A typical Christmas sweet, loved by adults and children and always present on our tables during the holidays, nougat has a very ancient history, even today we do not know its true country of origin.

The first written reference dates back to 1221 in Catalonia but, in the tradition of Cremona, the first nougat was served in 1441 at the wedding banquet between Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, an episode that is recalled every year with the Festa del Torrone in Cremona.

If we try to trace the origin of the birth of nougat, it is believed that its history begins in China, the place the almond historically come from. The spread in the rest of the world is due to the Arabs, who helped bring it to Italy.

In the notorious fight between Panettone or Pandoro, the nougat always puts everyone in agreement... or almost.

When it comes to nougat, in fact, there are two variants: hard nougat and soft nougat. The difference lies simply in the time of cooking: it goes from a few hours for a soft dough, up to 12 hours for the hard one.

Another classic distinction is that between almond nougats and hazelnut nougats, whose difference is simply in the use of almond or hazelnut, even if there are nougats that contain both.

So that it is the choice of a nougat covered with chocolate to put an end to unnecessary family discussions during Christmas lunch?