Curious about "non-pareils"

[wyf4lyf]

We were given a gift basket with many kinds of chocolates, and one of the boxes was for "non-pareils." I've seen these before, but have never understood the name. I looked up "pareils" which means "similar" in French...so the candy is "not similar" to regular candy? Is that the origin? Does anyone know? I guess it's the little white candy balls all over the chocolate that makes it "not similar"??

[dubedo]

*Close* - "nonpareil" = "no equal" as in "having no equal". So, in non-candy parlance, something that is nonpareil has no equal - there's "nothin' better" as we say in the South. Why are these little chocolates with white sprinkles (or just the white spheres) peerless? No idea, although they are tasty, but wikipedia has an idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpareils .

[mnosyne]

I think the actual meaning is 'without parallel" in that context.

[Non Cognomina]

PoTAto, PoTAHto.

[frenetica]

Funny. I speak French, and had always assumed they were called that because they're tiny and no two are alike. You get nonpareil capers, too, which are a similar size and shape.

[Candy]

I always translated it to be "incomparable". Of course depending on quality of chocolate and maker they certainly can be comparable or even bettered.

[Das Ubergeek]

Well, technically "without equal" would be "sans pareil" or "aucun pareil", but I've always assumed that it was just a linguistic blip. It COULD be that no two were alike... I don't know.

The little things on the top, though, are hundreds and thousands.

[Chuckles the Clone]

But wait, aren't the things on top themselves called "nonpareils" ???
So the chocolate candies are some sort of gustatory synechdoche?

[Das Ubergeek]

You get some kind of award for sneaking the word "synecdoche", but I know "nonpareils" as the chocolate rounds plus the hundreds and thousands.

[mnosyne]

When I was a kid in Chicago, these candies were a big part of the Saturday movie-going experience. We called them "Non Parry-Ells", and loved the feeling of the little candy ballbearings on our tongues.

[Karl S]

It is indeed the little balls that provide the name. These are chocolates decorated with non-pareils. Non-pareils are tiny sugar balls, commonly used to decorate cookies, cakes and, yes, candy.

[prunefeet]

I always wondered about this too, thanks for asking.

[marlie202]

I used to eat these when I was a child-they were sold in Brooklyn-came in a little box--a small round piece of dark chocolate with little white round balls-(candy balls) on top..
very tasty--years passed and they were made bigger and sold by the pound in confectionary stores-glad to hear they are still around in whatever version..

[hotoynoodle]

at the movies, those little sno-caps are awesome mixed in with your popcorn. guilty secret snack in the dark!

[Sara T.]

I love those candies! Raisinetts are also good mixed in with your popcorn, yum.

[hotoynoodle]

YES!