Nougat, Fruit Chews & Taffy - staging.files.cms.plus.com

Nougat, Fruit Chews & Taffy 

Barb Klubertanz 

Resident 

Course in 

Confectionery 

Technology

Nougat 

• Nougat is a generic name of aerated 

candies that have a soft or a semi-hard 

texture with nuts and/or fruits. 

• Part of the category of aerated candies 

– Lightly aerated (dense) 

– vs. highly aerated Marshmallows

Aerated Confections 

Density Water 

(g/mL) Content 

Marshmallow 0.25 - 0.7 5 - 18% 

Nougat 0.8 - 1.0 9 - 11% 

Chews 0.9 - 1.1 5 - 7.5% 

Taffy 0.9 - 1.1 5 - 7.5%

Nougat - Wording 

• Nougat de Montelimar (traditional nougat from 

France) 

– Soft 

– Chewy 

• Torrone (traditional crunchy nougat from Italy) 

• Turron (traditional nougat from Spain) 

• Taffy (USA for pulled soft candy) 

• Fruit Chew 

• Mint Chew 

• Chocolate bar

Typical Nougat Products 

Country Brand Manufacturer 

USA Starburst Mars 

Skittles Mars 

3 Musketeers Mars 

Netherland Mentos / Fruitella Perfetti-van Melle 

Switzerland Sugus Suchard 

Germany Mamba Storck 

Japan Hi-Chew Morinaga 

UK Dessert Nougat Callard & Bowser

Sales of US Confectionery Product 

(2008) 

• All chocolate candy $ 3,823 MM 

• All non-chocolate candy $ 2,070 MM 

– Chewy candy $ 766 

– Breath freshener $ 277 

– Hard candy $ 219 

– Licorice $ 210 

– Plain mints $ 134 

– Sugar free $ 75 

• Fruit snack $ 482 MM 

• Marshmallows $ 145 MM 

• Cough drops $ 417 MM 

• Total snack bar $ 2,308 MM 

• All chewing gum $ 1,288 MM (sugar: sugar free= 16:84) 

The Manufacturing Confectioner January 2009

Nougat History 

• Origins 

- Cremona, Italy 

Torrone - “big tower” 

Stories say it was invented for a medieval 

wedding and the candy’s name was based on it 

having been shaped into a tower as an 

aristocratic “wedding cake” 

- Montelimar, France 

Nougat de Montelimar 

Made with honey, egg albumen and nuts 

In 1958, Olivier de Serres planted almond trees on 

his estate a few miles from Montelimar. Local 

confectioners found a way to use the almonds.

Nougat 

Good nougat needs: 

- Good chew character 

- Not stick to teeth and wrapper 

- Enough stability on taste and shape

Sugars 

Basic Nougat Ingredients 

gives body 

accelerates graining 

30 – 70 % depending on graining 

Corn Syrup 

gives body 

inhibits graining 

42DE most common; higher DE gives more 

tender nougat, but tends to be more sticky


Whipping agents 

Egg albumen, soy protein, gelatin 

Fats 

gives light texture, stand up quality 

0.5 – 4.0 % 

vegetable fats 

give smooth and non-stick character 

typically 3 – 8 %


Emulsifiers 

Lecithin, DMG, sugar ester 

promotes stabilization of emulsion 

0.1 – 0.2 %

Fillings 

Other Nougat Ingredients 

Nuts, dry fruits, candied fruits and 

sometimes milk 

Others 

products give specific taste 

Flavors and colors

Making Nougat 

• Mix sugar / corn syrup. Cook to 

appropriate temperature. 

• Cool slightly and blend in hydrated 

stabilizer. 

• Whip to aerate. 

• Fat is usually added after aeration, along 

with nuts, fruit, etc. 

• Form either through extrusion or 

moulding.

Nougat Processing 

Courtesy of: Y. Noda (2003)

Fruit Chews & Taffy 

• What is the main difference between 

fruit chews and salt water taffy?

Taffy and Fruit Chews 

• Fruit chews tend to be grained 

• Salt Water Taffy - not grained

Salt Water Taffy 

Doesn’t really use “salt water” 

Many manufacturers claim a shopkeeper by the 

name of David Bradley was one of the first sellers of 

the candy. In 1883, a huge storm hit Atlantic City 

and flooded the boardwalk. Bradley’s store was 

flooded and the ocean water soaked his entire stock 

of taffy. In one account, a young girl asked if the 

store still had taffy for sale. Bradley jokingly told the 

girl to grab some ‘salt water taffy’. This is believed 

to be the first reference to salt water taffy.

Basic Taffy / Chew Ingredients 

Sugars 

gives body 

accelerates graining 

35 - 45 % 

Corn Syrup 

gives body 

inhibits graining 

42DE most common; higher DE gives chewier 

texture, but more sticky 

45 – 60%


Whipping agents 

Egg albumen, soy protein, gelatin 

provides stability to air cells 

provides chewy texture 

0.5 – 2.5 % 

Fats 

vegetable fats 

want to melt at body temperature 

keeps from sticking to wrapper, equipment and teeth 

typically 3 – 10%


Emulsifiers 

Lecithin, mono & diglycerides, sugar esters 

bridge between aqueous phase and fat 

0.1 – 0.2 %


Texture Improver 

Starch, dextrin, gums 

Other 

provides smoother texture 

inhibits cold flow 

Acids, Flavors, Colors

Making Fruit Chews / Taffy 

• Mix sugar / corn syrup. Cook to 

appropriate temperature. 

