What is nougat: what is it made from, how to prepare it at home

What is nougat: what is it made from + how to prepare it at home

Dear readers, I welcome you to the website In Your Own Home! Almost everyone has heard about nougat, but it is difficult to call it a very widespread dessert. But true sweet tooths are naturally familiar with it, because it’s hard to imagine a sweeter dish than this delicacy.

Does almost everyone know that nougat is completely easy to prepare yourself? This is exactly what will be discussed in my article. But first, I suggest you find out what nougat is, where it comes from, what it is made from and what varieties it has.

Nougat - what is it?

The name of this sweet comes from the Latin “nux”, which means nut. It’s logical, because nuts are one of the main ingredients of nougat, along with sugar and proteins.

The composition of the dessert often varies: instead of sugar, honey is added, and the type of nut changes depending on the tradition of each individual area - it can be almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts.

The sweetness mixture also depends on the recipe. Nougat can be either soft, quickly melting in your mouth, or hard, with a viscous texture.

There is a snow-white variety of this sweet and a black one. The black color comes from sugar, reduced to caramel, and cocoa. Snow-white nougat owes its color to beaten egg whites.

To add different flavors, candied fruits, chocolate, cinnamon or vanilla are added to the sweet and protein mixture, and nougat is eaten as an independent dessert or added as a filling to candies.

There are many legends surrounding the origin of this dessert. The most ancient recipes for snow-white nougat were discovered in Baghdad, in books dating back to the 10th century. This delicacy is also mentioned in the old chronicles of Bukhara and Syria. From there, with trade caravans, it came to Europe.

Nowadays, this sweetness is an important part of the Christmas Euro menu.

The most famous varieties of nougat

Every country carefully preserves its classic secrets of making sweets.

Spain

Spanish turron is made according to ancient recipes with roasted almonds, sugar, honey and egg white.

Italy

Italian torrone consists of the same main ingredients, also vanilla or citrus flavoring, and is often wrapped in two thin sheets of rice paper.

The center of torrone production is the city of Cremona in northern Italy, where once a year a famous festival dedicated to this delicacy takes place.

The Venetian city of Cologna Veneta is famous for the creation of a special nut variety of nougat “mandorlato”, constantly based on honey, sugar, egg whites and almonds, which in Italian is called “mandorle”. It has a rich taste and requires some effort to take a bite.

Austria

Viennese nougat, Wiener Nougat, has been made since the beginning of the 19th century. This option, which contains only sugar, cocoa butter and nuts, also has a very soft consistency. For the Austrian version of the dessert, hazelnuts are most often used.

What are the benefits of nougat?

Due to these characteristics, nougat is often used as a source of additional energy by those who do a lot of sports or other physical overload. Naturally, most kids like this sweetness. As a consolation for their parents, one can remember that nuts, of which there are so many in nougat, help improve brain activity.

If the delicacy contains honey and dried fruits, then they slightly increase its beneficial characteristics. Although even in this case, you should not consider this dessert as a healing remedy and consume it in huge quantities. Due to its high sugar content, nougat is contraindicated for those who suffer from diabetes.

How to create nougat without the help of others

Now let's see how to prepare this ancient treat at home. I will focus on the most common options with step-by-step photos, and in a separate article we will post a recipe for making nougat.

Nougat with nuts and candied fruits

To make it you will need:

200 g sugar;
1 glass of boiled water;
100 g natural honey;
3 egg whites;
75 g nuts;
50 g candied fruits.

Mix sugar with water and place the resulting mixture on low heat. When the sugar dissolves in the water, add honey. Beat the egg whites separately with a mixer and add syrup from honey, sugar and water. Lightly fry the peeled and crushed nut kernels in a frying pan. Then add nuts and candied fruits to the protein mixture and stir thoroughly. Place the prepared mixture on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 430 kcal. Proteins – 6.5 g, fats – 16.0 g, carbohydrates – 65.0 g.

For the best illustration, watch the video showing the dessert making process:

Dark chocolate nougat

This type of sweet is suitable even for vegetarians, because there are no chicken eggs in this recipe. And thanks to chocolate, the taste of the dessert becomes more rich and exciting.

100 g sugar;
half a glass of water;
50 g almonds;
100 g dark chocolate.

