Quatre Mendiants

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Quatre Mendiants ( French for the four beggars ) refers to a simple dessert in French that consists of almonds , hazelnuts , raisins , figs or dates . It is thus a close relative of the German student fodder . The fruits were also jokingly viewed as representatives of the four medieval mendicant orders based on the costume of the order: nuts - Augustinians , raisins - Dominicans , figs - Franciscans and almonds - Carmelites .

Gioachino Rossini , the composer and gourmet, gave the title to one of his piano works with the movements Les Figues Sèches (The Dried Figs), Les Amandes (The Almonds), Les Raisins (The Raisins) and Les Noisettes (The Nuts).