Generality
The Nougat is a sweet Italian agri-food product, of which two main varieties are recognized: hard and soft (obviously different for some ingredients and cooking process). Nougat is consumed mainly in the winter period between the Christmas holidays; however, contrary to what one might believe, nougat is NOT a difficult food to find abroad.
In Italy there is not a single recipe for nougat, indeed, there are as many as there are areas that produce it as a "specialty". The most famous and delicious nougats are certainly those of Cremona, Benevento, Alba and Caltanissetta.
History of nougat: it seems that nougat is NOT the fruit of our own culinary intellect, or at least NOT entirely; the prevalence of bibliographic research sources attributes the merit of its discovery to the Arab people, who (from 827 to 1091) also occupied the "Sicilian island for over 250 years. One of the most famous Italian nougats is precisely that of Caltanissetta where, by inheritance, it is still called with the Arabic term"qubayta"; the nisseni nougat sellers correspond to the noun of cubaitari.
Some readers will wonder how the Arabs and Sicilians were able to produce nougat before Christopher Columbus connected the trade routes with the New Continent (thanks to which the first sugar reached the Italian peninsular kingdoms). Well, the "Sicilian-Arabian island could ignore the" import of American sugar only thanks to the supply of "Arabia felix... with an advance of 500 years on the crossing of the famous Genoese navigator.
NB: One of the most important historical-bibliographical references on the origins of nougat is the De medicinis et cibis smplicibus, written by an Arab doctor in the 11th century AD, in which clear reference is made to the term nougat turun.
As is well known, Sicily was not the only colony of occupation of the Middle Eastern people; the Spanish peninsula was also a "victim" and, not surprisingly, here too nougat has become a local specialty (Gigona - Alicante). However, the first bibliographical findings place the recipe for Spanish nougat only in the sixteenth century.
On the other hand, the origin of the Cremonese nougat is more ancient; according to the Lombard tradition, it seems that the first nougat in the area was served on 25 October 1441 at a wedding banquet between the Sforza and the Visconti; the dessert was in the form of Torrazzo, the bell tower of the city of Cremona (from which perhaps the name of the nougat originates) This does not detract from the fact that “on paper”, the first mention of the Cremonese nougat dates back only to 1543.
Homemade Soft Nougat - Quick Recipe
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Production
The nougat is a dessert characterized by a BASE dough consisting of: sugar, glucose, egg white, honey, almonds or hazelnuts or pistachios or walnuts, and a covering made of two thin wafers.
The production process of the nougat is peculiar and is based on the continuous and uninterrupted mixing of the dough, with a gradual raising of the temperature (until it reaches a soft and foamy consistency). The initial whipping speed of the nougat must be very high to favor mounting and volume increase, while the temperature should NOT exceed 40 ° C.
We proceed with the solution of the icing sugar together with the glucose, the lyophilized egg white diluted in a 1: 4 solution, and possibly with a small percentage of water; as the temperature and volume increase, the mixture becomes then whitish. Finally, honey is integrated which, based on its quantities, will give the specific taste to the nougat.
Nutritional composition per 100g of Almond Nougat - Reference Values of the Food Composition Tables - INRAN
Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)
Edible part
100.0%
Waterfall
6.9g
Proteins
10.8g
Prevailing amino acids
-
Limiting amino acid
-
Lipids TOT
26.8g
Saturated fatty acids
- g
Monounsaturated fatty acids
- g
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
- g
Cholesterol
- mg
TOT Carbohydrates
52.0g
Complex sugars
tr
Soluble sugars
0.0g
Dietary fiber
- g
Soluble fiber
- g
Insoluble fiber
- g
Power
479.0kcal
Sodium
- mg
Potassium
- mg
Iron
3.5mg
Football
80.0mg
Phosphorus
- mg
Thiamine
- mg
Riboflavin
- mg
Niacin
- mg
Vitamin A
- µg
C vitamin
- mg
Vitamin E
- mg
The nougat mixture thus prepared must whip for at least 60 "after which it goes straight into cooking; the latter is carried out with a minimum mixing speed at a temperature of about 90 ° C. Thus occurs the almost total dehydration of the nougat.
The toasted dried fruit is then added in percentages of 30-55% of the total, taking care that the mixture maintains a temperature of about 50-60 ° C.
Finally, to give shape to the nougat it is possible to work it by hand in wooden molds (covering it with wafers and pressing it by hand) or mechanically by lamination (on cold rollers that at the exit lay the sheet of nougat between two wafers).
In both cases the nougat is cut, at 40 ° C if it is hard or at room temperature if it is soft.
Nutritional properties
Nougat is a sweet food that has many negative aspects to take into account. First of all, remember that the large concentration of simple sugars tends to inexorably favor the formation of dental caries (especially in the case of soft nougat, which tends to adhere tenaciously to the enamel); not least, the risk of dental fracture. Hard nougat is in fact one of the foods most responsible for splitting teeth, which is why it is advisable to pay the utmost attention when chewing.
Nougat is also a food rich in total calories, basically made up of sugar (simple carbohydrates), honey (simple carbohydrates) and dried fruit (lipids); these characteristics make the nougat a food absolutely inadvisable in case of overweight (for the caloric excess), but also of type 2 diabetes mellitus (for load and glycemic index not suitable for the pathology).
The portions and the frequency of consumption of nougat should always take into consideration the daily diet and above all the composition of the meal that usually precedes its serving. In any case, a weekly frequency and portions greater than 10-20g are already to be considered excessive.
Bibliography:
- Mangitalia - C. Barberis - Donzelli Virgola - page 267
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