- Coussin de Lyon
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A coussin de Lyon
The Coussin de Lyon is a sweet specialty of Lyon composed of chocolate and marzipan. This tidbit is a piece of pale green marzipan, with dark green netting, filled with a chocolate ganache flavored with curacao.
History
During the plague epidemic in 1643, the aldermen of Lyon made the vow to organize a procession at Fourvière to implore the Virgin to save the city. They carried a seven-pound candle of wax and a gold crown on a silk cushion. This gave the chocolatier Voisin, based in Lyon since 1897, the idea of using the shape of the cushion to create this confection in 1960. It became the first French specialty confection contain chocolate ganache.[1]
This delicacy has become very popular. It is possible to buy the "cushions" individually, and also in velvet boxes which recall the original form of silk cushion.
The Boucaud family has a monopoly in marketing the coussins, which it makes in its network of retail stores across the Rhône-Alpes region and in Marseille. The manager of the company Voisin, Paul Boucaud, says that the company manufactures eighty-five tons of coussins of Lyon a year and that production increases by 10% annually. The family does not use large retailers to market its product.[2]
References
- ^ "Le Coussin de Lyon" (html). Cuisine Lyonnaise. 13 April 2007. http://www.cuisine-lyonnaise.com/2007/04/13/le-coussin-de-lyon/. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "Chocolat Voisin monopolise les coussins de Lyon" (in French). Le Journal du Net. http://www.journaldunet.com/economie/business-de/specialites-locales/7-coussins-lyon-chocolat-voisin.shtml. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2010-01-27 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.
External links
Categories: Pastry | French confectionery
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