[Sca-cooks] black nougat

[Tara Sersen Boroson]

Ooh, this sounds interesting.  I'd love some more commentary on it!  Any
idea how much egg white to honey/hazelnut?  Could the egg white be
stiffening the whole mixture?  I assume the reason why gingerbrede
stiffens so well is that the breadcrumbs absorb some of the honey.
Wouldn't the non-absorbent hazelnuts end up a sticky mess without
another ingredient (that is, the egg white) to solidify it?  Perhaps
they don't need to be beaten, as you mention below, Vincente, because
they are cooked in the honey and therefore denatured.

Just some brainstorming :)

-Magdalena

Vincent Cuenca wrote:

> All this talk of truffles and redactions and so forth brings me to a
> question:
>
> One of the recipes in "Llibre de Totes Maneres de Confits" is for a
> hazelnut
> nougat.  Basically, you take equal weights of hazelnuts and honey.  Add an
> egg white to the honey, then cook over low heat. Add the nuts when the
> honey
> begins to boil.  Pour out on a clean wooden board and cut into pieces when
> cool.
>
> This looks a lot like Provencal black nougat, except for the egg white.  So
> what role is the egg white playing in the recipe?  I know egg whites are
> essential in white nougat, in which the whites are beaten stiff and then
> the
> sugar syrup is added.  It could possibly be a clarifying agent, except
> other
> recipes in the "Llibre" describe the clarifying process in detail, and this
> particular recipe does not refer to the process.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Muirdeach? Dame Alys? Master A?  Anybody?
>
> Vicente