They are just gumdrops for adults, after all, but oh, what gumdrops they are! Done right, pate de fruits are juicy sugar-encrusted gels that burst in your mouth with all the intensity of just picked fruit. There should be nothing gummy about them; good pate de fruits almost melt in your mouth with ripe concentrated  flavor.

Typically, as the name suggests, pates de fruits are a French thing – most often found at tony patisseries, chocolatiers, or specialty food shops like Fauchon. But we are grabbing a few days of vacation with friends in one of our favorite spots, Bandon, Oregon, and besides being on the stunning Oregon  coast with several world class links courses on its doorstep, Bandon is home to Cranberry Sweets, maker of fabulous, luminous all-American pates de fruits.

The pates de fruits at Cranberry Sweets come in cranberry, of course, but that is just for starters. Walk into the shop in old town Bandon and sample a few others. Pink grapefruit, orange, key lime, merlot, marionberry, raspberry, lemon meringue pie – your mouth puckers up and your taste buds cry uncle before you have tasted a fraction of the bounty on hand.

There are other cranberry sweets in the shop as well, with nuts and chocolate and all manner of good things. If your path isn’t taking you to Bandon in the near future (and that would be a pity) you can stock up on Cranberry Sweets pates de fruits right here. Enjoy.