Nougat is a confectionery made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts are common) and sometimes chopped, candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from chewy to hard depending on its composition.
There are two basic kinds of nougat: white and brown. White nougat is made with beaten egg white and is soft, whereas brown nougat is made with caramelized sugar and has a firmer texture.
Nougat is particularly popular in southern Europe: for example, in Italy in Cremona, in France in Montélimar and in Spain at Christmas (where it is called turrón, or torró in Catalan).
The so-called nougat found in many modern candy bars is not very similar to traditional nougat recipes, being a mixture of sucrose and corn syrup aerated with a whipping agent such as egg albumen or hydrolyzed soya protein. It may also have vegetable fats, milk powder and nuts added. This nougat is a popular ingredient in American candy bars such as Snickers, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Charleston Chews, and Mars Bars.
Spanish turrón follows the traditional recipes with toasted almonds (66% ), sugar, honey (12% ) and egg white with a net weight of c. 300 g.
Persian nougat is a variety that has been produced in Isfahan, Iran for many centuries by Ashrafi nougat and other traditional producers.
Australian nougat is produced in a similar method to French nougat but usually has a 50% almond content and no pistachios although it can contain Macadamia nuts, apricots or other texture modifiers. The nougat is commonly produced in two varieties of soft and crunchy. This is done with heating a sugar solution to different temperatures before folding in egg whites and honey.
Crunchy nougat is similar to a dense meringue with a nice differentiation from the incorporated nuts.
Nougat is a popular candy in Australia and because of the geographical proximity, the Far East as well. It is sold as a gourmet confection in both areas: producers' Web sites are often bilingual in English and Chinese. It is often flavored.
A totally different nougat type is called "Wiener (Viennese) Nougat", or, in German, "Schmelz-Schokolade" (melting chocolate, because of its mellow consistency), which contains only sugar, cocoa butter, almonds, and cocoa mass.
History
One legend claims nougat was born in Krete, Greece. It was during a wedding of local nobility that the bride and groom were offered a sweet made with honey, almonds and egg white. Fanciful etymology traces the name to the Torrazzo tower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nougat