It has origins Arab but by now he is Italian in all respects. It is in our country, in fact, where he arrived thanks to the Venetian ships, that this delight of almonds, honey and egg white has found its true home. And this is where he was "baptized": it happened to Cremona, in 1441, where he was called "Nougat" in honor of the Torrazzo, the high one tower overlooking the city. Over the centuries, the nougat has won throughout Italy and has been "adopted" in various areas, where the recipe basic has been reinterpreted using locally available ingredients. A long historical journey that has made Italy the home of many, different, greedy and delicious variations of nougat, which are the pride of many regions: from Piedmont to the Sicily, from Abruzzo to the Campania.
"United Torroni of Italy"
The torrone tour of Italy is definitely a journey greedy and dotted with unexpected stages. The national capital of Nougat is considered Cremona, home of the classic crumbly white with almonds, with a long form e rectangular. A sweet specialty with a certain date of birth: we know, in fact, that it was presented at the wedding banquet between Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti in 1441. The crunchy almond of Cologna Veneta also boasts a long tradition from the surface polished and with a very fine taste. Also in the north there are also nougats Piedmont of Alba, Mombercelli and Novi Ligure, characterized by the use of fine hazelnut tonda gentile, typical of this region, replacing the classic almonds. Precious nougats have also been produced in the Sienese for centuries, where the most widespread are the "copate", ie two discs of host stuffed with a mixture of almonds and toasted walnuts. Another area with a long tradition is that of Abruzzo, with the famous il L'Aquila torrone, characterized by the soft consistency and by the presence of the ingredients of cocoa, hazelnuts and honey, which has been included in the list of food products traditional (P.A.T.) recognized.
The ancient traditions of the South
TO Naples continues the tradition of the so-called nougats of the dead, characterized by consistency, soft and enveloping, the result of a careful processing of the cocoa which represents a fundamental ingredient. In fact, cocoa is the basis of shell thin and crunchy, which contains a creamy filling enriched with dried fruit and candied fruit. Benevento is famous for the "Queen's nougat", prepared by replacing almonds with candied fruit and nougat with chocolate, also in the version called Baci, which are halfway between a nougat and a crunchy. In Calabria the only nougat is produced to have obtained from the EU the IGP recognition (Protected geographical indication): it is the nougat of Bagnara Calabra, obtained from the processing of sugar, toasted almonds, honey, egg white, bitter cocoa, essential oils, cinnamon and cloves. Characterized by a rippled and brown appearance, called a "Monk's cloak", is produced in two variants: the Martini, covered with granulated sugar, and the frosted roasted, coated with a mixture of sugar and bitter cocoa. In Sicily there is no party that does not see the presence of "Turrunari", engaged in the preparation of soft desserts based on honey and almonds, peanuts and chocolate. An ancient recipe that has known many over the centuries variants, which enhanced the many fruits of the campaign Sicilian: from lemon to oranges, from walnuts to sesame.
One of the most delicious nougats is the "Cubbaita" (or "giuggulena"), a delight based on honey, sugar, almonds with the skin and sesame seeds. TO Caltanissetta, since the nineteenth century, a fine wine is produced Nougat, enriched with almonds and often also covered in chocolate. And it is still in Sicily that i was born nougat, "Invented" by Francesco Condorelli in the 70s. The final stage of the torrone tour of Italy is the Sardinia. In the province of Nuoro, and in particular to Tonara, for over a century we produce a quality nougat, prepared with egg white, honey, toasted almonds and lemon peel (but without sugar): the version with bitter strawberry honey is unmistakable. It is in this center of Barbagia that a popular has been celebrated for decades festival of nougat. Not at Christmas, as would be logical to think, but a Easter Monday. As if to say that it's always nougat time!
Many types, many recipes
Despite this long tradition, the Italian nougat has few safeguards. The name "torrone" is not codified and is among the products protected in the EU there is only an Igp nougat, that of Bagnara (while in Spain, for example, there are two different "turrón" Igp). A "hole" to which some local authorities have tried to remedy: for example, the recipe for that of Cremona is guaranteed by DeCo, the municipal name, which establishes the use of ingredients fine (such as Italian almonds and km.0 honey) that must be present in quantity accurate (for example, at least the 36% of almonds). The very fact that dozens of different types of nougat are produced in Italy alone makes it impossible to codify it recipe.And this explains why, with the artisans or al supermarket, you can find for sale products so different from each other all labeled as "torrone".
The difference lies in the ingredients used (dai dried figs chocolate) but also in the form and type of pasta. After all, nougat has a plastic mixture, which lends itself easily to different shapes and textures. The most sold in Italy is the white nougat, crumbly and crunchy, like that of Cremona, although soft nougat is gaining acceptance in recent years, which can be obtained either by changing the quantity of albumen in the dough or using it invert sugar (ie sucrose partially or totally transformed into glucose and fructose), which serve to keep the nougat longer wet.
Manuela Soressi
December 2019
