Caramelized nuts

Caramelized nuts are nuts coated in sugar that has been cooked until it turns golden to amber. The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets traces the praline to this idea: the original French praline was caramelized, sugarcoated whole almonds, a luxury reserved for the wealthy. The entry links its invention to a seventeenth-century French marshal and diplomat, though it notes that the story of his cook naming the sweet after him cannot be verified.

The invention came at a time when sugar was moving from a rare luxury toward an everyday ingredient, and later versions spread through former French colonies. The entry also mentions related nut-and-sugar or honey sweets from other traditions, such as nougats, brittles and marzipans, which developed separately.

In the pastry kitchen, caramelized nuts are used whole or chopped as a crunchy garnish, and they can be ground into praline paste for fillings and creams.