Vichy Pastilles (french: pastilles Vichy), less often pastilles of Vichy (), are a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlappi ...

produced in the spa town of

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. They were invented in 1825. They are recognizable as a white, octagonal type of candy

pastille A pastille is a type of sweet or medicinal pill made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth. The term is also used to describe certain forms of incense. ...

bearing the word "Vichy" in all-caps.

Ownership

The Vichy Pastilles brand belonged to the Vichy-État Company in 1940. It was acquired by Cadbury France, a division of Cadbury, in 2003. It later belonged to

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

(later known as

Mondelez International Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in ...

). In 2016, it was purchased by

Eurazeo Eurazeo is a French investment company formed by the merger of Azeo and Eurafrance in April 2001. The company is headquartered in Paris. Eurazeo is a leading global investment group, with a diversified portfolio of €25.6 billion in assets und ...

, a French company, for 250 million Euros.

History

The pastilles were invented in 1825 in Vichy, a spa town in the department of Allier, France. As early as 1839, they were originally made purely from bicarbonate of soda and taken for their digestive properties. Empress Eugénie de Montijo is said to have been a fan. Later, they were made with

mineral salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

s extracted from the local spring water. Nowadays, they include sugar and are flavoured with

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

, or

aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

. The pastilles were mentioned by French author

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

in his short story, ''The Magic Couch''. During World War II, the sweets were used as "branding and marketing" by

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

. By August 1942, shops in Vichy gave Vichy pastilles to customers, while other victuals were rationed. However, the mayor of Vichy decided to mark sweets as cheese on their ration cards to avoid running out of them. In ''Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias'', American author

Alexander Theroux Alexander Louis Theroux (born 1939) is an American novelist and poet. He is known for his novel '' Darconville's Cat'' (1981), which was selected by Anthony Burgess for his book-length essay '' Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 ...

opines that due to its connotation to

, "many French citizens are still made uneasy" by hearing the phrase. 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."

References

External links

Carambar&Co
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vichy Pastilles French companies established in 1825 French confectionery Vichy Anise

Ownership

History

See also

References

External links