born...and the rest is history. ~ Long before the Civil War, pralines became an early entrepreneurial endeavor for free women of color in New Orleans. An article in a 1900 Daily Picayune paper described the pralinieres of the olden days as older black women, who "sold pralines about the streets of the Old French Quarter, frequently seen in Jackson Square and on Canal Street." ~ Author Lyle Saxon in his book, "Gumbo Ya-Ya," wrote about the praline sellers "...garbed in gingham and starched white aprons and tignons [head wraps], fanning their candies with palmetto leaves to keep them cool and singing out 'belles pralines' to people who passed by." ~ The "Picayune Creole Cookbook," first published in 1901, mentions "...an old French rhyme which has become incorporated in the banquette games of the Creole children of New Orleans, and which runs thus: 'Soeur Rosalie au retour de matines, Plus d'une fois lui porta, des pralines.' It referred to any sugar-coated nut, but it was reserved for the gentle descendants of these old French ancestral homes to evolve, from the suggestiveness of the word 'praline,' dainty and delightful confections that have, for upwards of one hundred and fifty years, delighted many generations in New Orleans." ~ And, now, it's closer to 250 years...and the praline lives on!
Nancy Brister |
