In Spain, the sweet almond nougat eaten at Christmas is called turrón.
Turrón is a Mediterranean confection traditionally made by cooking honey or sugar with egg white and toasted almonds. It is strongly associated with Christmas in Spain, where it is sold in bars or tablets and served as a dessert or shared sweet during holiday gatherings.
The two classic Spanish varieties are turrón de Alicante, the hard style containing whole almonds, and turrón de Jijona, the soft style made with ground almonds. Alicante turrón is firm and crunchy, while Jijona turrón has a smooth, paste-like texture. Both are protected regional traditions linked especially to the province of Alicante.
The confection has deep Mediterranean roots. Its history is often connected with Muslim food traditions in medieval Iberia, while the name may ultimately relate to the Latin verb torrere, meaning “to toast.” A common mix-up is with mazapán, or marzipan, which is also almond-based but is made primarily from ground almonds and sugar rather than the honeyed nougat mixture characteristic of turrón. Similar confections elsewhere include Italian torrone and French nougat.