Dissolve sugar and water over low heat until syrup is obtained. Fry the nuts briefly. Melt the dark chocolate until watery using a double boiler. Then stir all the ingredients, place on a baking sheet covered with parchment or foil, and refrigerate until completely set.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 490 kcal. Proteins – 9.5 g, fats – 32.0 g, carbohydrates – 40.0 g.

White chocolate nougat

Snow-white chocolate gives the dessert a typical taste and makes the delicacy even sweeter, so this type of nougat will certainly appeal to real gourmets.

Cocoa nougat in chocolate glaze

A homemade dessert with cocoa, covered with chocolate glaze, is prepared as follows.

For the chocolate base you need:

100 g of bitter chocolate: it is better to choose varieties containing at least 80% cocoa;
50 g butter.

For the top layer:

400 ml 20% cream;
5 tablespoons peanut butter;
2 tablespoons butter;
1 tablespoon cocoa powder;
1 tablespoon sugar.

100 g chocolate;
50 g butter.

Melt the chocolate with butter and place in the refrigerator in a 20x10 cm mold. Heat the cream, add peanut butter, butter, cocoa and sugar. Thoroughly mix all the products together. When the mixture has cooled, place it on top of the already prepared chocolate mass and place the refrigerator again.

Prepare a glaze of chocolate and butter and pour it over the nougat.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 450 kcal. Proteins – 6.5 g, fats – 20.0 g, carbohydrates – 76.0 g.

Peanut nougat

It is believed that classic nougat can contain all nuts, not counting peanuts. If you want to experiment in the kitchen, then we would like to offer a recipe specifically with this “forbidden” ingredient.

1.5 cups peanuts;
130 ml water;
350 g sugar;
120 g honey;
3 squirrels;
1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Combine water, sugar and honey, bring them over low heat until a syrup forms. Beat the whites into a thick foam and add lemon juice to it.

Peel the peanuts, chop them and lightly fry them. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, place the resulting mass in a mold or baking sheet, level it and put it in the refrigerator until it cools completely.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 424 kcal. Proteins – 10.0 g, fats – 13.0 g, carbohydrates – 66.0 g.

Conclusion

So, we found out what kind of delicacy nougat is, and we learned that it is absolutely not difficult to create it ourselves. If you can’t live a day without dessert, then this dessert will literally suit your taste. Well, if you prefer more dietary dishes, then nougat will help you in moments when you really want something sweet, because a small piece of this dish is enough to get the right dose of sugar.

Tell us in the comments if you like nougat, and, if so, what kind of it do you prefer?

Nougat is a confectionery product that belongs to oriental sweets. The word “nougat” comes from the Latin “nux”, which means nut. The composition of the sweet indeed includes various types of nuts: walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. Read more about nougat .

Homemade nougat prepared according to this recipe comes out very soft, indescribably tasty, with a subtle honey aroma.

I suggest preparing another popular oriental sweet at home – nougat with nuts. In this recipe I used pistachios. If you do not overcook them, the nuts will remain greenish in color. This mixes beautifully with the snow-white, sweet nougat base.

A recipe for making the classic Italian sweet torrone at home, with all the subtleties and aspects. Please note - when making Italian nougat torrone, you do not need a temperature indicator!

If on the eve of the New Year holidays you are looking for recipes for unusual desserts, I suggest creating a turron (Italian: torrone, Spanish: turron). This nougat-type Christmas sweet, made with honey, egg whites, sugar and nuts, will immerse you in a whirlpool of feelings from the first try.

A nougat recipe outlines a confection that differs in mixture, color and flavor. But they are connected by a very similar manufacturing process and composition. A nougat recipe certainly includes sugar and nuts. This nougat recipe allows you to create delicious sweets from the sugar-nut mass and butter.

Turrón is a common Christmas sweet in Spain, as well as in some other countries. Prepared from honey, sugar, egg white, nuts. There are different types of turron. For example, soft turron from Jijona (Turrón de Jijona) - from a town in southern Spain.

Throw your kids a real holiday - just prepare sweet fondue in a slow cooker. The kids will certainly lick their sweet fingers, literally and figuratively.

What is nougat made from?

