Turron Spanish Nougat is a Must Buy in Alicante and Jijona Regions of Spain

 

The two main kinds of turron - Turron de Alicante is at the big, with Turron de Jijona at the front of the photograph - copyright Lablascovegmenu, Creative Commons
The two main kinds of turron – Turron de Alicante is at the big, with Turron de Jijona at the front of the photograph – copyright Lablascovegmenu, Creative Commons

 

Whenever my family and I visit the Alicante area of Spain, my father must eat his weight in turron. Turron, if you don’t know, is a sweet Spanish nougat that is made in the Alicante area of Spain (Turron de Alicante) as well as in Jijona near Valencia (Turron de Jijona). Both towns have been famous for their turron for around 500 years. That is why, on any trip to these two areas of Spain, turron is a must buy.

The two main types of turron taste completely different, so the first time you decide to buy some make sure you buy both so you can decide which one you prefer.

Turron de Alicante is a hard nougat that has large pieces of almonds throughout and is covered with rice paper top and bottom. It’s very crunchy when you chew it.  Turron de Jijona is a much sweeter soft nougat that is orange in color and quite grainy and is often sprinkled with cinnamon before it sets. To me it tastes more like fudge than nougat as it melts in your mouth when you eat it.

Turron is the traditional sweet given as a gift at Christmas in these areas of Spain, but it’s also sold all year round and is a wonderful gift to take back to family back home. Unless, like my father, you can’t stop yourself eating all of it before you’ve even made it to the airport on your trip back home.

You’ll find various brands of turron for sale in most supermarkets in the area, specialty sweet stores and, of course, on just about all of the markets in the Alicante and Jijona regions.

My father usually buys it on the market at Albir, Altea or Villajoyosa. Prices start at a couple of euros for the cheaper, smaller bars with larger bars from more high-end brands going for upwards of 10 euros.