Help me identify this nougat
July 27, 2011 11:32 PM Subscribe
Need help identifying a type of nougat (sweet) - possibly iranian.
about 30 years ago, my dad came across some nougat and is trying to figure out where he can find it and/or what it's called.
Here is the description he gave me:
A sweet resembling Turkish delight but firmer and full of nuts (pistachios usually) have heard it called "nuga", will have either rose water or bergamot, chewy (gum?).
Can be in form of a log that you then cut into pieces. Maybe Armenian or Turkish or Iranian
I sent him this wiki of a type of persian nougat called "gaz", and he said that unlike the one in the wiki, the one he's thinking of is "transparent greenish, chewy".
about 30 years ago, my dad came across some nougat and is trying to figure out where he can find it and/or what it's called.
Here is the description he gave me:
A sweet resembling Turkish delight but firmer and full of nuts (pistachios usually) have heard it called "nuga", will have either rose water or bergamot, chewy (gum?).
Can be in form of a log that you then cut into pieces. Maybe Armenian or Turkish or Iranian
I sent him this wiki of a type of persian nougat called "gaz", and he said that unlike the one in the wiki, the one he's thinking of is "transparent greenish, chewy".
Oh, or also from the same site, lokhoom might be closer to what he's remembering.
posted by troublesome at 11:44 PM on July 27, 2011
posted by troublesome at 11:44 PM on July 27, 2011
There are absolutely varieties of Turkish Delight that have pistachios and are green. Turkish Delight can be across the board on chewiness and firmness and can depend on I'm guessing a lot of factors. If it's transparent it's still probably starch-based like Turkish Delight.
Man, I do like Turkish Delight, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe kinda ruined them by setting the bar too high. The description of the magic Turkish Delight made me imagine it must be absolutely the most delicious candy ever.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:46 PM on July 27, 2011
Man, I do like Turkish Delight, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe kinda ruined them by setting the bar too high. The description of the magic Turkish Delight made me imagine it must be absolutely the most delicious candy ever.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:46 PM on July 27, 2011
This one's more "transparent", described as pistacchio cigar nougat.
posted by halogen at 11:51 PM on July 27, 2011
posted by halogen at 11:51 PM on July 27, 2011
Response by poster: thanks for these responses all. Am passing along these suggestions to him - hopefully he'll be put on the right track soon!
posted by spacediver at 12:56 AM on July 28, 2011
posted by spacediver at 12:56 AM on July 28, 2011
It sounds a lot like halva but then that wouldn't explain why the OP is having trouble identifying it...
posted by turkeyphant at 5:54 AM on July 28, 2011
posted by turkeyphant at 5:54 AM on July 28, 2011
Best answer: This image looks like what you're describing. The color looks right, it's in a log, and on this page you can see the word "nouga" used to describe lebanese nougat.
The nougat is for sale on this page or here--it's apparently made by Hallab sweets in Lebanon.
Disclaimer: I've never tried lebanese sweets, so I don't know if the consistency is what your dad described. (I don't eat many middle eastern sweets in general, as I'm not a big fan rose water flavor...saying a middle eastern sweet has rose water in it is like saying a western one has vanilla in it--not unusual, and so it's tough to avoid.) I do know that gaz definitely can be chewy; however, I've only ever seen it solid white with green pistachios in it (typically it's got thoroughly-beaten egg whites in it, so I'm not sure it could be transparent).
posted by neda at 8:52 AM on July 28, 2011
The nougat is for sale on this page or here--it's apparently made by Hallab sweets in Lebanon.
Disclaimer: I've never tried lebanese sweets, so I don't know if the consistency is what your dad described. (I don't eat many middle eastern sweets in general, as I'm not a big fan rose water flavor...saying a middle eastern sweet has rose water in it is like saying a western one has vanilla in it--not unusual, and so it's tough to avoid.) I do know that gaz definitely can be chewy; however, I've only ever seen it solid white with green pistachios in it (typically it's got thoroughly-beaten egg whites in it, so I'm not sure it could be transparent).
posted by neda at 8:52 AM on July 28, 2011
Response by poster: you people are fantastic. Thanks - this means a lot to my dad - there's a good chance that the info you've provided will be key in his quest :)
posted by spacediver at 9:34 PM on July 28, 2011
posted by spacediver at 9:34 PM on July 28, 2011
Response by poster: Latest from my dad:
i think i have found it from one of the answers it is called Malban Pistacchio. The picture looks identical to what we had seen. Please thank your friends
posted by spacediver at 3:03 PM on July 29, 2011
i think i have found it from one of the answers it is called Malban Pistacchio. The picture looks identical to what we had seen. Please thank your friends
posted by spacediver at 3:03 PM on July 29, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
It's super good! My grandma used to make it and I really miss it at this time of year.
posted by troublesome at 11:37 PM on July 27, 2011