Torrone

The famous Italian nougat candy called torrone is one of the many traditional items in Italian cuisine. Just like the panettone, it figures most prominently during the Christmas season, usually as a dessert or a gift item. Traditionally, it is eaten as a dessert after lunch and dinner beginning on Christmas Day right up to Epiphany.

The torrone is a sticky candy that usually comes in a long rectangular shape like an oversized candy bar. It consists of whipped egg whites, sugar, honey and vanilla and filled with almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios. Although seemingly simple, making this confection requires a bit of precision in order to achieve the right consistency.

The history behind this popular candy is quite cloudy. There are stories that date the torrone back to ancient Rome based on writings by Roman poets referring to a similar confection called cupedia. But a more popular story takes it back to 1441 at the wedding of Francesco I Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti when the confection was supposedly first introduced, and from which it gained its name as a reference to the tower-like form it was shaped into to serve as wedding cake for the aristocratic couple.

 






Other speculations regarding the history of the torrone attribute its Italian origins to Sicily via Spain where the first documentations of this candy during the Early Renaissance period were discovered. Presently, some of the best torrones in Italy are also said to be made in Sicily, mostly because the best nuts are also grown there.

Because of its muddled past, it is not truly established whether the torrone is an originally Italian food. More so because other places around the world such as Spain, France, Greece, Northern Africa, Asia and Latin America have their own version of a nougat candy. But whatever its origins, Italy has definitely claimed it for its own by incorporating it into its holiday traditions. It is now typically served after meals with a digestive liqueur such as an amaro or a sambuca, whether it’s Christmas or not. It also comes in several varieties with citrus or chocolate flavorings, in soft chewy or hard brittle form, and more.

Here’s a recipe if you’re interested in making your own version.

• In a double boiler, simmer 1 ½ cups of good quality honey for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon

• Toast 3 cups of almonds for 15 minutes in a 350 degree pre-heated oven until they are golden brown

• Caramelize 1 ¼ cups of sugar in a small pan with 6 to 8 tablespoons of water
• Beat egg whites into firm peaks until a spoon can stand on its own in the middle. Fold into the honey until well combined, and add the caramelized sugar. Mix well.
• Add in the almonds and the grated rind of 1 lemon and combine well.
• Line a rectangular baking pan with baking parchment and pour in the torrone mixture. Flatten and level out the top with a spatula. Let stand for about an hour.
• Once done, turn over the torrone onto a board and cut into small rectangular pieces. Store in an airtight container separated by wax paper.