One legend has it that in 1441 in Cremona on the occasion of the wedding feast for Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza, the pastry chef accidentally knocked the freshly toasted almonds into a mixture of honey and eggs. As he didn’t know how to put things right he tried cooking the mixture, which after a few hours had thickened sufficiently to be modelled. The ingenious “butter-fingers” worked the mixture into the shape of the Torrazzo, the tall bell tower of the city’s cathedral. So it was that the new sweet, much appreciated by the guests, bride and bridegroom, was christened “torrone” – big tower. However, according to the philologists, “turròn” is a Spanish word derived from the Latin “torrere” (to toast). In Spain too, however, the production of the torrone dates back to the Arab tradition which had a huge influence on the cuisine of the Iberian population.
During the Middle Ages the torrone was even referred to in medical texts as a speciality with numerous restorative properties. Almost every region of Italy has its own characteristic nougat. In Cremona the recipe calls for the addition of candied fruit, while in the Abruzzo region the mixture is brown due to the addition of chocolate and hazelnuts. The inhabitants of the Lombardy region prefer their nougat covered in dark chocolate while the people from Piedmont produce it with their exquisite, home-grown hazelnuts and add vanilla. In the Veneto region the nougat is called “mandorlato” as it is made of almonds. The greatest devotees of this sweet, which was most probably brought back from the Orient by Venetian merchants, were the Chief Magistrates or “Dogi”.
The torrone is one of the sweetest ways of rounding-off a meal during the Christmas festivities. Peck’s nougats, in all their various shapes and forms, have an unforgettable flavour thanks to the high quality of the ingredients, beginning with the best honey.
One legend has it that in 1441 in Cremona on the occasion of the wedding feast for Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza, the pastry chef accidentally knocked the freshly toasted almonds into a mixture of honey and eggs. As he didn’t know how to put things right he tried cooking the mixture, which after a few hours had thickened sufficiently to be modelled. The ingenious “butter-fingers” worked the mixture into the shape of the Torrazzo, the tall bell tower of the city’s cathedral. So it was that the new sweet, much appreciated by the guests, bride and bridegroom, was christened “torrone” – big tower. However, according to the philologists, “turròn” is a Spanish word derived from the Latin “torrere” (to toast). In Spain too, however, the production of the torrone dates back to the Arab tradition which had a huge influence on the cuisine of the Iberian population.
During the Middle Ages the torrone was even referred to in medical texts as a speciality with numerous restorative properties. Almost every region of Italy has its own characteristic nougat. In Cremona the recipe calls for the addition of candied fruit, while in the Abruzzo region the mixture is brown due to the addition of chocolate and hazelnuts. The inhabitants of the Lombardy region prefer their nougat covered in dark chocolate while the people from Piedmont produce it with their exquisite, home-grown hazelnuts and add vanilla. In the Veneto region the nougat is called “mandorlato” as it is made of almonds. The greatest devotees of this sweet, which was most probably brought back from the Orient by Venetian merchants, were the Chief Magistrates or “Dogi”.
