Idea Tourism Magazine

Food & Wine

Nougat of Alba: how to choose it and how to taste it

Soft or crumbly, with hazelnuts “round and kind” of the Langhe, with or without chocolate, this ancient sweet is found on the stalls of village festivals practically throughout the Cuneo area.

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To prepare an excellent nougat, in addition to the choice of hazelnuts it is essential to pay great attention to honey that must be acacia or millefiori.

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Identikit

The Piedmont nougat is a more or less thick, white parallelepiped, sprinkled with hazelnuts, covered by a thin wafer. Its texture can be hard or soft. The dough is made with honey (acacia or millefiori type), sugar, glucose and hazelnuts. Generally the hazelnut used belong to the Gentle Round Hazlnut category.

Area  of production

It is produced in the areas between Alba and the Langhe, even if it is produced also in the Asti province.

History

The tradition to mix almonds and honey dates to the Roman Empire. The name of the nougat reminds the medieval habit of the bakers to create with this mixture castle and tower-like sweets. This recipe has been brough in Piedmont by the Visconti, lord of Milan, but the almonds have been substituted with hazelnuts, less expensive because of the numerous cultivations of the territory.

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