Talk:Nougat
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I like nougat. It is yummy...in my tummy. Yep.
I like a good fluffy nougat myself. It tastes like happy.
I like nougat alot because it is in many candy bars. Nougat is creamy, soft and chewy. Good stuff! MC squared
[edit] Nougat in Antiquity?
User:81.242.243.90 added:
The first appearance of nougat was described in the "Istoria Naturalis" by Plinius the Old. As for him it was in Augusta Taurinorum, the current Turin.
Pliny the Elder's Natural History is quite large, and difficult to search, but the only reference I was able to find to Augusta Taurinorum `in the NH is a passing reference that says nothng about confectionery:
oppida Vibi Forum, Segusio, coloniae ab Alpium radicibus Augusta Taurinorum - inde navigabili Pado - antiqua Ligurum stirpe...
I suspect that the idea that nougat was mentioned by Pliny is merely a folk etymology for turrón. If I am wrong, please do correct me.
For what it's worth, a mixture similar to nougat is described in the Dipnosophistæ of Athenaeus, in the recipe for "gastris."
- ...ἐν Κρήτῃ δέ, φησίν, πλα κουντάριον ποιοῦσιν, ὅπερ ὀνομάζουσι γάστριν. γίνεται δὲ οὕτως· κάρυα Θάσια καὶ Ποντικὰ καὶ ἀμύγδαλα, ἔτι δὲ μήκων, ἃ [ὃν] φρύξας θεράπευσον καλῶς καὶ εἰς θυίαν καθαρὰν τρῖψον ἐπιμελῶς· συμμίξας τε τὴν ὀπώραν μάλαξον μέλιτι ἡψημένῳ, προσβαλὼν πέπερι πλέον καὶ μάλαξον· γίνεται δὲ μέλαν διὰ τὴν μήκωνα. δια πλατύνας ποίησον τετράγωνον. εἶτα σήσαμον λευκὸν τρίψας μάλαξον μέλιτι ἡψημένῳ καὶ ἕλκυσον λαγάνια δύο καὶ ἓν θὲς ὑποκάτω καὶ τὸ ἄλλο ἐπάνω, ἵνα τὸ μέλαν εἰς μέσον γένηται, εὖ ῥύθμισόν τε αὐτό.’ ταῦτα καὶ ὁ σοφὸς πεμματολόγος Χρύσιππος.
- 'But in Crete, they say, they make a type of biscuit called "gastris." Here's how it's made: roast Thasian nuts (i.e. sweet almonds) and Pontic nuts (i.e. hazelnuts), and almonds (i.e. bitter almonds), also poppy, watching them attentively, and pound them carefully in a clean mortar. Mix together these nuts, then knead with boiled honey, add plenty of pepper and knead it it; it turns black from the poppy. Spread it out into a square. Then grind white sesame and knead it with boiled honey, and draw it out into two wafers, then put one on top and the other on the bottom so that the black mixture will be in the middle, and cut it up nicely.' So says the wise cake-ologist Chrysippus.
- -Dipnosophistae 14:57
--Iustinus 18:45, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Latin
The "nougat" name originates from the Latin "nux gatum", "cooked with nuts". Source: Finnish Wikipedia - can this be verified elsewhere? --Janke | Talk 07:05, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
- No. It looks like a distortion of "'nucatum', 'made from nuts'", which would be more accurate. The full story is that in Classical Latin the word nucatum never occurs, rather it's a back-formation from provençal nougat. --Iustinus 07:50, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merger with turrón/torrone/torró
Nougat is known as turrón in Spanish, torrone in Italian, and torró in Català. There are of course variations in the details of the recipe and of habits surrounding this food in various regions, but as Alan Davidson says in The Oxford Companion to Food:
- Italian torrone and Spanish turrón are, essentially, other forms of nougat.
I was reminded of this identity because I just had a taste of Sicilian torrone this week, and last week, a taste of Montelimar nougat. Sticky teeth.
So I recommend that we
- Merge --Macrakis 22:18, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
- Merge --ProfMoriarty 20:27, 25 March 2006 (UTC)
- (Don't Merge) Do NOT merge turron and nouget. It would be muy malo!!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.63.43.49 (talk • contribs) 11:48, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
- Could you please explain your reasoning? As far as I can tell, turrón is simply the Spanish word for nougat. The English-language WP always prefers to use English names for things if they exist. --Macrakis 21:44, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Torrone is more often of a hard variety (although soft varieties do exist), which nougat is not (nougat is predominantly soft). There are also ingredient differences, classic Nougat de Montelimar containing Almonds and Pistachios, while Torrone usually contains Almonds with Hazelnuts, plus candied orange or lemon peel. The two are related, but not the same.
- Don't Merge -- Turrón in Spain also can be chocolate with puffed rice in it which is definitely not nougat. If you go to a spanish supermarket near Christmas you will see that there are many different varieties and flavours, including toasted yolk! Rosa.blaus 14:57:03, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
- Don't Merge -- The consistencies, preparation and consumption of turrón do not emulate those of nougat. In Spain, turrón is synonymous with almost every Christmas candy and is generally consumed at this time and at no other, elevating the candy to a cultural icon. To merge it with nougat would not only simplify it's existence as a food, but also demean it's cultural value. (unsigned comment by User:66.152.212.201 2006-06-05 18:28:21)
- Don't Merge -- Turrón refers to a very precised cultural tradition: it's a sweet or a class of sweets (there are several different varieties) eaten traditionnally at Christmas, and made in the small town of Jijona, in the southeast of Spain. Turrón is not the spanish name for nougat, but a word referring to this food. --Rodriguillo 22:52, 17 June 2006 (UTC)
- Comment I can't say I have a strong oppinion one way or the other, but if what you are saying is true, then what is the Spanish name for nougat? So far as I can tell (and my knowledge of this subject is not exactly vast) turrón is it. --Iustinus 04:54, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
