People are usually surprised to learn that nougat is one of the oldest candies still being made. I get that reaction a lot when someone points at the pale squares in the case and asks what they are. The recipe we use for our honey almond nougat is not quite that old, but it comes from a tradition that goes back more than a thousand years, and it has not changed much in all that time.
Nougat in some form has been made around the Mediterranean for centuries. The French know it from Montélimar, the Spanish call it turrón, and the Italians call it torrone. The word itself likely comes from the Provençal nogat, which traces back to the Latin for nut. Written recipes for a sweet made from beaten egg whites appear in a tenth century Baghdad cookbook, the Kitab al-Tabikh, where the confection is called naatif. So the basic idea, whip air into egg whites and sweeten them with honey, has been around since long before anyone thought to dip it in chocolate.
That is the part I love about making honey almond nougat. The ingredients are simple: egg whites, honey, and almonds. The technique is what takes time. The honey and sugar are cooked to just the right temperature, the egg whites are whipped until they hold their shape, and the two are folded together slowly so the candy stays light and chewy instead of turning into something dense and sticky. Get it right and you have a piece that is gently sweet with a clean finish, the kind of candy that makes you realize how much of the commercial nougat world is just filler with flavoring.
Our honey almond nougat is made the old-fashioned way, with real honey and real almonds, and it is one of the more delicate things we make. We have been making candy in Ferndale for nearly five decades, and the nougat is one of the pieces that reminds me why we started.
If you have never tried real nougat, that is the piece to start with. It is light enough to disappear quickly, which is why we also dip it in chocolate for the chocolate dipped nougat version, and why it shows up layered with caramel in a few of our bars. Next time you are in the shop, ask for a taste at the case. One bite and you will understand why this recipe has survived a thousand years.