I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

March 29, 2012

Honey Almond Nougat

















I think I've mentioned before that I don't have that much of a sweet tooth.

Unfortunately that isn't the case for the rest of my family

BigJ loves sweet things. He goes for Cadburys Snack Block, I go for Lidnt 80* black chocolate, he likes to drink Coke, I like plain soda water... Don't they say opposites attract?

Every now and then I like to sweeten the deal though and create a sweet treat for him. Easter is fast approaching, and rather than buy him his usual big bar of Toblerone which has an unequal choc to candy mix, I decided to make some nougat from scratch to team with some milk chocolate bars so he could mix-and-match his way to a perfect ratio of nougaty niceness.

Just one word of warning though: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME WITHOUT A STAND MIXER! It's just waaaay to hard, you have to drizzle hot toffee syrup, and mix for ages. Too much hassle to try and do by hand- trust me!


















Honey Almond Nougat

2 cups White Sugar
350g Glucose
150g Honey
3 Egg Whites
1/4 cup Water
2/3 cup Almonds
Rice Paper Sheets



First of all lightly toast the almonds to intensify their nuttiness and add a bit of depth

















Measure out your glucose and honey- you can see how scientific I was about it, I guestimated there was about 150 ml missing from my 500ml bottle of glucose, so I just topped it up. Life with glucose is a lot easier if you zap it quickly in the microwave to heat through and thin down.. Much easier indeed!





















Line your tray with rice paper to stop it sticking



















Put the sugar, glucose, honey and water in a pot and stir it on a low heat until the sugar dissolves


















Bring to the boil on a medium heat. You might need to brush the sides of the pot with some water if there are any sugar crystals sticking to the edge. if any of these fall into the mix, they will seed the syrup with crystals and it will seize up instead of boiling freely

















The syrup will start to look lovely and clear and deepen in colour. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn, but don't stir it. I know it's tempting, but if there are any stray sugar crystals stuck on the bottom or anything it will all go wrong. Just leave it be.



















Bring the syrup up to about 140* on a sugar thermometer, or until it reaches 'crack' stage. What's that you ask, it's when you drop a little of the syrup into some cold water and it instantly goes hard and any little strands 'crack' and snap when bitten into for testing.



















Start whisking the egg whites, and when they reach peaks SLOWLY drizzle in the syrup. If you just dump it in it will cook the egg whites in yucky clumps instead of whipping into lovely billowy clouds of confection.



















Quickly switch the whisk to a paddle attachment, then continue beating for a few minutes until it forms stiff peaks


















Slowly mix in the almonds

















Scrape all the mix from the bowl and into the lined tray. It's very stiff and I found it easier to use a hard edged scraper to help me


















Smooth down the top, or roll gently to flatten. I added some leftover almonds and pressed them down to look pretty- unfortunately I just tipped the container of nuts onto my nougat without checking for any little odds and ends of messy bits, oops!



















Allow the nougat to harden up and set at room temperature for a few hours


















Carefully tip the tray out then cut into sices using a very nice sharp knife, or saw through it with a serrated knife if that's easier

















Store at room temperature in an airtight container, for a couple of weeks- if you can resist it! I had to put strict rationing in force so it didn't get snaffled up out of hand!



I was pretty happy with the way this turned out, there are also so many variations on the basic recipe to play around with. I'd like to try a dark chocolate and cherry mix, and think I'll have a tinker with a violet and blueberry variation as well.


So Dear Readers, do you like nougat and have you a sweet or savoury kind of tooth?





.

38 comments:

  1. This sounds like my household. I'd rather have savory, my DH has a serious sweet tooth! He would love this recipe!

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    1. You and I can snack on some Pringles or something while our hubbys chow down on some of this Ina!

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  2. I like nougat, as long as it's the crunchy kind. Enjoy both sweet and savoury foods but don't like anything too sweet or too salty. :D

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    1. Apparently the longer you beat nougat as it cools down, the harder it is. Mine is nice and hard as I don't like things that stick my teeth together :(

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  3. You read my mind!!! My MIL loves nougat and I wanted to make it for her for mothers day :) Thanks IC!

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    1. No problem Christie! It's nice to have some yummy gluten free treats to suprise her with. My MIL thinks that plain spaghetti is gluten free for me :(

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  4. Your instructions are so clear and it looks so fabulous that I think that I really need to make this! :D

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    1. I'm sure you will put your flair on it Lorraine, and pick a fantastic flavour combo. It's really easier than it even looks :)

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  5. I love its stilky smoothness. It looks WAY nicer than the store bought. I love nougat :D

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    1. Aw shucks Nic! It did turn out pretty nice looking for a first attempt :)

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  6. your nougat looks amazing..and what a great idea for easter giving..

    i don't have a preference for sweet or savoury..but i can't deal with too sweet..i like a bit of a sour balance..but..having said that i wouldn't say no to a bit of home made nougat.. :)

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    1. Thanks Hazel, I'd gladly share with you! I like a bit of a sour/tartness too, especially things like tamarind and pomegranate molassas- yumm!

