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French Nougat
1/2 lb. confectioners' sugar ¼ lb. almonds, blanched and finely chopped Confectioners' chocolate Put sugar in a saucepan, place on range, and stir constantly until melted; add almonds, and pour on an oiled marble. Fold mixture as it spreads with a broad-bladed knife, keeping it constantly in motion. Divide in four parts, and as soon as cool enough to handle shape in long rolls about one-third inch in diameter, keeping rolls in motion until almost cold. When cold, snap in pieces one This is done by holding roll and one-half inches long. at point to be snapped over the sharp edge of a broadbladed knife and snapping. Melt confectioners' chocolate over hot water, beat with a fork until light and smooth, and when slightly cooled dip pieces in chocolate and with a two-tined fork or bonbon dipper remove from chocolate to oiled paper, drawing dipper through top of each the entire length, thus leaving a ridge. Chocolate best adapted for dipping bonbons and confections must be bought where confectioners' supplies are kept.
This is a dry caramel praline rather than the whipped egg-white nougat the name now suggests: sugar melted alone, loaded with almonds, and rolled out on stone. The whole thing hinges on working fast while the mass is still pliable.
- Almond quantityThe almond weight has lost its fraction in the printed line; the workable proportion for a half pound of sugar is a quarter pound of blanched almonds, chopped fine. Much more than that and the rolls will not hold together.
- Use granulated, not modern powdered sugarToday's confectioners' sugar contains cornstarch, which scorches and clouds a dry caramel. Plain granulated sugar melts cleanly to the amber stage, around 340F, and behaves as the recipe intends.
- Dry caramel techniqueNo water is added, so the sugar goes from melted to burnt quickly. Medium heat, constant stirring, and pull the pan the moment it is uniformly amber; carry-over heat will darken it further.
- The oiled marbleA marble slab was the standard confectioner's surface. A lightly oiled heavy sheet pan or a silicone mat works, though stone pulls heat out faster and buys you a few more seconds of folding time.
- Speed is everythingThe pliable stage is very short. Divide into four before the mass stiffens, roll each piece to about a third of an inch, and keep the rolls moving so they cool round rather than flattening on one side.
- Snapping the rollsOnce cold and brittle, hold the roll over the sharp edge of a broad-bladed knife at the point you want to break, as the recipe directs, and snap it.
- Confectioners' chocolateA dipping chocolate bought from trade suppliers, with enough cocoa butter to set hard and glossy. Melt it over hot water as directed and cool slightly before dipping; with modern couverture you would temper it, or use a commercial coating chocolate to skip tempering. Keep water or steam out of the chocolate itself or it will seize.
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book's confectionery chapter was written at a moment when candy-making had just become plausible for a home cook: refined sugar was cheap, marble slabs and dipping forks could be ordered from confectioners' suppliers, and Fannie Farmer devotes a good deal of space to the mechanics of dipping bonbons. The name here is loose. Nougat in French usage covers both the white, honey-and-egg-white sort from Montelimar and the hard almond caramel that Italians call croccante and the French nougatine, and it is plainly the second kind meant, since the method is simply caramelised sugar and nuts poured on stone. Farmer's closing note that dipping chocolate "must be bought where confectioners' supplies are kept" is a reminder that couverture was then a trade material, not a supermarket item.