Hard nougat is the firm version of this classic delicacy, in which the nougat mass is beaten and cooked longer until it crystallises hard. That gives it the characteristic brittle structure: you don't bite into it as you would soft nougat, you break it. The flavour is full and lightly caramelised, with the nuts worked through the mass. Nougat is one of the oldest sweets of the Mediterranean and reached our regions via Spain and southern France, where it appears above all on end-of-year tables.
