Christmas in July - Day Twenty-Six

 Even though our trip to Paris is over six months away, I'm all about all things French right now.  So, today's Food on Friday has a twist français!

Have you heard of the Thirteen Desserts, les treize dessèrts?

In Provence, the traditional Christmas meal is called le gros souper (the big supper). It ends with a ritual number of 13 desserts symbolizing Christ and his 12 apostles. The deserts must be served all at the same time and each guest must taste each one of them. They consist of pastry and fruit:

• dried fruit called les quatre mendiants (the four beggars), by analogy with the habits of the mendicant orders: raisins for the Dominicans, dried figs for the Franciscans, nuts for the Augustins, and almonds for the Carmelites
• the pompe à huile (pastry made with olive oil)
• light and dark fudge
• candied or fresh fruit, particularly apples and grapes saved especially for Christmas;
• candies like calissons (marzipan) or biscotins (cookies) from Aix
• and, more recently, the Yule log.

While flexibility and creativity are encouraged in assembling les treize, there are a few guidelines. The most traditional way to prepare this sweet Provençal feast is the following:

Start with four fresh fruits from the following: oranges, mandarins, apples, pears, white grapes, and honeydew melon.

Add three local candies, like white nougat, black nougat, marzipan, homemade jam, or calissons d'Aix.

Finish with five dried fruits or nuts from the following: raisins, dried apricots, figs, hazelnuts, dates, almonds, or walnuts.

Did anyone notice that 4 + 3 + 5 = 12?  I guess you add one more fruit, dried fruit, or nuts...or at my house, another from the candy category!

Of these items, four of the foods are incredibly common due to their symbolism of the Four Mendicant Orders — four religious orders having taken vows of poverty. These are almonds (representing the bare-footed Carmes monks), figs (for the Franciscans), raisins (the Dominicans), and walnuts or hazelnuts (the Augustins). While this is perhaps the most overtly Catholic part of the tradition, you don't need to be religious to take part. In fact, other Mediterranean societies have long concluded winter meals with local sweets, including the ancient Greeks, who enjoyed almonds, hazelnuts, prunes, and chestnuts on the winter solstice, or Sephardic Jewish people, whose Rosh Hashanah traditions may incude figs, almonds, grapes, and nougat.

Thirteen desserts may sound like a lot but if you only take a small bite of each one, it's an interesting combination and a new twist on dessert.

Source:  The 13 Desserts of a Provençal Christmas (allrecipes.com)