Mints from the North of France; Bêtises de Cambrai.

These sweets are made by the Confiserie Despinoy in Cambrai using a traditional method and only three natural ingredients – sugar, vegetable starch and mint. The thick but transparent golden mix simmers in large copper vats into which the confiseur kneads the aromatic mint (harvested in the sunny wine-growing area around Bordeaux). It is of course this mint that gives the Bêtises their taste – rounded, harmonious and not at all sharp. Experienced hands then turn this raw mass little by little into a snow-white, airy, fleecy substance which is worked into delicate caramel strips, then cut into squares: and finally the delicious Bêtises de Cambrai are ready!