Jordan almonds, also known as sugared almonds or confetti, are a type of confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 consisting of almonds covered with a candy coating in various colors, originating from Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and particularly typical of the town of Sulmona

Sulmona

thumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...

. The term 'Jordan Almonds' (according to Webster's New International Dictionary) is a corrupted version of the French word 'jardin,' meaning 'garden,' 'hence, a cultivated almond'. Thus they do not come from Jordan; they are thought to come from Malaga, Spain. Another source of information has it that at one time the term referred to a variety of almonds originally grown along the Jordan River characterized by long, thin, slender, rather smooth kernels in thick, heavy shells.

A classic form of dragée, they are often used as wedding favors

Wedding favors

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception....

 due to the "bitter" almonds and the "sweet" sugar representing bittersweet married life. The treats are often packaged in groups of five per guest, accompanied by a traditional poem:

Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat

To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.

Five wishes for the new husband and wife --

Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life!

Jordan almonds commonly come in pastel

Pastel

Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....

, spring-themed colors such as lilac, pale yellow, light blue, light green, and white. The colors are traditionally associated with certain life events, such as white Jordan almonds for weddings, red Jordan almonds for graduations and yellow, pink or blue Jordan almonds for baby showers or baptisms.

Peladillas

The production of another type of sugared almonds called Peladillas is traditional in Casinos

Casinos, Valencia

Casinos is a municipality in the comarca of Camp de Túria in the Valencian Community, Spain.- Dragées and Spanish Nougat :Casinos is a village with a former tradition of production of Sugared almonds, dragées and Spanish Nougat, Turrón, Torró de Casinos.- See too :*Sugared almonds*Valencian...

 (Valencia

Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

). They come in a great variety of flavors, including dark chocolate, white chocolate, Roñosas, and Piñones (pine nut

Pine nut

Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....

).

Cultural References

Jordan Almonds are referenced in the 2011 comedy movie Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids (2011 film)

Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....

.