Nougat Quality
Buying Quality Nougat is becoming increasingly difficult: What is the best artisanal nougat on the market? How do you differentiate good nougat from bad? What causes the price difference?
If you are reading this, it is likely because you are interested in buying good nougat and ensuring you get what you pay for. In this post, we want to give you some tips to understand and identify the quality of nougat, so you don’t make a mistake when buying it online. This year, enjoy and buy quality nougat.
How to know and identify good quality nougat.
To correctly explain the different qualities of nougat, we must refer to the Official State Gazette of May 1982, specifically Royal Decree 1787/1982, which outlines the official regulations for the production and commercialization of nougat and marzipan. In this document, nougat is defined as “the mass obtained by cooking honey and sugar, with or without egg whites, with the incorporation and kneading of toasted, peeled, or unpeeled almonds. Honey may be wholly or partially replaced by sugars of various types and derivatives.” This royal decree also includes other types and varieties of nougat where almonds are replaced by other nuts or where food starches are added proportionally.
This definition leaves the door open to many and very different types of nougat, and it is important to emphasize the part that states “Honey may be wholly or partially replaced by sugars.” At this point, many manufacturers add more sugar than honey to their recipes, significantly lowering the product’s quality. Good quality nougat should contain a high proportion of almonds and more honey than sugar.
That is why in Jijona, we have a special regulation specified in the Order of March 22, 1996, which regulates the minimum percentages of nougat raw materials, thus ensuring a unique and quality product. From this regulation, guarantee labels were created. These are unique, numbered seals that can only be carried by nougat manufactured in Jijona and under strict quality controls. Along with the Protected Geographical Indication seal, they are the best indicator of quality nougat.
How to recognize nougat quality: The clear differences.
There are many ways to tell if nougat is of good quality or not. In this article, we will try to give you tips and tricks to quickly assess the product you are about to buy.
Firstly, the B.O.E. (Official State Gazette) establishes different categories to organize nougat quality. This is determined by the percentage of almond in the total weight. Here we show you the most common qualities, ranging from Popular Quality, the lowest, to Supreme Quality, OURS.
- Popular Quality. From 30% almond.
- Standard Quality. Between 40% and 50% almonds
- Extra Quality. More than 50%.
- Supreme Quality Nougat. More than 60% almonds: What we sell
Therefore, the most direct way to know if nougat is of good quality is by looking at its ingredients and the minimum percentage they comprise within the product. If the nougat has little almond and little honey, it indicates lower quality. Evidently, it goes without saying that any thickener or binder in Jijona and Alicante nougat is an indication of inferior quality.
Nougat certified under the Jijona brand must have a minimum almond percentage of 64% and a honey percentage that must always exceed 10% of the final product. We always try to go further and recommend looking at the sugar percentage vs. honey percentage because many manufacturers use more sugar than honey (it’s cheaper). Since it is not mandatory to list these percentages among the ingredients, a trick is to look at their order of appearance. The earlier an ingredient appears, the greater its presence in the product.
Quality nougat must always have a higher percentage of almond and pure bee honey than sugar or other ingredients. And when we say a higher percentage, we mean that at least 70% of quality nougat must be almond and honey.
Evidently, when buying good quality nougat, you should ensure it does not contain soy oil or palm oil. None of our products are made with these ingredients, never!
Not all soft nougat is Jijona, nor is all hard nougat Alicante. Learn to identify them.
To have absolute confidence in buying quality nougat, we recommend that it always carries the designation of origin and geographical identification seal. This ensures that the nougat is manufactured in Jijona, produced solely following traditional techniques, and contains minimum percentages of honey and almond. These raw materials are also cultivated in Alicante, Valencia, and/or Castellón.
How to tell if nougat is quality
The manufacturing process also plays a role in nougat quality. Alicante and Jijona nougat has been traditionally made in the same way for over 500 years, although significant changes occurred at the end of the 19th century with global industrialization.
The shift from wood-fired ovens to steam boilers led to the reinvention of the machinery needed to produce nougat and meant that throughout the 20th century, the quintessential Christmas sweet was manufactured in larger quantities and reached the entire world.
The nougat manufacturing process is simple but requires extensive experience and savoir faire (know-how). Making it at home is very difficult. Each part of the process has an expert who ensures everything goes perfectly. A small error in any process can mean discarding an entire “batch” of nougat. Below, we show you the nougat manufacturing process organized step by step.
The most important: The almond
As explained earlier, the first sign to detect good Jijona nougat is the almond. Nougat with a high percentage of almond tells us that it has less sugar and is healthier. Our nougat always exceeds 64% pure Marcona almond, which is cultivated in the Spanish Mediterranean basin. Never in Africa or California.
Furthermore, the variety of almond used is important. In Jijona, we use a variety called Marcona almond. A very sweet Spanish almond species with a high oil content.
Honey and sugar. Their percentage
It is important that the percentage of honey is always higher than that of sugar. Our nougat always exceeds the 10% set by the regulatory council, reaching up to 20% in some cases.
Doing basic calculations with our star products, Jijona nougat: 70% almond + 17% honey = 87%. The remaining 13% is sugar and egg whites. Nougat with higher quality? Impossible.
Nougat flavor. The difference of success.
The success of a good nougat is distinguished by its flavor. The flavor of good quality nougat should be balanced between honey and almond, which is why percentages are so important to us.
The taste of toasted almonds should predominate and be sweetened with the aroma of pure bee honey. Nougat with too much sugar would be sweet, but its flavor would be more “neutral” and bland. Imagine for a moment chewing cotton candy with almonds… We wouldn’t like it, would we?
The predominant flavor should be toasted almond. Nougat with little almond does not taste like nougat.
Natural almond oil and the friability of good quality nougat.
Friability is the ease with which something crumbles. Unlike nougat with a high sugar percentage, good quality nougat should melt in your mouth as it breaks apart. Nougat with too much sugar creates a different effect and has a texture more similar to sand. Have you ever chewed a hard candy? Nougat should melt in your mouth!
On the other hand, a high presence of natural oil in nougat is indicative of high-quality nougat. Marcona almonds naturally contain oil, and when toasted, this oil automatically appears. This oil presence, in addition to giving the characteristic toasted almond flavor, contributes to each bite being balanced, delicious, and magical.
If you see that a nougat contains any type of thickener, preservative, or oils not found in almonds, it is not Quality nougat.
Where to buy good Quality nougat?
Now that you know how to identify, recognize, and buy quality nougat, dare you try ours?
In our online nougat store, you will find the best catalog of artisanal nougat on the market