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Turrón, un dulce tradicional Posted by on Dec 27, 2011 in Spanish Culture

La Navidad no es tan solo época de reuniones familiares y regalos, sino también de dulces. Así que no podía dejar de mencionar mi favorito: el turrón. El turrón es una masa de almendras y miel de abeja, que se lleva consumiendo en España desde hace más de cinco siglos.

El origen del turrón parece ser árabe, como tantas otras cosas en nuestro país, y se fabrica en la zona mediterránea, donde hay abundancia de materia prima necesaria para su elaboración. Las primeras referencias históricas y literarias sobre su producción artesanal en Jijona datan de principios del siglo XVI.

Tenemos de dos diferentes tipos, el turrón de Alicante, que es duro, y el turrón de Jijona blando. Para ambos se ha de tostar la almendra (si el tipo de almendra usada es la llamada Marcona, la calidad del turrón será excelente), y también se crea una mezcla de azúcar y miel. Si el producto es “turrón del duro”, una vez preparada la mezcla, se incorpora la almendra tostada y pelada, y clara de huevo para darle el color blanco que lo caracteriza. Si la variedad es turrón blando, la almendra será triturada con un mazo durante un segundo proceso de cocción, hasta conseguir la mezcla correcta.

Existe otra variedad famosa, el turrón de Agramunt, que se suele preparar con avellanas. Y desde el siglo pasado se han ido introduciendo diversos ingredientes tales como chocolate, coco, fruta confitada, café, licores, pero solo la mezcla de miel y almendras constituye la esencia de nuestro turrón con denominación de origen. Dicho esto, y ya que una que es muy tradicional para ciertas cosas, me despido con un buen trozo de turrón de Jijona… ¡delicioso! Y Feliz Navidad.

 

by chispita666

Christmas is not only a time for family reunions and presents, but also for sweets. So I couldn’t help talking about my favourite one: nougat. Nougat is a mixture of almonds and bee honey, which has been eaten in Spain for more than five centuries.

The origin of nougat seems to be Arabic, as so many other things in our country, and it is made in the Mediterranean region, where there is an abundance of raw material necessary for its production. The first historical and literary references about its traditional production in Jijona date back from the beginning of the 16th century.

We have two different types of nougat, the nougat from Alicante, which is hard, and the soft nougat of Jijona. To make both of them, the almond has to be toasted (if the kind of almond used is the one known as Marcona, the quality of the nougat will be excellent), and a mixture of sugar and honey is added. If the product is hard nougat, once the mixture is prepared, the toasted blanched almond is added, as well as egg white to give it its characteristic white colour. If the variety is soft nougat, the almonds are crushed with a pestle during a second process of boiling, until we get the right consistency.

There is another famous variety, Agramunt’s nougat, which is made with hazelnuts. And, in the last century, a variety of other ingredients have been added, such as chocolate, coconut, candied fruit, coffee, liquors, but only the mixture of honey and almonds makes the essence of our nougat with Protected Designation of Origin. After saying this, and as I’m very traditional for some things, I will say goodbye with a good chunk of Jijona nougat… delicious! And Merry Christmas!

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About the Author: Magda

Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!


Comments:

  1. crazyhack:

    It’s fine if you can translate it paragraph by paragraph

    • David Carmona:

      @crazyhack It is fully translated into English. Keep scrolling down.