The creation of nougat divides it into two types - snow-white and brown. Snow white is made on the basis of egg whites - this is the softest nougat. The brown one contains caramelized sugar, which is why it is the hardest and crispiest.

Let's tell you in more detail how to prepare nougat at home. Nougat at home can be based on sugar or honey. With additives such as cinnamon, dried fruits or chocolate, you will get an even more delicious and unique nougat. The recipe, of course, should also include nuts.

Making nougat consists of several steps. First you need to melt the honey, then put sugar in it, and simmer over low heat. Then you need to beat the egg whites and pour them into the prepared sugar-honey syrup. When the mass thickens, you need to add nuts and other additives. After this, immediately place it on paper and cut into pieces. This nougat with nuts comes out soft and tasty.

Although nougat is generally considered an oriental sweet, it is still more popular in Italy and Spain. We'll tell you how to create nougat according to an Italian recipe. The so-called torrone is made from honey and sugar. Add walnuts or hazelnuts, almonds, egg whites, candied fruits and crushed lemon zest to it.

Almost all confectionery products also contain nougat. It has a fairly high calorie content, so it must be consumed in moderation. Products that contain nougat in the recipe: candies, waffles, cookies, toast, chocolates, cakes, etc.

Nougat: when nuts decide everything

When it comes to nut desserts, pastry chefs compete for the honor of creating some of them. This happened, for example, when it came to the history of the origin of the Italian Caprese cake. So, if we talk about nougat, then it is not individual pastry chefs who argue about its creation history, but entire countries, although it would seem that everyone understands that this is an oriental sweet.

So, let's try to figure out who essentially invented this dessert, what types of nougat there are, and is it true that consuming it is not only beneficial, but also harmful.

Don't confuse nougat with Turkish delight!

East, Europe or America?

The spread in this case is essentially very wide. Nougat is a dessert made from honey, sugar and nuts. Its types vary depending on the mixture.

The word "nougat" comes from the Latin nux, which translates as "nut", and there is every reason to believe that the sweet was invented in Persia. After all, it is still very popular in the area of modern Iran - they prepare a dessert called “gez”, a type of nougat. According to historical data, this type of nougat was brought to Europe in the early 18th century from Greece.

On the other hand, the word is of French origin - nougat. In the area of northern Provence, so-called “nut pies” have been prepared for more than 3 centuries, which contain lavender honey, glucose syrup and roasted nuts - pistachios and almonds. Literally, the name of these pies is translated as “you pamper us.”

It is necessary to give due credit to Italy, where there is a romantic legend of the origin of nougat. According to it, on October 25, 1441 - the day of the marriage of the future Baron Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti - a special cake was created by the court pastry chef. In order for this wedding dessert to retain its complex shape, a newly invented composition was added to it, which served as a specific “sticky” - that nougat, which since that time in Italy has been called “turon” or “torron”, since the wedding cake itself was called “Torrone” (“ cake with a tower").

Turron – Spanish, Italian and Czech nougat

By the way, nougat is literally called the same in Spain and the Czech Republic - in these countries it is a common Christmas dessert.

The USA (the United States of America is a state in North America) also claims to be the creator of nougat, because their dessert bearing this name, in addition to nuts, contains completely other ingredients - corn syrup and gelatin. South American nougat is found in the recognizable Mars and Nuts chocolate bars, however, it is so different from the traditional one that in Europe and Russia no one considers it nougat.

Varieties of nougat

There are two main varieties of nougat – brown and snow-white. The brown one contains a lot of caramelized sugar, which is why it even crunches on the teeth. But snow-white nougat is made from honey and whipped egg white; it has a soft and warm taste.

There are also subspecies of nougat:

The aforementioned turon (aka torron, turron) is a dessert with the highest almond content. According to the traditional Italian (and Spanish) recipe, nougat must contain at least 50% of this nut.
Turkish honey (Turkish nougat) is not a product of the highest quality. To produce it, they use cheap ingredients and sell it in the form of small diamonds. This particular subtype of nougat is often confused by users with Turkish delight.
Montelimar nougat – we also wrote about it above. Its second name is “Montelimar nougat”, that “pampering” dessert.

Nougat is consumed as a separate sweet - for example, with tea, but it can also be included in other desserts - American chocolate bars, cakes, pastries, sweets and even waffles.

