Canelé
Encyclopedia
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. The dessert, which is in the shape of small, striated
Striation
Striations means a series of ridges, furrows or linear marks, and are used in several ways* Glacial striation* Striation , a striation as a result of a geological fault* In medicine, striated muscle...
cylinder approximately two inches in height, is a specialty of the Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but can often be found in Parisian patisseries as well. Made from egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
and flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
flavored with rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
and vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
, the custard batter is baked in a mold, giving the canelé a caramelized crust and custard-like inside.
Ladies of the Annonciade
Legend has it that that canelés were started during the landing of the boats of flour on the quays of Bordeaux. But more realistically, they would have been created and invented in the 18th century by the nuns of the convent of Annonciades, in Bordeaux, today convent of the Mercy, under the name of canelas or camelions. Those first canelas did not yet look like canelés: they were small cakes of very thin dough rolled around a stick and fried.During the recent remodeling of this convent, archaeological searches took place. Among the numerous objects found from the appropriate time period, nothing looked like a Canelé mold. Also, there is no record of any repairs to a Canelé mold being found. So it is unlikely the convent is the origin of the Canelé.
The "Canauliers" from Bordeaux
In LimogesLimoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
there was a food called “canole”, a specialty consisting of bread made with flour and egg yolks. It is possible that this is the same product as the one sold in Bordeaux since the 18th century under the name of “Canaule”, also written “Canaulé” or “Canaulet”. They were so popular that artisans specialized in baking them. These special bakers were given the name “Canauliers”. These artisans registered a Corporation (or guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
) with the Parliament of Bordeaux in 1663. This incorporation only allowed them to make a few very specific foods - “Blessed bread”, “Canaules”, and “Retortillons.” But, since they were not a part of the Pastry Corporation (Guild), they were prohibited from using milk and sugar. Doughs containing milk and sugar - known as “mixtionnée” - were reserved to the Pastry Corporation (Guild). Some claim they were scared of the competition from the “Canauliers”.
A war between the “Canauliers” and the Pastry Chefs on the use of the “mixtionnée” dough followed. A March 3, 1755 ruling of the council of State in Versailles gave the “Canauliers” victory over the Pastry Chefs.
The “Canauliers’” Corporation grew to the point that an edict of 1767 limited the number of authorized shops in a city to eight. It created very strict requirements for joining the profession.
But this limit on “Canauliers” shops was never respected. And in 1785 there were no fewer than thirty-nine Canauliers in Bordeaux, among which at least ten were in the district of Saint-Seurin. The French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
abolished all the Corporations but not the profession of Canaulier, however census rolls continue to show shops of Canauliers and bakers of “Blessed bread.”
Are Canaules or Canoles the ancestors of our modern Canelé? It seems likely from the word’s etymology. On the other hand no text, shop inventory, nor archives of the Corporation hint at molds. And even less at the shape of the molds used for cooking those “Canaules”.
The Eclipse of the 19th Century and the Explosion of the 20th Century
During the 19th century, Canauliers disappeared from the artisans list of Bordeaux.In the first quarter of the 20th century the Canelé reappears, even if it is difficult to date exactly when. An unknown pastry chef brought back to fashion the antique recipe of Canauliers. He improved it by adding rum and vanilla to his dough. It is likely that its current shape comes from the similarity (in French) of the word wave with the word “cannelure” (fluting, corrugation, striations).
The modern name Canelé is recent and mysterious. The “Guide Gourmand de la France” (Publisher: Gault and Millau, 1970) does not mention it. It is only in 1985 when the brotherhood of the Canelé of Bordeaux is created that the second "n" of its name is abolished to better affirm its identity. The name Canelé becomes a collective brand, deposited to the National Institute of Industrial Property of France
National Industrial Property Institute (France)
The National Industrial Property Institute is the national intellectual property office of France, in charge of patents, trademarks and industrial design rights. Until becoming the head of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli was directeur général of the INPI...
by the Brotherhood. The Canelé met success and, ten years after the deposit of the brand, there are at least 800 manufacturers in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
and 600 in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
. In 1992, Gironde alone consumed an estimated 4.5 million Canelé. Today, Canelés are so famous that they can be even bought at Bordeaux's McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
.
The correct use of canelé
The Canelé is consumed for breakfast, for snacks, and as dessert. Produced in numerous forms and sizes, its consumption varies. It is notably appreciated during tastings of syrupy wines.Traditionally Canelés are generally sold in bunches of 8 or 16.
It is better to serve the small Canelé with cocktails, and the big version for dessert at the end of a meal. The drink matters little, as the Canelé accommodates itself equally well with champagne as with tea, and goes with all of types of wine.
The Canelé is light and easy to carry or ship, thanks to its solidity. If it collapses during transportation, it deforms little and a light reshaping makes it revert to its initial shape.