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Praline (pronounced PRAH-LEEN, PRAH-LIN-AY or PRAY-LEEN) is a family of confections made from nuts and sugar syrup.
In Europe, the nuts are usually almonds or sometimes hazelnuts. In Louisiana and Texas, pecans are almost always used, and cream is often incorporated into the mixture. Praline candy patties are one of the most associated foods with New Orleans.
As originally invented in France, pralines were whole almonds individually coated in caramelized sugar, as opposed to dark nougat, where a sheet of caramelized sugar covers many nuts. The powder made by grinding up such sugar-coated nuts is called 'pralin' or 'praliné' in French, and is an ingredient in many cakes and pastries.
In most other countries the word 'praline' is used to mean this powder, or even a paste, often used to fill chocolates, hence its use by synecdoche in The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium to refer to filled chocolates in general. In Great Britain, the term can refer either to praline (the filling for chocolates) or, less commonly, to the original whole-nut pralines.
Robert King Wilkerson, a Black Panther Party activist, makes pralines called Freelines, which he developed while in prison.
Origin of the name
The praline (originally spelled prasline) is said to be named after the French soldier and diplomat Marshal du Plessis-Praslin (1598-1675), whose cook supposedly invented it. The cook, Clément Lassagne, after retiring from the marshal's service, is said to have founded the Maison de la Praline, a confectioner's shop which still exists in Montargis, 110 km south of Paris. The name has certainly existed since the 18th century, but there is no secure connection with the Marshal or his cook.
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"Praline"