You Say Nougat, I Say Nougat
Yes, the nougat inside of a candy bar is delicious…if you like the taste of fluffy corn syrup dipped in mass-manufactured wax. Let me put it this way, I would always choose one of my caramels over a Snickers bar. But I digress…I had been meaning to make nougat for a few weeks and finally got around to it. Here is a little background on nougat: it is simply a candy made with sugar and/or honey. The most popular variety is made with beaten egg whites and sugar and/or honey. It is bright white, chewy, and tends to include toasted nuts and dried fruit. Nougat can also be made sans eggs yielding a much crunchier consistency. It can also be made with chocolate or almost entirely made of nuts…let’s be honest, they all sound pretty good.
I decided to make the bright white, chewy version with pistachios and dried cherries. Not only are pistachios and cherries delicious on their own, they are also great together…oh, and the colors are gorgeous.
If you have ever made marshmallows, you can make nougat. There are three steps:
1. Cook sugar and honey.
2. Beat egg whites.
3. Pour sugar and honey mixture into egg whites while mixer is running.
The sad thing about this recipe is that the honey flavor was overpowering. Although the nougat was gorgeous and the consistency was spot on, the flavor was a little off. I plan on freezing the rest of the batch, cracking it into pieces, and adding it to ice cream.
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| Aren't they gorgeous? |
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| Sugar and honey begins to melt. |
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| The mixture cooks until it reaches 252 degrees. |
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| It is poured into the egg whites while mixer runs. |
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| Ta dah! |