Nougat

Nougat is a French candy made by whipping egg whites until they are light and frothy.  Sugar and honey syrup is added to stabilize the foam to create a frappe.  Roasted nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, or walnuts, are added.   A number of other flavoring ingredients are then added to create nougat with different flavors.  Nougat is called torrone in Italy and turron  in Spain.  Variations of Nougat are also made in some of the North African countries, like Morocco.

History:  The history of the origin of nougat varies with different historians. Most historians believe that nougat comes from ancient Rome where a sweet made from honey, almonds, and eggs whites was made and reserved for special occasions or as an offering to their gods. The first known documented mention of torrone in Italy  was in the year 1441 in Cremona, where at the wedding of Francesco Sforza ( Duke of Milan) to Maria Bianca Visconti, a new sweet was created in the couple’s honor.

French historians think that the nougat traces back to a Greek walnut confection known as nux gatum or mougo that was originally made using walnuts. In the 17th century, Olivier of Serres planted almond trees close to Montelimar. It is thought that the almonds replaced the walnuts in the Greek recipe and evolved into nougat. Today, Montelimar, a small city in the Drome section of southern France is known for their nougat. The first commercial factory opened in the late 18th century and now this city has several manufacturers producing this wonderful confection.

Amongst confectioners it is believed that Nougat is one of the most complicated candies to make.  I can certainly vouch for that.  My favourite Nougat has always been  ”Sally Williams” Nougat.   Of course she wasn’t going to give me her recipe.  Forget about the recipes out there too, I tried them all and none of them work.  So I set out on my quest to develope my own recipe which took me a long time.  After a lot of trial and error I have mastered the art of making a delicious, soft Nougat that compares with the best.  My favourite is the Macadamia Nut Nougat.

Here in North America, Nougat seems to be rather unknown.  Have to change that!!  Nougat is an absolutely delicious candy and as far as candy goes, it an healthier alternative as it contains a large percentage of nuts, honey and no preservatives.  A good nougat should not contain any preservatives, gelatine or cornstartch.  Nougat is also a good candy for people who have lactose intollerence and gluten intollerance or coeliac disease as it contains no wheat or milk like so many other candies.