Nougat
Nougat bar
TypeConfection
Place of originIran
Main ingredientsWhite nougat: sugar or honey, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts), egg whites, sometimes candied fruit
Brown nougat: sugar or honey, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts)
Viennese or German nougat: sugar, nuts, chocolate
VariationsGaz, torrone and turrón
Food energy
(per 100 serving)
398 kcal (1666 kJ)

Nougat (US: /ˈnuːɡət/ NOO-gət, UK: /ˈnuːɡɑː/ NOO-gah;[1][2][3][4] French: [nuɡa]; Persian: نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan pan nogat (pronounced [ˈpaⁿ nuˈɣat]), seemingly from Latin panis nucatus 'nut bread' (the late colloquial Latin adjective nucatum means 'nutted' or 'nutty').

Two basic kinds of nougat exist. The first, and most common, is white nougat or Persian nougat (gaz in Iran; turrón in Spain), made with beaten egg whites and honey; it appeared in the early 7th century in Spain with Arabs. In Alicante, Spain there are several published recipes in the 16th century, for instance ”La Generosa Paliza” by Lope de Rueda and other novels written by Cervantes [5] and in Montélimar, France, in the 18th century (Nougat of Montélimar). The second is brown nougat (nougat noir in French, literally 'black nougat'; croccante in Italian, meaning 'crunchy'), which is made without egg whites and has a firmer, often crunchy texture.

History

Many legends exist around nougat's origins. Early recipes of white nougat were found in a Middle Eastern book in Baghdad in the 10th century. That nougat was called ناطف nāṭif.[6] One of these recipes indicates that the nāṭif comes from Harran, a city located between Urfa (now in southeast Turkey) and Aleppo, Syria. Mention of nāṭif was found in a triangle between Urfa, Aleppo, and Baghdad. At the end of the 10th century, the traveler and geographer Ibn Hawqal wrote that he ate some nāṭif in Manbij (in modern Syria) and Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan).[7]

Distribution and popularity

In southern Europe, nougat is a prominent component of Christmas meals.[8]

Nougat of Tabriz

Turrón is produced in Spain; nougat in southern France; torrone, mandorlato, cupeta, and cubbaita in Cremona, Taurianova, and Sicily in Italy;[9] mandolato or mandola in Greece; and qubbajt in Malta (where it is sold in village festivals). In Romania, it is known as alviță and is sold in local festivals and fairgrounds, mainly on the Sunday of Forgiveness preceding the Easter Lent); in a local variant form, it is made in Tabriz, Iran, where it is known as Luka.

The nougat that appears in many candy bars in the United States and United Kingdom differs from traditional recipes and consists of sucrose and corn syrup aerated with a whipping agent (such as egg white, hydrolyzed soya protein or gelatine); it may also include vegetable fats and milk powder. Typically, it is combined with nuts, caramel, or chocolate. Some American confections feature this type of nougat as the primary component, rather than combined with other elements. Varieties of nougat are found in Milky Way, Reese's Fast Break, Snickers,[10] Double Decker, ZERO bars, and Baby Ruth bars. "Fluffy nougat" is the featured ingredient in the 3 Musketeers bar.[11][12]

In Britain, nougat is traditionally made in the style of the southern European varieties, and is commonly found at fairgrounds and seaside resorts. The most common industrially produced type[13] is coloured pink and white, the pink often fruit flavoured, and sometimes wrapped in edible rice paper with almonds and cherries.

When nougat spread to Taiwan, preparers there began to add milk powder as the main raw material, plus sugar, cream, protein (some companies use whey protein refined from fresh milk instead of protein and protein powder), nuts (such as peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts), dried fruit and petals (such as cranberry, golden pomelo, mango, orange, longan, and osmanthus). These secondary raw materials have become unique features of Taiwanese nougat.

Compared to table-top nougat, French European nougat does not have any milk or milk powder ingredients. It is made by adding sugar or honey to egg whites and sprinkling in almonds or nuts. In addition, some manufacturers use edible rice paper to prevent the nougat from being deformed, but the amount used affects the taste, so preferences vary from person to person.

Variations

Turrón de Alicante (top) and turrón de Jijona (bottom)
Viennese nougat, a German-style variety with finely ground hazelnuts produced since 1920

Spanish nougat known as turrón follows the traditional recipes with toasted nuts (commonly almonds), sugar, honey, and egg whites.[14]

Torrone from Italy includes these same basic ingredients as well as vanilla or citrus flavouring, and is often sandwiched between two very thin sheets of edible rice paper.[15] The Venetian town of Cologna Veneta is well known for its nougat production, especially the type called mandorlato[16] (mandorle in Italian); this type is also based on honey, sugar, egg whites, and almonds but has a different flavour and is harder to bite than torrone.

"Wiener (Viennese) Nougat" is a variant that contains only sugar, cocoa butter, nuts, and cocoa mass and has a mellow consistency. The nuts used for Viennese nougat are usually hazelnuts. In Germany and the Nordic countries, Viennese nougat is traditionally labelled as nougat,[17][18] while in Sweden and Denmark, the original nougat is referred to as "French nougat".[19][20] In Germany, gianduja is traditionally called nougat.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "nougat". OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "nougat". Cambridge Dictionary Online. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "nougat". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "nougat". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Anonymous (2000) [c. 1550]. Majada Neila, Jesús (ed.). Manual de mujeres en el cual se contienen muchas y diversas recetas muy buenas (in Spanish). Caligrama. ISBN 9788493176341. Retrieved 2 November 2016 – via Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
  6. ↑ Derived from the triliteral root nṭf 'to dribble, to trickle', literally denoting a white viscous mass, as in ناطف الحوت nāṭif al-ḥūt, 'spermaceti'. Source: "ترجمة ومعنى كلمة ناطف" [Translation and meaning of the word nāṭif]. Almaany.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Moncorgé, Marie Josèphe (2018). "All kinds of nougat, A journey through the Mediterranean history of a confectionery". TAMBAO. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  8. ↑ Jessop, Tara. "A Brief History Of Spanish Turrón". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  9. ↑ "Torrone di Benevento". sito.regione.campania.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "15 of Your Favorite Famous Halloween Treats, Made Vegan! | One Green Planet". www.onegreenplanet.org. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  11. ↑ Randal, Oulton (2006-01-12). "Three Musketeers Bars". CooksInfo.com.
  12. ↑ "The History of the 3 Musketeers Candy Bar | LEAFtv". LEAFtv. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  13. ↑ "Barrat Nougat Bar Sweets product reviews and price comparison". DooYoo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "nougat | confection". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  15. ↑ Gangi, Roberta (2005). "Sicilian Torrone". Best of Sicily Magazine. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  16. ↑ Facaros, Dana; Pauls, Michael (2001). Northeast Italy (2nd ed.). London: Cadogan. p. 106, 260. ISBN 1-86011-808-9. OCLC 46503931.
  17. ↑ Odense: Nougat - ingredients Archived 2015-04-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)
  18. ↑ Odense: Blød Nougat Archived 2014-12-30 at the Wayback Machine Pictures and description. (in Danish)
  19. ↑ "Fransk Nougat". Marabou.se (in Swedish). Marabou. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  20. ↑ Marabou. "Fransk Nougat". nemlig.com (in Danish). Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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