A lesson in Italian Nougat from Foodie Imports (plus review!)

 

An on going joke between me and my husband is that I am more Italian than he is, even though I am of Irish, Welsh and Norwegian decent. Both sets of my husband’s grandparents are from Italy (Naples). I seem to know more about the Italian culture, food and even language than he does. 🙂

I love Italian food, and I honestly thought I knew a lot about it. That is until I was introduced to Italian nougat from Foodie Imports.

When I think about nougat the first thing that comes to mind is Three Musketeers and Snickers chocolate bars. The reality is that these chocolate bars do not contain REAL nougat. Real nougat is entirely different.

Let me give you a brief lesson about REAL nougat.

Torrone (nougat) is a traditional confectioneries made with sugar and/or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and recently macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from soft and chewy to hard and crunchy depending on its composition, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan pan nogat, which means nut cake.

There are three basic kinds of nougat: The first, and most common, is white nougat (which appeared in Cremona, Italy in the early 15th century) is made with beaten egg whites and honey.

Torrone is a traditional winter and Christmas confection in Italy.

Three Musketeers and Snickers bars are not made with real nougat but rather an American processed version of nougat.

Some readers might be familiar with the chocolate called Toblerone. Toblerone is derived from the word “torrone”(nougat). Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler in Bern, Switzerland in 1908. Theodor Tobler together with Emil Baumann (Theodor Tobler’s cousin) developed a unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey with a distinctive triangular shape. Toblerone was named after Tobler and the torrone (nougat). I actually love Toblerone. I first discovered it on a trip to Europe when I was 12 years old. I love the unique triangular shape.

The Quaranta company is run by an Italian family that has been making torrone/nougat since 1924. Foodie Imports discovered their nougat while living in Greenwich, England. Here is their story;

While living in Greenwich, England we would visit the Greenwich Market every weekend and stop at the Italian dessert stall.  They would have loaves of rich dark chocolate nougat, hazelnut and almonds and other flavors for sale.  We would start out with buying a slice, a slice would turn into a section and before long we were bringing loaves of this delicious nougat back to the family when we visited the US, this would go on for years.

Back in the States, we would find nougat here and there, usually in New York specialty Italian shops but the consistency was either too hard or lacked the rich flavor we left behind in Europe.

We finally decided as a family to form a company – Foodie Imports.  It was an obvious fit, our first import would be the Quaranta Family‘s deliciously unique nougat / torrone!  So here we are, willing and able to bring you the “Nougat Passion” in a variety of flavors shapes and sizes!

We hope that you find Quaranta Nougat / Torrone to be one of the most delicious treats to share with friends and family and that you enjoy their products as much as we do.

Foodie Imports now offers the Quaranta Family’s nougat directly through their website. They are also selling it through some small specialty brick/mortar stores, Italian restaurants, pizzerias and some high-end coffee shops primarily in the west coast. They are continuing to make the product more readily available for consumers by speaking with some specialty food basket companies, restaurants and other businesses that might want to feature it. They also offer wholesale pricing.

After learning more about torrone/nougat I knew I just had to try some for myself. I love Snickers and Three Musketeers, as well as Toberlone. I was very curious to see what the difference was between them and real nougat.

The Quaranta nougat that Foodie Imports sells is rich and creamy. It has a soft texture, similar to marshmallow, but not sticky. It’s so creamy that it almost starts to melt in your mouth when you take a bite.

I received a few samples to try out. My favorite is the soft nougat with Hazelnuts. It’s a bit on the sweet side (more so then I would normally eat) but I like how you have the velvety soft nougat with the big, crunchy pieces of Hazelnuts. It’s a delightful combination. Soft and creamy with a bit of a nutty crunch.

My husband tried some. He said it has the consistency of a soft dough, but not sticky. He agrees with me that it tasted nothing like the type of nougat we’re used to here in the states. There is no comparison. They are totally different.

Foodie Imports offers the nougat in a variety of sizes – wedges, bars, slices, rolls, bite size and even cakes. They are also available in a drool-worthy variety of flavors including Dark Chocolate, Coffee, Raisins & Rum, Raspberry & Dark Chocolate, Strawberry, Tropical Fruit and White Chocolate with Berries, to name a few. Just check out the photos and you’ll see what I mean about the nougat being “drool worthy”. 🙂

If you would like to try some out for yourself check out www.FoodieImports.com. Be forewarned… the images will make you want to lick the computer screen. Ha Ha.

You can also check them out on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and even Google+.

Not only does the Italian nougat from Foodie Imports make delicious snack treats, I also think they would be a great alternative to other desserts typically served at dinner parties. I think your guests would love a slice of nougat in lieu of other dessert options. It’s flavorful and light so it won’t “weigh” you down like heavy cakes would. The nougat would go great served with a cup of tea or coffee.

If you are having a wedding or hosting a party or other event the nougat would make welcome party favors too. Send your guests home with a slice, bar or wedge. Each is individually wrapped for your convenience.

The nougat should be treated like chocolate – keep it out of the sun and away from the heat. Should your nougat be a bit too soft you can pop it in the fridge for a bit to firm it up. You can also leave it on the counter to return to room temperature.

Have you ever tried true torrone/nougat before? What did you think about it? What flavor/flavors did you try? Did you enjoy it here in the stats or were you in another country? If so, what country? I would love to hear more about your experience. Feel free to comment.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.