Almonds and sugar are the primary components of two Spanish sweets that satisfaction diners: nougat and marzipan. historically, they’re ate up at Christmas events, however now, they’re to be had all 12 months round.

The south of the Valencian community is the cradle of the well-wellfamous nougat, and is the region that holds the Jijona and Alicante Nougat covered Geographical Indication (IGP) . There the Arabs planted almond trees, amongst other varieties of trees, for the duration of the eighth century.

The components of these kinds of nougat are the equal, the difference is in how they’re made, as explained by Ana percentó Filliol, commercial director of Turrones p.có. “the only from Alicante is a combination of sugars, became white caramel, with toasted almonds. Its texture is crunchy and hard, and the almonds are entire. at the contrary, the only from Jijona is smooth. Its appearance is very unique, because it’s far product of brown in colour, and all of the almonds are floor and homogenized, with their fats and caramelized sugars. shall we say that it’s miles an evolution. It has the same substances as the only from Alicante, however there may be one extra step inside the procedure. this is the name of the game of the Jijona nougat, and from the people of Jijona, due to the fact a fantastically certified group of workers is wanted, and many years of information, to understand while a Jijona nougat is perfectly made”.

exceptional ingredients and creative new recipes
Almond sorts from Spain are of tremendous first-rate. similarly to their large amount of hint factors, minerals and vitamins, they’ve a high oil content, which makes them smooth and juicy, and gives them a extra severe taste.

Its ‘queen’ is the local Marcona, with a hard shell and flattened shape, which is considered one of the first-class in the international. “The Marcona almond stands proud from the rest, mainly because of its form, that’s round and a piece coronary heart-shaped,” p.có Filliol proudly tells Euronews. “it’s our range, from right here, from Jijona,” she adds.

Honey is some other of the principle elements of the recipe. Spain, with its 320 sorts, is the main producer within the ecu Union. amongst them, the ones of rosemary, thyme and orange blossom stand out.

Nougat, a clear example of the background of Arab delicacies in Spanish gastronomy, has been made in Jijona with the equal recipe, and the same nice standards, for 5 centuries. it’s miles on this small city in Alicante, in which you could flavor it, in all its forms.

while you think about nougat, you think of goodies. but in recent times, cooks want to invent new recipes, albeit at some danger. that is what Amelia Ripoll and her sister Ema de ella do in her 9aaf3f374c58e8c9dcdd1ebf10256fa5 eating place, which has been open for extra than many years in Jijona. each ‘play’ with the flexibility of nougat flavors, for the amusement in their clients, as indicated through Ema. “those who come from outdoor the city are especially amazed to locate nougat in salty proposals. So, with this, we differentiate ourselves from the rest, having nougat all year round, and in as an alternative salty dishes”, points out one of the owners of the L’Entrepà eating place.

the 2 sisters verify that Jijona’s nougat is easy to work when it’s warm, and that makes it a pride for them to usually invent new things, as Amelia points out. “aside from the creamy rice with pork cheeks and Jijona nougat, we’ve got the ‘sphere’, which is a nougat croquette, the ‘pastisset’, that is a cod fritter with a chunk of yolk nougat inside the center… The Nougat is a product that can be used in cakes, salads, stews… in endless gastronomic proposals”.

Toledo and its centenary marzipan
Castilla-la Mancha, south of Madrid, is the Spanish ‘cradle’ of every other conventional candy: the outstanding marzipan , blanketed below the IGP Mazapanes de Toledo .

Almonds, all over again, are the primary aspect, in addition to honey and sugar. but this marzipan isn’t the same as all the others, as defined via Ana de Mesa Gáfee, manufacturing director of Santo Tomé.

“Toledo marzipan is made with one hundred% candy almonds. this is the primary difference. In Germany, Italy, France… they blend sweet almonds with sour almonds. the second one distinction is that it’s far baked within the oven at very excessive temperatures, however little or no time. What we also do is bake it on wooden boards, so that the top component is the only that receives all that strong ‘warmness wave’, however the decrease part stays colder, uncooked. seeing that a packet of almonds, until the cooked marzipan can be fed on, barely three days pass,” he says.

The marzipan is completely herbal, made with 57% almonds, 40% sugar and three% honey. “With this, marzipan paste is made, the traditional product,” says Ana de Mesa Gáfee. “once we have the marzipan paste, we are able to expect a few additions that may be: egg, chocolate, ‘angel hair’ (a sort of cayote citron jam) and candied yolk,” she provides.

The ingredients of marzipan, deeply rooted within the Mediterranean weight loss plan, make it a wholesome meals, and really active. hence, it is a great complement to an ‘lively existence’, and also a scrumptious pride, whether or not at Christmas or at another time of the yr.