So harm or benefit?

Taking into account the popularity of this dessert in various countries of the world, it would be surprising to imagine that it causes a lot of damage to the body, especially when it comes to snow-white nougat.

Nougat contains a lot of nuts, and their usefulness for the body is irrefutable - this is the highest content of zinc, iodine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, vitamin (vitamins are a group of organic substances combined by chemical nature, united on the basis of their absolute necessity for heterotrophic organism as an integral part of food) E and other necessary vitamins and microelements. Strengthening hair, nails, teeth, bones, and vascular walls is ensured, as is getting rid of the blues and depression, improving brain activity and cognitive functions.
The composition of snow-white nougat includes honey, and this, in addition to the vitamins listed above, also includes vitamins (a group of low-molecular organic compounds of relatively simple structure and varied chemical nature) B2 and B6, pantothenic and folic acids. It helps with colds, increases immunity and efficiency and overall tone of the body.
The composition of nut nougat with snow-white chocolate includes, respectively, snow-white chocolate. We have already written about its usefulness in an article in which we debunked the most popular legends about chocolate.

Is there any harm from nougat? This is up to you to decide for yourself. You can abuse anything when you don’t have a sense of proportion. One thing is certain: nut nougat or nut cake are irreplaceable autumn desserts, so necessary for our body as support on gloomy autumn days and cool winter evenings.

Faithful nougat: secrets and tricks

Nougat is one of the most favorite desserts in the Middle East. In general, in Italy and Spain they adore her no less. They just call her there - turron. And in winter, nougat is catastrophically popular in other countries.

The origins of nougat are somewhat obscure. There are two theories about her birth. Some say that it came from the Middle East, others contradict and stand their ground: the recipe goes back to Old Rome. And to prove their own guess, they cite the legend that during another war, approximately in the 320s BC, the Romans were captured. And, in order to show their inflexibility in the face of the enemy, they decided to starve themselves to death, but not accept the conclusion. The jailers gave them a prototype of nougat as food, and the Romans could not resist, giving the name to the sweet cupedia - “ object of desire .”

The word “nougat” comes from the Latin nux - nut. Nowadays, nougat is especially loved in the Middle East, Iran and Turkey, as well as in Spain, Italy and the south of France.

Surprisingly, nougat is recognized as a close relative of marshmallow, as it contains a significant amount of sugar, to which syrup and eggs are added. Obviously, this is just the basis for an endless contrast of flavor additives: honey, candied fruits, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, chocolate.

Homemade nougat recipe

In essence, nougat is not a lot of sugar in the base, but a perfectly whipped protein. In a sense, it is a specific - the strongest - version of meringue, and it is the egg whites that give this sweetness an extraordinary thickness. So, let's start cooking.

600 g sugar
340 g honey
4 large squirrels
100 g sweet powder
50-70 g roasted peeled almonds

Plus sheets of edible rice paper for the nougat base. It can be found in online stores or stores selling products from Asia. It is often used to make spring rolls.

1. Mix sugar and honey in a bowl and heat this sweet mixture in a water bath until the mixture is homogeneous and the sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Immediately beat the whites until smooth and evenly, adding sweet powder, bring them to hard peaks.

3. The sweet mixture must warm up to 158 ° C, then it must be removed from the heat and let the temperature drop to 145 ° C. When this happens, pour it evenly, in a narrow stream, onto the beaten egg whites, stirring gently. Better yet, use a mixer for this, set at low speed. The mixture will change color and begin to thicken.

4. After 3-4 minutes, add almonds and mix for the last time before pouring the mixture into one or more molds, the inner surface of which (which) must first be greased with vegetable oil without aroma. And if desired, the bottom of the mold can be sprinkled with coarsely chopped almonds or candied fruits. The mixture is poured, now you should put a sheet of rice paper on top. Wrap the mold in cling film and leave for 24 hours at room temperature. After this, remove the nougat from the mold and. enjoy first, and later eat, eat, eat!

Making Tips:

1. Egg whites should be at room temperature before beating.

2. Sugar should be chosen of the best quality.

3. Be sure to use the temperature gauge to determine the temperature. The science of creating nougat deserves it!