What is nougat made of

The nougat is one of the most anticipated delicacies in the after-dinner table during the Christmas holidays. Normal, because due to its ingredients, it is a tremendously delicious sweet. And at Your Spanish Shop, in addition to offering you the opportunity to buy nougat at the best price, we are going to tell you what nougat is made of, so that you have no doubts as to why this is the favorite Christmas dessert.

What is nougat and what are its ingredients?

Nougat is a sweet dough that is obtained by cooking its main ingredients: honey, sugar, egg white and peeled or toasted almonds. These are mixed and then kneaded to give rise to the traditional rectangular tablet shape that characterizes nougat. Although they can also be molded to create different shapes, the most common, apart from the classic, being the rounded cake.

The ingredients mentioned correspond to traditional nougat, which we know as Alicante nougat, the hard one, and Jijona nougat, the soft one. Both from Alicante and the municipality of Jijona.

There are some countries where sweets very similar to nougat are made, since they share some of its main ingredients.

For example, in Latin America, despite the fact that nougats are made in a different way than in Spain, they do have a very similar flavor and appearance. Meanwhile, in the Arab countries it is also a sweet that is quite similar to the Spanish Christmas classic, but they introduce different ingredients that give rise to a sweet that is more closely related to our traditional nougat: the jalva or sesame nougat, which is made with ground sesame and honey in which, sometimes, fruits or pistachios are included.

What is traditional Spanish nougat made of?

In Spain there are mainly two types of nougat, the soft nougat originating from Jijona, the municipality of Alicante; and the hard one, the original from Alicante. Both are made in a fairly similar way, but with enough differences to give rise to different quality products.

Nutritional values ​​of nougat

Of course, broadly speaking, both the hard and the soft are a food highly concentrated in fats, carbohydrates and calories. In this way, its consumption is not indicated as frequent and should be moderate, especially for people who need a diet controlled in fats or for diabetics.

In relation to carbohydrates, these are simple and come from sugar and honey that are used in its production process. The fat comes from almonds and is of the unsaturated type, which is healthy for our body and beneficial for cardiovascular health as it is actually a monounsaturated fat.

Despite being a fairly caloric sweet whose consumption must be controlled, in small portions they provide us with vegetable proteins, fiber, minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus or iron, as well as vitamins, such as E, among others.

What is traditional nougat made of according to its quality

Depending on the quality category that has been given to the nougat, it is made with the same ingredients but with different proportions. Thus, we can find the supreme quality, which has 64% almonds in soft nougat and 60% in hard nougat; the Extra quality, with 50% in soft nougat and 46% in hard nougat; the standard quality, with 44% in soft nougat and 40% in hard nougat; and the Popular quality, which is made of 30% almonds in soft nougat and 34% in hard nougat.

Thus, as the quality of the nougat falls and, consequently, the proportion of almonds or other nuts, with a greater amount of sugar it is made.

Hard nougat Delaviuda 250 gr.€8.98Toasted egg yolk nougat Delaviuda 200 gr.€7.98Nougat with chocolate Donettes El Almendro 150 gr.€6.99

How to make Jijona soft nougat

Jijona soft nougat stands out for its production process, characteristic of this geographical area. The jijonencos have known how to take advantage of the raw materials and the weather conditions that their land has given them to achieve a high quality product.

Thanks to the fields full of almond trees and honey panels where ingredients such as rosemary, lavender and thyme are abundant, the best nougat in Spain and the world have been made.

In fact, this is how the Jijona and Alicante denomination nougat have emerged, which are protected by the Protected Geographical Indication, which determines that a nougat has been made according to the raw materials and characteristics of a specific geographical area, whose quality It is one hundred percent controlled and verified.

Thus, a Jijona denomination nougat must follow rigorous and ancestral production processes and include specific ingredients with their respective proportions.

However, in general terms, a Jijona nougat is made from 300 grams of ground toasted almonds, 250 grams of honey and 100 grams of sugar.

What is the hard nougat from Alicante made of?

Alicante nougat is made in almost the same way as soft nougat, except for some differences in the production process. For example, hard nougat is made with whole almonds, while soft nougat is ground. In addition, once its main ingredients (almonds, honey and sugar) have been roasted, cooked and mixed, diluted egg white is added to the hard nougat as a whitening agent until the necessary "ball point" is achieved.

What are the different types of nougat made of?

Due to the fact that nougat is an ancient sweet, different varieties have been created that are made with different ingredients to give a unique flavor while maintaining the essence of the so characteristic flavor of nougat.

For example, among the hard nougats there is the Guirlache nougat, which is typical of Aragon and is made from almonds and caramelised sugar.

On the other hand, apart from Jijona, within the market it is common to find different types of soft nougat that are made with the following ingredients:

* Yolk nougat: candied egg yolk is added to the classic soft nougat paste, which can also be toasted. And within this variety is the nougat made from coconut as raw material and candied fruit.
* Catalan cream nougat: this is made with a top layer of toasted and crunchy caramel that differs from the traditional soft.
* Coconut nougat: this is made with a mixer and unroasted almonds, as if a marzipan were made, with coconut as the main ingredient.
* Nougat with fruit: this is the typical colorful nougat in which ingredients are added in its preparation, such as candied pieces of orange, cherry, lemon or plum.
* Crispy chocolate nougat: in this case, the chocolate nougat is made with the paste mixed with cocoa, which is mixed with puffed rice to achieve that characteristic crunchy texture.
* Pistachio nougat: this is made up of a mixture that includes about 275 grams of melted white chocolate, 24 ml of orange blossom water, 30 grams of butter and 53 grams of peeled pistachios.
* Orange truffle nougat: this, for example, is normally made from 200 grams of fondant chocolate, 100 grams of 60% cocoa couverture chocolate, 100 milliliters of whipping cream, 200 grams of butter, 20 grams of icing sugar, 90 grams of candied orange and 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur.
And these are just some of the most common types of nougat. Thus, as you can see, to know what the nougat is made of, it depends on the type you choose and its different ingredients.

Keep in mind that the traditional ones do not vary greatly, except in the proportions and quality of the raw material. From there, creativity and advances in gastronomy have given rise to nougats that are made from a wide variety of ingredients.

Of course, regardless of what the nougat is made of, it will always be a great success to include it in our Christmas desserts to end the year with a great taste in the mouth.