Nougat

Manufacturing Methods and Formulas

by Walter Richmond

ougat is a combination of whipped candy and hard

candy.
The old-time nougat made in Italy and France contained honey, sugar, egg whites, pistachio nuts, raw sweet
almonds and vanilla flavor. Its manufacture was a lengthy
process whereby much of the moisture in the batch was
slowly evaporated while the egg whites were being mixed
with the batch. A higher-cooked batch was then added
to the egg mixture. This slow evaporation of the moisture and the coagulation of the egg whites by heating
produced a nougat with a waxy texture that gave it a
wonderful eating quality. The best-quality Italian torrone
is still made by this process.
There are two types of nougat: chewy nougat and short
nougat. Either type can be made by using egg albumen,
egg frapp or a combination of both.
The shortness or the chewiness of the batch is controlled by the percentage of noncrystalline sugars, such
as corn syrup, invert sugar or honey, that the batch contains, and the mixing method employed in manufacture.
Short nougat does not necessarily have to contain a

For many years, the confectionery industry has

utilized the formulas in Walter Richmonds book,
Choice Confections. This book was originally
written in 1954 and has been reprinted four times.
Presently the book is in the process of being
updated. As part of this updating process chapters
will periodically appear in The Manufacturing
Confectioner. We solicit any comments, suggestions
or formulas that readers have pertaining to the
chapter in this issue.

large percentage of sugar to form the grain in the batch.

In fact, using too much sugar will cause the nougat to
become crumbly.
Unless a very short-breaking nougat is desired, 45 to
55 percent sugar is all that is needed to produce a short
nougat that has some chewing quality as well as shortness. A short nougat with a chewy texture, containing
approximately 45 percent sugar, can be made if the correct cooking and mixing methods are followed. See Formulas 168 and 175.

Basic Rules of Manufacture

The high-cooked portion of short nougat usually contains a larger percentage of sugar than does the whipped
portion of the batch.
Do not use a large percentage of sugar in the whipped
portion of the batch containing honey. The acidity of the
honey will cause an inversion of some of the sugar. A fine
grain will form if most of the honey and corn syrup are
in the low-cooked, whipped portion of the batch. Use
enough corn syrup in the high-cooked batch to insure
against premature graining while it is being mixed with
the whipped portion of the batch.
To obtain the desired texture in batches where previously prepared or commercial frapp is used, it may
become necessary to use more honey or corn syrup in the
cooked portion of the batch than would be necessary if
the batch was made with a low-cooked, whipped portion
and a high-cooked syrup portion.
The high-cooked batch, to which the egg whites are to
be added, should be cooled sufficiently that the heat of
the batch will not cook the egg whites and thus destroy
their whipping quality.

The Manufacturing Confectioner February 2006

35