At Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers, we provide complete nougat production consulting the extent of our service comprises everything that is needed to make nougat from simple unrefined components to a packed product. The process begins with the selection of ingredients,  crops nuts, sugar, honey, and egg whites, and comes up with the right combination to achieve the correct consistency and flavor. We provide support for the Nougat Recipe Development, product management, preliminary evaluation, consumer assessment, and quality check on the nougat, from blending to battering to the final molding. From the setting up of your plant from paper to a complete running unit, we take care of your packaging needs as well as the legal requirements. Our sensory testing process controls guarantee that the nougat you get is firm to the bite and has the right amount of sweetness and flavor.

What is Nougat?

A confectionery product known as nougat involves beaten egg whites, sugar or honey, nuts, and dried fruits. The initiation process of  Sustainable Nougat Manufacturing begins with the preparations of sugar and syrup to reach their appropriate temperatures before aeration where the base is beaten by egg whites and it has a chewy texture. The type of sugar crystallization involved is advisable to ensure the nougat is not hard and at the same time the nougat has a firm structure. When using the nuts or the fruits in the manufacture of the nougat it is mandatory that they be distributed in a central manner in the product.

Actually, the pH levels and moisture contents are also maintained and closely observed when it comes to the stability of the product and its shelf life. Food quality testing proves that the product is of the required texture and has the legal and customer-prescribed taste and sweetness level.

In fact, making nougat requires some specific equipment for example industrial mixers which are used for mixing the sugar; glucose honey, and egg whites to make the base for the nougat. A particular that goes into the preparation of Nougat is the use of aerators to pump some air into the mixture that forms this light chewy texture. Cooking kettles with digital control of temperature allows for the achievement of the required level of sugar and syrup. Cutting and forming machines as their name suggests divide the nougat into bars or pieces or the last texturing is done in the cooling tunnels. The nougat is then aided by some packaging machines in order to keep it fresh and fit for distribution.

Production Process of Nougats

  1. Selecting ingredients
  • High-Quality Ingredients: Nougat base includes sugar, honey, egg white and nuts of the kind of almonds, pistachios or hazelnut. The beans may be augmented with raisins, cocoa or spice additions such as vanilla or zest of any citrus fruits.
  • Vegetarian Alternatives: In the preparation of a vegetarian nougat the gelified egg whites used can be substituted with the cooked chickpeas liquid or other plants foaming.[Source:4] Of the ingredients, if gelatin is used, it can be replaced by agar-agar or pectin.
  • Preparation: Preparation of food therefore include cooking, baking, chopping, cutting, preparing ingredients for cooking or baking, measuring and portioning of food ingredients. In this case, they are toasted or baked until brown in order to enhance their flavor before being incorporated into the nougat.
  1. Whipping and Mixing
  • Whipping Egg Whites: This is done when whipping the egg whites until they stiff, they are then used in developing the nougat base.
  • Vegetarian Alternative: There is some type of plant-based foaming agent such as aquafaba or something similar that’s whipped just like this to achieve the right texture.
  • Heating Sugar and Honey: Both the inputs to the model, namely sugar and honey, are heated to varying temperatures before further use. The hot mixture is then folded into the billowed egg whites or aquafaba making the mixture sticky in consistency.
  1. Adding Nuts and Flavorings
  • Incorporating Nuts and Flavorings: Any nuts, roasted and any essences additional and dried fruits needed are put into the batter of the nougat. This must be accomplished very quickly in order to offer the even distribution prior to the mass becoming too cold to handle.
  1. Cooking and Cooling
  • Cooking: The nougat mixture is cooked over low heat sometimes even over a double boiler to prevent burning and in order to achieve the right texture. Some of such items need to be heated until it become thick, though is soft to chew or hard like a biscuit.
  • Cooling: After which the cooked nougat is then spread onto molds or trays cool down to room temperature.. This step helps in order to stand properly the nougat as well as to get the correct texture of the nougat by doing so.
  1. Cutting and Packaging
  • Cutting: Once it has cooled down it is then cut to pieces as small as twenty – five or molded into bars. It can be done conceivably, nevertheless, it is widely conducted with specific cutting tools that are used in the treatment process.
  • Packaging: The nougat pieces are then placed in air-tight containers in a bid to assist them in maintaining moisture. They include a plastic wrap, a box, or tins.

Different Types of Nougat

  1. Traditional Nougat
  • White Nougat (Torrone): It consists of egg white, sugar, honey and nuts. It is often tender and fluffy to most of the time.
  • Brown Nougat (Nougatine): Without the help of the egg white and baked to really crispy, they turned more so rubbery and crumbly than the regular cake.
  1. Specialty Nougat
  • Vegetarian Nougat: Substitute for egg whites for instance tofu or vegetable-derived egg whites such as aquafaba gotten from chickpeas or agar-agar that is gotten from plant material is vegan.
  • Chocolate Nougat: Nougat is made even richer and tastier by covering it with layers of chocolate.
  • Fruit Nougat: Nougat includes ingredients like almonds hazelnuts or macadamia nuts or dried fruits like cherries apricots or cranberry.
  • Spiced Nougat: Spiced boiled candies and sweets filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and etc. traditionally associated with winter holidays.