Pastille

Pastille is a small disc-shaped confection or medicinal lozenge designed to dissolve in the mouth. The term comes from the French pastille, ultimately from Italian pastiglia meaning paste, reflecting the paste-like origins of early formulations.

In confectionery, pastilles are typically sugar-based sweets flavored with mint, citrus, berry, or other tastes. They may be purely candy or contain therapeutic agents. In pharmacology, a pastille refers to a lozenge that releases medicines as it dissolves, commonly used for throat soothing or cough relief. Modern production often uses sugar or glucose syrup with a binder such as gelatin or gum arabic, then is flavored with essential oils or extracts and poured into molds or spread and cut into discs; some varieties are coated.

There are numerous varieties, including unmedicated fruit pastilles or mints and medicated pastilles containing ingredients such as menthol or eucalyptus. Some pastilles are meant to be chewed rather than dissolved, depending on formulation.

History: Pastilles have been produced in Europe since at least the early modern period, evolving from paste-like preparations to standardized lozenges and candies in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are distributed by pharmaceutical companies for medicinal use and by confectioners as candies.

See also: Lozenges, hard candy, throat lozenges, cough drops.