Turrón: Spain’s Christmas Nougat

If you’ve ever been in Spain for Christmas, you’ve eaten turrón at least once. It’s pretty hard to avoid; but why would you want to avoid it! This honey-sweet nougat is seriously tasty—and people go nuts for it in December.

The only way you won’t end up trying some is if the grannies in the grocery store knock you down and trample you underfoot in their rush to get to it first.

But what exactly is it?

Turrón: What is it?

Turrón is a sweet dish made from honey, almonds, and egg whites. You’ll find it all throughout the country, but traditionally it comes from the region of Valencia.

It’s as Spanish as sun, siesta, and long waits at the post office.

You’ll find two types of turrón in Spain; hard and soft. The harder, crunchier kind is called turrón duro or Turrón de Alicante. Turrón de Jijona, or turrón blando, is the softer version.

To make it, mix chopped, roasted almonds with honey and simmer over heat. You add the beaten egg whites to bind the mixture, and mould it into bricks. Find my recipe for turrón here!

With just three basic ingredients, this is another great example of the simple perfection of Spanish cuisine. And as with all the traditional food you find in Spain, this nougat has a hell of a history!

The history of turrón: A Moorish, more-ish treat!

When the Moors invaded Spain in the 8th century, they introduced a whole range of new foods from their homelands in the Middle East and North Africa. Maybe they were picky eaters, or maybe they hated tapas, I don’t know.

Plenty of these Moorish ingredients, like rice and saffron, have gone on to star in popular Spanish dishes such as paella. And you can’t go far in Andalucía without seeing at least a few North African bitter orange trees.

We also still use a lot of Moorish recipes today, such as the popular Andalusian garlic soup of ajoblanco. And, you guessed it, the Moors also gave us turrón. It makes sense, since they were the ones who first introduced almonds into Spain!

A sweet dish similar to turrón was already popular in other parts of the Arabic world, and naturally spread to Spain by the 14th century at the latest. A document from Alicante written in 1582 even claims that workers would often be paid their salary partly in turrón!

Where does turrón come from? A tale of two cities

Just like with cheese, wine, and ham, Spaniards like to get specific about where their turrón comes from. Ever since the time of the Moors, most nougat has come from the region of Valencia, on Spain’s eastern coast.

More specifically, it’s the province of Alicante that produces the lion’s share. In 2010, they made 15 million tonnes of it—that’s a turrón–tial amount of turrón!

They make so much that it even gets pooped out of the Caga Tío–Spain’s shitting Christmas log–each year. (This is a real thing. Seriously, look it up).

Even more specifically, it comes from two places with the province; Alicante city, and the small town of Jijona. These places are so synonymous with turrón that they’re used interchangeably with the hard (Alicante) and soft (Jijona) versions of the sweet.

Today, Spain has an official denominación de origen (D.O.) appellation for turrón from Jijona and Alicante. To get the top quality, “suprema” designation, turrón must be made in these towns, from at 60% Spanish almonds and local honey.

So, the next time you’re in Spain (Christmas or not!) make sure to get your hands on some turrón! Just make sure to ignore the calories—you’re on vacation, they don’t exist.

Read more

Looking for more Spanish sweets and desserts? Check out my guide to churros here. You can also take a look at my picks for the nine best Spanish desserts in the country!

Learn more about the history of nougat in other parts of Europe and the Middle East.