Turrón

Turrón (Spanish), torró (Catalan), or torrone (Italian) is a nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. Nowadays it is mostly consumed as a traditional dessert for Christmas in Italy and Spain.

Recipe

The 16th-century "Manual de Mujeres" (a handbook of recipes for cosmetics and some foodstuffs) has what is probably the oldest extant [http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/01371074322363763092257/p0000001.htm#134 Spanish turron recipe] (also available [http://www.larsdatter.com/manual.htm#turrones in English] ). It calls for honey and some egg whites, cooked until it becomes breakable once cooled. Once the honey is caramelized the recipe suggests adding pine nuts, almonds or hazelnuts, peeled and roasted. The mix is then cooked a bit further, and finally removed from the heat and cut into slices.

History

Torrone is a nougat confection dating back to ancient Rome, it was carried far and wide by Roman legionaries and Arab travellers. it is definitely known since at least the 15th century in the city of Jijona (formerly Sexona, or Xixona in Valencian), north of Alicante. Turrón is now commonly consumed in most of Spain, some countries of Latin America, and in Roussillon (France). The similar "Torrone" is typical of Bagnara, Taurianova and Cremona in Italy. There are similar confections made in the Philippines, a notable example being "Turones de Pili", made using the native Pili nut.

Variations are found throughout Italy, Greece, Spain and North Africa.

Types

Turrón may be roughly classified as:

* Hard (the "Alicante" variety): A compact block of whole almonds in a brittle mass of eggs, honey and sugar.
* Soft (the "Jijona" variety): Similar but the almonds are reduced to a paste. The addition of oil makes the matrix more chewy.

The quality of the product is determined by the quantity of almond in the mix. Genuine Jijona turrón must contain 64% almonds, the Alicante version 60% almonds. Apart from the traditional Alicante and Jijona varieties, one also finds "torró d'Agramunt" and "torró de gat" (a variety from Cullera made with popcorn and honey).

There are many variations on this product. Marzipan ("mazapán") with candied fruits, and "yema" (egg yolk and sugar) are the most well-known, but in recent years there has been a great diversification and nowadays it is possible to find a great variety of flavours: chocolate with puffed rice or whole almonds; all kinds of chocolate pralines, with or without liquor, candied fruits or whole nuts; fruit pralines; and even sugarless variations (sweetened with fructose or artificial sweeteners).

External links

* [http://www.jijona.com/ Regulatory Council for Jijona and Alicante varieties]
* [http://perufood.blogspot.com/2006/10/worlds-longest-turrn-de-doa-pepa.html Peruvian Turron]