The Berlingots of Cauterets

Every evening in Cauterets, the streets are abuzz with skiiers returned from a day on the slopes. There is a jovial air as folks meander from boulangerie to cave to patisserie to charcuterie, lining up to secure the night's provisions. (Adjacent to the covered market, Le Saloir is generous with their cheese tastings. The shopkeeper offers tempting morsels of the finest mountain cheeses from a very serious-- and sharp-- blade of a knife.)

But the most fun of all is the candy-making demonstration at the berlingots boutiques. These rainbow-colored hard candies, called berlingots, date from the 19th century, and have now become a Cauterets specialty. For over a century, les curistes have come to take the waters at Cauterets, and though a day at the thermal baths proved quite soothing, the sulphur taste lingered unpleasantly in the mouth (and resulted in serious bad breath).

A villager crafted a special, flavorful candy which overpowered "le gout particulier de l'eau soufree" and the rest was history. Now the town is full of artisan shops which delight kids with a berlingot-making demonstration every evening. (Though they're a bit stingy with the free samples.) The hot, gooey candle is squeezed from a tube and snipped, with scissors, into bit size pieces of every imaginable flavor (though cassis and blueberry seem to be the all-time favorites).