{"id":8468,"date":"2026-10-19T23:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8468"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:44","slug":"cuberdon","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/cuberdon\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuberdon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The cuberdon is a cone-shaped sugar confection beloved in Ghent, Belgium. Bite into the small purplish cone and the thin sugar shell cracks, releasing a soft, raspberry-scented syrup. Because crystallization continues after the confection is made, the contrast between the shell and the center changes depending on when it is eaten.<\/p>\n

Making cone-shaped hollows in starch powder<\/h2>\n

The cuberdon\u2019s shape is made using a method called starch molding. A mold is pressed into a thick layer of starch powder, and sugar syrup is poured into the resulting hollows to set. Rather than releasing identical shapes from metal containers, this method forms cone-shaped hollows one by one in the powder.<\/p>\n

The syrup uses sugar and fruit flavoring, with gum arabic giving it cohesion. Some recipes (the proportions of ingredients and the methods) also use gelatin. The ingredients are heated in a copper pan or similar vessel into a uniform syrup, which is poured while hot into the powder molds. The outer shell and inner syrup are not made separately and then filled; instead, an inside and an outside of different firmness are created from the same syrup.<\/p>\n

\"Traditional<\/p>\n

Traditional cuberdons from Ghent. The cone shape and dark-colored surface are visible. Photo: DimiTalen, 2013-02-18, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the distribution source, no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Drying slowly to form a thin sugar shell<\/h2>\n

After being poured into the molds, the confections are dried slowly at a low temperature. For example, in the process of L\u00e9opold, which makes its traditional method public, they are kept in a drying room at about 55\u00b0C for 7 days. Even when the surface hardens into a shell, the center is left soft.<\/p>\n

The confections taken out of the molds are coated with starch powder. When this is carefully removed with air or a brush, a fine-textured sugar surface appears, unlike that of a glossy, transparent hard candy. The composition of the syrup and the degree of drying are adjusted to create a thin shell that does not let the contents leak.<\/p>\n

A sugar shell that thickens even after completion<\/h2>\n

The texture of cuberdons changes even after they are finished. Over the weeks, the once-thin sugar shell becomes thicker, and crystallization of the center also progresses, changing it from a flowing syrup to a state that is still soft but flows less easily. The fresher the cuberdon, the clearer the difference between the firm shell and the soft center.<\/p>\n

The periods recommended by makers vary depending on the formula and storage conditions, but freshness is valued for enjoying the thin shell and fluid center. Cuberdons are kept in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and sudden changes in temperature and humidity.<\/p>\n

Origin legends, and records of production and the name<\/h2>\n

Ghent\u2019s tourist information tells a discovery story in which a pharmacist, trying to make a medicinal syrup keep longer, saw that only the outside hardened while the inside stayed liquid, and turned it into a confection. L\u00e9opold preserves a different legend, in which a 19th-century clergyman near Bruges first made it and called it the \u201cpriest\u2019s hat\u201d because of its shape. One story is told in terms of a failed attempt at preservation and the other links a maker with the shape; the actual inventor has not been determined.<\/p>\n

The company also says that gum arabic was in short supply during the Second World War and that it resumed production in 1946, once gum arabic became available again.<\/p>\n

The confection\u2019s name, cuberdon<\/em>, goes back to the Walloon and Picard form cul d\u2019bourdon<\/em>. Separately from this dialect form, recorded before 1936, newspaper usage of the present spelling survives from 1946. The reason for the name further back than this has not been determined.<\/p>\n

\n\"Cuberdons\n
Cuberdons in a variety of flavors at a market in Pecrot, Belgium (August 10, 2011). They are sorted into portions by color, with labels naming fruits, nuts and flavors. Photo: Arouet \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from Commons obtained. No alterations to the content or cropping for this article.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A confection bought at the market, and boxed products sent far away<\/h2>\n

At markets such as Ghent\u2019s Groentenmarkt and at confectionery shops, the purple cones are sold packed in bags or boxes. The culture of buying cuberdons at markets and fairs and eating them without keeping them for long suits a confection whose nature changes over time. In recent years, flavors and colors other than raspberry have been added, and the flavor is also used in syrups, ice cream and other products.<\/p>\n

