Biscuit rose de Reims

Biscuit rose de Reims

Pink biscuits of Reims (French: biscuits roses de Reims), is a pink biscuit found in French cuisine, made pink by the addition of carmine.

Background

Originating in Reims, they are a product of the Biscuits Fossier company. It is customary to dip the biscuit in champagne or red wine. The biscuit was born around the year of 1690 in Reims. A baker had wanted to make the most of the heat in the bread oven between the two batches. He had the idea of creating a special dough and of cooking it twice, which is where the name biscuit or bis-cuit originated – cooked twice in French. At the beginning, the biscuit initially was white. In order to add flavor to it, a pod of vanilla was introduced into the recipe. This vanilla left brown traces on the biscuit. In order to hide them, the baker had decided to add a natural color based on cochineal, which is a scarlet dye, to disguise his mistake to be pink. From this consequence of events, the Biscuit Rose de Reims was born. The biscuit is oblong in shape, and it is lightly sprinkled with caster sugar. Some of its most popular lovers of it include King Charles X, Leopold II of Belgium, the Russian Czar, and the Marquise de Polignac. It is commonly dipped in the following liquids to bring about all of its flavor:

• champagne
• ratafia
• port
• coffee
• milk

It was quickly became a great success in terms of confectionery throughout France. The original recipe of the famous "Biscuit Rose" is still kept secretly by Fossier's Confectioners who had originally made it. Despite the basic ingredients that include eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla, the traditional French recipe demands special mastery and daintiness.