[Sca-cooks] nougat pstmortem

[Jennifer Whitbeck]

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 My only nougat-making experience is with modern recipes, and the one I most recently used called for a couple of different processes. First, it said to add the syrup (ad soft ball stage) to the whipped egg whites, mixing it in gradually (this got me something like marshmallow fluff). Then it called for adding even more syrup (this time at the soft crack stage) all at once and mixing it in with a wooden spoon (then mixing in the nuts). When it all got to room temp., it wasn't as hard as other turrones, but it was chewey and *mostly* held its shape.
  Vincent Cuenca <bootkiller at hotmail.com> wrote: As you all may remember, I've been fiddling with nougats recently. We had
our baronial A&S championship this past weekend, and I entered a soft nougat
from the Manuscrito Anonimo, among other things. The dish is called
mu'aqqad of sugar, and calls for a syrup of rosewater and sugar in a 2:1
ratio. Heat the syrup, then whip the eggwhites until they are foamy. When
the syrup is ready, toss the eggwhites in the pot on top of the syrup and
beat steadily until the mixture takes on a pasty consistency. Add equal
weights of almonds and pistachios, and serve.

The resulting nougat was very soft, and did not harden much even in the
freezer. It was a rather humid night, which may have had some effect.
Also, modern white nougat recipes involve adding the syrup to the eggwhites
in a slow stream, rather than dumping the eggwhites in on the sugar. From
what I understand of sugar syrups, the hotter the syrup, the harder the
resulting candy. I had the syrup at about 330 degrees. I beat the
eggwhites to the hard-peak stage, but could not add them immediately as the
syrup was not ready. By the time it was, the eggwhites were beginning to
weep. The stuff was tasty, but difficult to eat with the fingers. I had
hoped for a harder candy.

Any ideas? Should I try it in drier weather? Make the syrup hotter? Whip
the eggwhites sooner? Cross my eyes and say ooga booga? :-)

Vicente


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