The Dutch-language nickname is neuzekes, meaning \u201clittle noses.\u201d Like the French-language name chapeau de cur\u00e9, \u201cpriest\u2019s hat,\u201d it likens the pointed shape to something else. Products made with the traditional method are also registered under Flanders\u2019 regional product certification.<\/p>\n

However, cuberdons are not bought only at markets. L\u00e9opold has expanded its sales channels to its workshop in Enghien, delicatessens, fine food stores, wine shops, cheese shops and more, and it also ships abroad by mail order. The company sets the shelf life of its own products at 11 weeks from production while also noting that fresher ones have thinner shells; in other words, the period during which they can be sold as products is not the same as the time for enjoying the thin shell. Even though cuberdons can now be boxed and sent far away, the way time changes their texture remains.<\/p>\n

\"Colorful<\/p>\n

Colorful cuberdons lined up on a street in Ghent. The cone-shaped confections are sold at a stall. Photo: FlippyFlink, 2022-01-16, Ghent, Belgium. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the distribution source, no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Ghent<\/strong>: A city in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is associated with the market sale of cuberdons and with their nickname.<\/p>

Neuzekes<\/strong>: A Dutch-language nickname meaning \u201clittle noses.\u201d The singular is neuzeke.<\/p>

Gum arabic<\/strong>: A plant gum obtained from acacia species. The ingredient that binds the cuberdon syrup.<\/p>

Starch molding<\/strong>: A confectionery method in which shapes are pressed into powder and liquid ingredients are poured into the hollows to set.<\/p>

Crystallization<\/strong>: The process by which sugar or another substance becomes a solid with a regular structure. It is a factor that changes the fluidity of the center.<\/p>

Chapeau de cur\u00e9<\/strong>: French for \u201cpriest\u2019s hat.\u201d Another name given to the cuberdon because of its cone shape.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Visit Gent, \u201cCuberdons\u201d<\/a>: connection with Ghent, thin shell and soft center, the pharmacist origin legend, markets in the city.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    STREEKPRODUCT.BE, \u201cCuberdons\u201d<\/a>: certified regional product, gum arabic, pressing shapes into powder, changes in the shell over time, uncertainty of origin.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    VLAM \/ Lekker van bij ons, \u201cCuberdons, het neusje van de snoep\u201d<\/a>: on-site reporting at a maker, preparing the syrup, drying and changes over time, sensitivity to temperature and humidity, flavor applications.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    Cuberdons L\u00e9opold, \u201cThe legend of the cuberdon\u201d<\/a>: the company\u2019s 6-step process, starch molds, use of gelatin alongside other ingredients, drying at 55\u00b0C for 7 days, finishing by removing the powder.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Leonidas Gistel, \u201cCuberdons\u201d<\/a>: crystallization of the center over time in products sold, and storage conditions.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke, Usito: cuberdon<\/a> \u2014 the dialect form recorded before 1936 and newspaper usage from 1946, with reservations about the etymology further back. The dates of the written records are not the year the confection was invented.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    Cuberdons L\u00e9opold, \u201cFAQ\u201d<\/a> \u2014 the company\u2019s retail channels and international shipping, the shelf life of its own products of 11 weeks from production, and its explanation that fresher ones have thinner shells. This is not a time limit common to all makers.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. Editorial note (Japanese re-edit)<\/h3><\/li>

  9. The resumption of production in 1946 is an account from the production history handed down by L\u00e9opold. It is not a source stating that manufacturers throughout Belgium resumed production in the same year.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The cuberdon is a cone-shaped sugar confection associated with Ghent, Belgium. Traditional cuberdons are purple and raspberry-scented. A thin sugar shell forms on the outside, and when it is broken, a thick, sweet center emerges. Because of its pointed shape, it is also known locally as neuzekes, meaning \u201clittle noses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7518,"menu_order":239,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Cuberdon","subtitle":"A thin purple shell with a sweet raspberry center","topics":"A sugar confection set only on the outside\uff0fA center that changes over time\uff0fThe \u201cnoses\u201d you meet in the streets of Ghent","country":"Belgium","show_toc":true,"ingredients":[],"texture":["smooth"],"occasion":[],"method":["chilled","cooked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[159],"class_list":["post-8468","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t