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  7. I LOVEEE NOUGAT... that looks amazing.. ive never read a recipe on nougat before... !!!

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    1. Hey Dolly! You should give it a try, it's very easy- just very sticky!

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  8. Love it, love it, love it! I bought some rice paper a few weeks ago... definitely going to make this. Thanks so much!

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    1. What other recipes did you have in mind for the rice paper? Let me know how this works out for you :)

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  9. I love, love nougat and have consumed many Gluten Free bars in the last few years!!

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    1. Hi Michelle, I can hardly wait to try out my violet and blueberry version, most of the ones I can get here are honey based.
      This is heaps cheaper than buying it ready made.

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  10. Your nougat looks better than anything you can buy in the shops. It is so perfect looking. I love nougat. I don't have much of a sweet tooth as prefer my savouries but would happily eat a few handfuls of your nougat. I'll give your recipe a try! xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie Louie, this was my first attempt actually! It did work out foolproof indeed! Let me know how it goes :)

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  11. Love your step by steps here - you make it look so easy! ANd seriously, you are great at cutting straight!!! I am impressed.

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    1. Lots and lots of practice, and very, very sharp knives Carol! Thanks :)

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  12. My you are one dedicated lady! How's your arm healed by the way? I've been meaning to ask,but kept forgetting :)

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    1. Thanks Msihua, you're so sweet! The good news is that it's still attatched and still (kinda) working. My shoulder is officially 'Frozen' which means it's stuck with a very limited range of motion for now, that also means that I can't do any strengthening exercises. I'm still booked in for my second operation later this year so I guess I have that to look forward to :)

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  13. Well done, love. This is one of those culinary bugbears that we've never quite been able to master, so we bow to your incredibly awesomeness! :)

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    1. Celia, what an honor indeed!! I'm sure your tribal name would be She-who-can-temper-chocolate-with-her-eyes-closed :) I'm sure you can doing anything you put your mind to!

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  14. Bec, that looks absolutely brilliant! Clever, clever you.
    I wonder how it would go in a Thermomix or something similar?

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    1. Hey Amanda! I'm sure it would work, but in much smaller quantities. The mixture is quite stiff and keeping the lid on might mean a lot more beating to cool it down. it's certainly worth trying as it's so very yummy :)

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  15. That looks so picture perfect, well done!
    Alas, I don't have a stand mixer so thanks for the warning up front so I don't end up in a sticky old mess!

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    1. Thanks so much! You may be able to try this without one.... but I wouldn't want to! It's certainly sticky indeed :)

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  16. My mum is totally savoury. My dad is sweet (well, both. & I'm a real mixture of both of them (in all aspects & traits, actually!!) I do have a sweet tooth but I am not a nougat lover for some reason. At all! V impressed that you made your own though, it's so pretty!
    Heidi xo

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  17. I adore nougat especially homemade! I used to make it by the truck load when I worked in Syndey, but sadly I don't own a stand mixer myself (but dream of owning a off white kitchen Aid), so it's been awhile. I've even considered making it with my hand mixer, yep mad eh ;-)

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  18. OMG, this looks totally amazing! I want to make this! :D

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  19. I will never forget the hard torrone I had in Florence, for it was so delicious it made my heart soar. I've never been able to find its likeness here in Australia, for all our nougat seems to be the soft kind, but I'd never considered making it myself. Imagine this with leatherwood honey! Oooh!

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  20. I need a reply asap! I am making some for tomorrow and I am going to try this recipe, because all the others I have tried make the nougat go runny at room temperature. Any advice? Also will parchment paper be ok instead of rice paper?

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    1. You need to cook the sugar syrup longer and at a higher temperature perhaps. Maybe your thermometer isn't accurate. Humidity can also make it tricky. The rice paper is edible, parchment paper isn't, and anything the liquid nougat touches it will stick to like glue. If the nougat pieces touch they will stick to each other as well. You could use a silicon pan, but don't grease any pan you use. Good luck, let me know how it works out

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  21. Hiya
    What type of white sugar did you use? was it granulated or icing (powdered) - I've seen recipes using both, and in the UK we don't have just 'white sugar'. Granulated is the standard, castor has smaller crystals and icing sugar is the powered variety for frosting. Which type should I use for this recipe?
    Thanks

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    1. HI Emma, as the sugar in this case is going to be melted, it really doesn't matter if you use castor or granulated. Castor is what I use for cooking as a standard as it dissolves quicker for baking, so that's what I used this time too. Good luck, let me know how it works out for you :)

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