Irpinia boasts ancient traditions in the production of the nougat.
If we imagine a journey in Irpinia in the places of the nougat, we have to start from Ospedaletto D’Alpinolo, little village at the slopes of the Mounts of Partenio. Here, along with the traditional pilgrimage with carts and horses decked out to honor the ‘Heavenly Mother’, the nougat called Cupeto is produced.
The classic version is realized with artisan methods using the raw materials of the territory: honey, avellana hazelnut, albumen and hosts. The nougat of Ospedaletto d’Alpinolo is a product of ancient traditions eaten during the pilgrimages to the near Montevergine Sanctuary. A precious and sought-after nougat, capable to conquest the modern palates.
In the territory of Grottaminarda, the Spantorrone of Grotta is produced.
It is a kind of pantorrone characterized by a particular friability in the cut: instead of breaking, it crumbles in flakes. The original recipe includes the use of the nougat-making machine: the honey and the albumen are heated for many hours and the hazelnuts and the almonds, flavored with vanilla, are added. The product is spread in the molds and recovered with slices of Sponge Cake, soaked in rum and Strega liqueur.
The product of ancient traditions, realized in the entire province of Avellino, is the Pantorrone. It is a dessert made up of nougat and Sponge Cake, alternated in several layers, recovered with dark chocolate. The pantorrone is prepared with eggs, sugar, flour, honey, almonds, vanillin, Strega liqueur or rum inside and sugar and cocoa for the external covering. The cooking in bain-marie is made in the traditional nougat-making machine. The nougat makers in Dentecane, little hamlet of the municipality of Pietradefusi, are renowned.
Finally, in the territories of Bagnoli Irpino, Cassano Irpino and Montella, areas mainly aimed at the cultivation of the chestnut, it is produced the nougat, also called ‘pantorrone’ or ‘spantorrone’ with chestnuts. It is made with a traditional mixture of honey, albumen and powdered sugar enriched with a tasty filling of chestnuts, candied or in paste, and addition of cocoa and rum.
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