Gaz

An egg-white nougat whose original sweetener is an insect honeydew, now usually replaced with glucose syrup.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 300 g glucose syrup
• 300 g sugar
• 100 ml water
• 3 tablespoons rose water
• 200 g pistachios, or almonds, or both
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, ground, optional
• cornflour, for dusting

Method

1. AN EGG-WHITE NOUGAT WHOSE ORIGINAL SWEETENER IS AN INSECT HONEYDEW, NOW USUALLY REPLACED WITH GLUCOSE SYRUP. Its article tells this properly and it is worth repeating rather than quietly leaving out. The sticky white substance the sweet was built on was long believed to be sap from the Persian manna shrub; it was found instead to be honeydew exuded by the nymph of a plant louse in its final instar, collected annually from the bushes before the autumn rains. Modern gaz, the article says, frequently uses sugar, glucose and corn syrup as substitutes. That substitution is why this page can exist: glucose syrup does the same job, which is to stop the sugar crystallising so the nougat stays chewy rather than going grainy.
2. THE EGG WHITES ARE WHIPPED FIRST AND THE SYRUP IS POURED IN HOT. Whites to stiff peaks, then the syrup at 130C poured in a thin steady stream down the side of the bowl while beating. Poured into the middle it cooks the white into threads.
3. IT IS BEATEN FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THE SYRUP IS IN. Ten to fifteen minutes, until the mixture is thick, glossy and holds a ribbon. This is what makes nougat white and aerated; stopped early it stays soft and will not hold a shape.
4. THE GLUCOSE IS NOT OPTIONAL. Equal weight with the sugar. It is the modern stand-in for the honeydew and without it the nougat will crystallise within a day and go sandy.
5. THE NUTS GO IN BY HAND AT THE END. Two hundred grams of pistachios or almonds, folded through with a spatula once the beating is done. Its article notes the flavour runs from subtle rose to nutty to savoury and pungent depending on what goes in, and that saffron or other spice will colour it.
6. THE ROSE WATER GOES IN COLD-ISH, AT THE VERY END. With the nuts, once the bowl is no longer hot to the touch.
7. IT IS PRESSED BETWEEN SHEETS DUSTED WITH CORNFLOUR. Its article records pieces being dusted with flour or cornflour to keep them separated and easier to handle, and it is essential rather than cosmetic -- nougat sticks to everything including itself.
8. IT IS CUT IN ROUNDS OR RECTANGLES. Its article gives both: round pieces are the older presentation, small rectangles the modern one. Left to set four hours before cutting with an oiled knife. Its article places it in the Isfahan region and notes it has a mild laxative effect.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes