Nougats are the traditional Christmas dessert in many countries, including Italy, Spain, Occitania (nowadays south of France), some parts of Latin America, and the Philippines. It’s also the tradition in the Catalan Countries (called torró or terró).
The origin of nougats is not known for sure, but experts say it probably extended from the south of the Valencian Country in the Middle Ages, influenced by Arab cuisine (the Valencian Country was under Arab conquest for centuries).
The nougats are mostly made of honey, sugar, egg white, and toasted almonds or other kinds of nuts. There are many different recipes and kinds of nougats, but most popular recipes are the ones from Xixona and Alacant (both cities in the Valencian Country), seen in the photo above.
Nowadays, there are even more kinds of nougats than before. The ones with chocolate are also very popular.
