National Pralines Day in USA

Praline is a form of confection containing at a minimum culinary nuts and sugar; cream is a common third ingredient. They were first introduced by Jean Neuhaus II, a Belgian chocolatier, in 1912. French settlers brought this recipe to Louisiana, where both sugar cane and pecan trees were plentiful. During the 19th century, New Orleans chefs substituted pecans for almonds, added cream to thicken the confection, and thus created what became known throughout the American South as the praline. The word praliné is used colloquially in France and Switzerland to refer to these various centers coated with chocolate, known simply as “chocolates” in English.

In 1915, Louise Agostini, wife of Jean Neuhaus II, developed the first ‘ballotin’, a box in which pralines were packed. In New Orleans, Acadiana, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pralines are sometimes called “pecan candy.” ‘Pralines and Cream’ is a common ice cream flavor in the United States and Canada.