The name bonbon (or bon-bon) stems from the French word "bon", literally meaning "good." Nowadays the term bonbon refers to several types of sweets and other table centrepieces across the world. In the United States, it is ice cream or cream cheese covered in chocolate in bite size servings.

Confection

In Europe a bonbon is a sweet, the simplest form of bonbon is essentially sugar coated almonds. In the modern era the use of almonds as a centre has declined, and a bonbon can be any confection with a fondant center, often with fruit or nuts, covered in fondant or chocolate, or any other confection consisting of a sweet centre covered by a loose sugar or flavoured coating. Although not technically a bon bon in the conventional sense, the term is also used in respect of Fruit Bon Bons, a hard boiled sweet with a soft fruit centre.

Bonbon is also the French and German equivalent of the American and Canadian word candy.

Other uses

In Australia and South Africa, a bonbon or bon-bon is the name for British Christmas crackers.

Edgar Allan Poe published a short story in 1832 called "Bon-Bon", which describes the devil's delight in eating philosophers souls, they being the most tasty of all.

In México, Bonbon is a commonly used name for cats.

Professional basketball player and power-guard, Bonzi Wells, was named by his mother who ate bonbons while pregnant.

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