When I first saw the Pim's cookie box, on the shelf at the alternate Shop-Rite, I was reminded of the old fashioned (but still active) gin-based liqueur of the same name. But it turns out that I was mistaken. The booze is Pimm's, double "m," and has nothing to do with this cookie. I guess there are few combination distilleries/bakeries. Anyway, I tried the Pim's raspberry flavor.
Pim's, as I learned, is a brand name, and not the name of the overall company. That is LU. Which is an abbreviation, of Lefevre-Utile. Which were the surnames of the founders, Jean-Romain Lefevre and Pauline-Isabelle Utile. Who were a married couple. I'd like to think that Mademoiselle Utile was unusually progressive, and kept her maiden name even after marrying, but I'm not really sure. The start date of LU is a little conflicting--some sources say 1846, and others 1850. From what I could gather, the earlier date may be when the company was selling baked goods from an English company, Huntley& Palmers, and the later date was when LU first began making their own products. LU hasn't been an independent, family business for quite some time. First it was bought by/merged with Brun, and then Generale Biscuit S.A., then Grupe Danone, then Kraft, and as of this moment it's owned by the American giant Mondelez International. So I could have labeled this post "A French/Belgian/American cookie," but I thought it would be too unwieldy, and somewhat misleading. The "Belgian" part is because the box I picked up said "Made in Belgium." So evidently LU has factories in that neighboring country. The Petit Beurre ("Little Butter," in French) cookie seems to be LU's flagship brand, but others include the Petit Ecoliers (available in both dark and milk chocolate varieties), Mikado, Pepino (Mini Stars), Cracotte, Ourson, and Tuc. The other flavor of Pim's is orange. And I was curious, and in French "Pim" means "imp." I find that kind of funny that the English and French names use the same letters, only in a different order.
Pim's raspberry cookie/biscuit: These cookies were round, about 5 cm. (about 2inches) in diameter. They were brownish yellow on one side, and chocolate brown on the other, with "Pim's" embossed on them. They were kind of like a sandwich cookie--a cookie base, with a raspberry layer atop this, covered in turn by a chocolate layer. It was a winning combination--the three distinct flavors went together well. Fruit and chocolate, with a nice cookie crunch. I often complain that European biscuits/cookies are too bland for my liking, but this was a definite exception. Not the best cookie I've ever had, but far from the worst. Quite good. I would recommend this, and will probably buy it again. I'll also try the other Pim's cookie if I can, or other LU products.
I'm not up on French cities in general, but Nantes did strike a chord with me. Then I remembered why--that's the place where Gilles De Rais was executed (he was hung, and then burned). De Rais is one of the weirdest serial killers ever. Born in about 1405, he grew up to be a military hero. He fought alongside Joan of Arc, and was named a Marshall of France, which seems to be the 15th century version of a particularly honored and famous general. But, then things fell apart for him. He was one of the richest men in France, but lost his fortune through high living, including financing a ridiculously expensive stage production. De Rais's money evaporated, and he held off creditors for a time by selling off his many huge tracts of land. Then, bizarrely, he turned to the occult for help. As part of this, and/or because he was a sadistic pedophile murderer, he began to torture, sexually assault, and kill tons of children who lived in the area. The exact number of victims is unknown, but is usually estimated at between 100-200. To be fair, some modern folks think he was innocent, and that his enemies made up stories about him, largely to confiscate his valuable properties, but most medieval historians think he really was an insane psychopath. But it's the fame part that's most surprising to me. I guess it's the equivalent of say, MacArthur, or Eisenhower, or Montgomery going from winning wars to retiring and brutally slaying dozens of kids.
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