Nougat - French, Italian ...?

“Even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment.”

Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

This is not actually a very appropriate quote, but it's Terry Pratchett, so I wouldn't resist. I am assuming that he doesn't like nougat. I don't think David does either, but I do. I have never made it though, believing it to be one of those things best left to the experts, and reading the following from Greg and Lucy Malouf, I suspect I am right.

"To be honest, making nougat at home is hard work, and you do need basic confectionery skills and a candy thermometer. But the result is so gorgeous – and delicious – that we felt it was well worth including a recipe. We strongly recommend you read the method through carefully to be sure of the timing. It’s important to have everything ready to go – no scrambling around at the last minute for a forgotten ingredient or implement – and imperative that you warm the fruit and nuts before adding them to the nougat mixture. Be organised and you’ll be rewarded!" Greg and Lucy Malouf

So if you want to have a go you can get the recipe here - it's from their book Saraban which I do actually have. And on the next page on the web, you will find a recipe for a plum sorbet that includes some almond nougat.

But Greg Malouf - doesn't he write about the food of the Middle-East. Yes indeed he does, and the general opinion seems to be that that is where nougat comes from. There is a written recipe as far back as the 9th century in Baghdad, but opinion seems to be that it existed long before then.

Perhaps I should explain why I am doing a post on nougat. A couple of weeks ago I was in Colonial Foods in Doncaster and took a photograph of their rather large display of nougat - see below. It's so sort of excessive.

The display is even larger around Christmas time. Not cheap though as you can see - $11.00 each slice.

Then, as you know, I read the Italian Food Safari book the other day, and I did note the rather beautiful photographs - there were several - of nougat. Plus an actual recipe - Torrone morbido from Marianna Di Bartoli. It's such a photogenic thing is it not? this version is topped with white chocolate, and I did see somebody else reminiscing about chocolate covered nougat from Italy. Literally translated from the Italian it means soft tower, and they think it comes from the time when it was first made/noticed in a Venetian town when it was made for some special occasion near a tower.

But to me nougat is French - the picture at the top of the page is from my France: a culinary journey cookbook. Montélimar is the town for whit it is famed. Montélimar is on the Rhône south of Orange. So I think I was somewhat surprised to see so much nougat in Colonial Food Stores which a few years ago was almost completely an Italian supermarket. Now it's largely Asian - the Italian bit has been squeezed into a corner. Interesting how demographics change is it not? They still have all that nougat though. Maybe the Chinese like it, but the pasta section is now much diminished.

But no, as I said, it is probably from the Middle-East and/or Central Asia. Well when you think about it, it is sort of an Arab thing. And of course Spain has a version too. In fact the word for this particular confection changes from country to country, but the one we all know it by comes from Provence and the old occitan language.

"The word nougat comes from Occitan pannogat (pronounced [ˈpa nuˈɣat]), seemingly from Latin panis nucatus 'nut bread' (the late colloquial Latin adjective nucatum means 'nutted' or 'nutty')." Wikipedia

I have now looked at three different recipes - French, Italian and Persian and they all look basically the same to me. Heat up honey in one saucepan, heat a sugar syrup mixture in another, beat egg whites until stiff, then first add the honey and then the sugar syrup. Fold in your fruit and nuts, press into a baking tray and leave to set. It's rather more complicated than that of course, but that seems to be the basic method.

"Versions of nougat made with honey tend to be softer, while the sugar versions are harder, even brittle. There is even an American derivative version called divinity fudge, made from corn syrup." Honey traveler

All I can say to that is that all of my three recipes had honey and sugar, although they varied as to which they added first.

I think I'll still leave it to the experts. Although if I find myself with a lot of egg whites some time I might give it a go. Aldi have some fine nougat around Christmas time. I think I may have some stored away somewhere.