• Cool slightly and blend in hydrated 

stabilizer, fat and emulsifier. 

• Aerate – traditionally done by pulling 

• Form either through extrusion or cut 

and wrap machines.

Mix 

Tank 

Packaging 

∞ 

Taffy Processing 

Ingredients 

Cut & Wrap 

Cooling 

Forming 

Pulling 

Cooling 

Courtesy of: R. Hartel (2009)

Production Process - Fruit Chew / Taffy 

• Cooking: 

- Steam cooker 

- Batch vacuum cooker 

- Continuous vacuum 

cooker 

- Microfilm cooker 

• Cooling: 

- Cooling slab 

- Drum cooler 

- Cooling belt 

- Cooling box


• Mixing / aeration: 

- Planetary mixer 

-Sigma mixer 

- Extruder 

- Pulling machine 

(vertical) 

- Pulling machine 

(horizontal) 

- Inline mixer 

- Pressure beater


• Forming: 

- Rolling & scoring method 

Extruder → Rolling → Rolling cutter → 

Scoring cutter → Feeding machine → 

Wrapping machine 

- Cut & Wrap method 

1) Batch roller → Rope sizer → 

Relaxation → Cut &wrap machine 

2) Extruder → Cooling box → Cut & 

wrap machine


• Individual wrap: 

- Fold wrap (bag) 

- Fold wrap (stick) 

-Twist wrap (bag) 

- Flow pack (bag) 

• High speed cut & 

wrap machine 

-GD 

- Rose Teegarten 

- Bosch

Important parameters for 

Nougat / Chews /Taffy 

• Moisture content 

• Graining factor 

• ERH (AW) 

• Density 

• % of protein 

• % of fat 

• pH

Key Factors Affecting Quality 

1. How to control moisture content 

- by controlling cooking temperature 

2. How to control ERH(AW) 

-formula 

- moisture content of final product

Why is moisture content important? 

• Moisture affects: 

- Texture and chewing character 

- Shape (cold flow, shrinkage) 

- ERH (AW) 

- Migration of moisture 

- Control activity of microorganisms 

- Productivity/ machine efficiency

Key Factors Affecting Quality 

3. How to control sugar crystal in a 

candy 

- by managing ratio of sugar and 

corn syrup → graining factor

Recrystallization 

There are two types of sugars: 

Accelerator of graining 

- Sucrose 

- Dextrose 

- Lactose 

Inhibitors of graining 

- Corn syrup 

- Invert sugar 

- Honey

Recrystallization (Graining) 

• By controlling recrystallization of sugar 

– control texture 

– appearance 

– stability 

– productivity 

• Usually, we use sugar/corn syrup ratio, as an 

index of graining, such as 60:40 or 55:45. 

• However, we can not use this way when we use 

two types of corn syrup or different corn syrups 

with different moisture content.

Graining Factor 

• Ratio of accelerators and inhibitors is an 

important index to show character of the candy. 

• Use Graining Factor as an index. 

• GF = Total solids of accelerators / Total solids of sugars 

x 100 

25 

• For example, GF of the following 0.975 

fondant is, 

sugar 2,550g 

corn syrup(80% solid) 570g (570g x 0.80 = 456g solids) 

water 800g 

GF = 2550 / (2550 + 456) x 100 = 84.8%

Nougat Formula - Skuse 

Batch Moisture Moisture 

Materials Specification (kg) (%) (kg) 

Sugar Granulated 28.000 0 0 

Corn syrup DE42, BX80% 14.000 20 2.800 

Water 10.000 100 10.000 

Egg albumen Powder 0.300 12 0.036 

Water 1.250 100 1.250 

Total 53.550 14.086 

Sugar solids = 28g 

Corn syrup solids = 14-2.8 = 11.2g 

Graining factor: 28 x 100 = 71.43% 

28+11.2

Nougat Formula – Choice (Chewy nougat - Formula 165) 

Materials Specification 

Batc h 

(kg) 

Moisture 

(%) 

Moisture (kg) 

Sugar Granular 3.172 0 0 

Sugar Powder 0.353 0 0 

Corn syrup DE42,Bx 80% 5.889 20 1.178 

Egg albumen Powder 0.170 12 0.020 

Total 9.684 1.198 

Sugar solids = 3.172 + 0.353 = 3.525 kg 

Corn syrup solids = 5.889 - 1.178 = 4.711 kg 

Graining factor: 3.525 x 100 = 42.80% 

3.525 + 4.711

Types of Nougat 

• Chewy Nougat 

– Corn syrup > Sugar 

– Example: 

» Charleston Chew 

• Grained / Short Nougat 

– Sugar > Corn syrup 

– Examples: 

» Milky Way Bar 

» 3 Musketeers

Materials Specification 

Taffy Formula 

Batc h 

(kg) 

Moisture 

(%) 

Moisture (kg) 

Sugar Granular 3.00 0 0 

Corn syrup DE42,Bx 80% 6.15 20 1.23 

Whipping agent 0.08 

Fat 0.60 

Total 9.83 

Sugar solids = 3.0 kg 

Corn syrup solids = 6.15 - 1.23 = 4.92 kg 

Graining factor: 3 x 100 = 37.88% 

3 + 4.92

Fruit Chews vs. Taffy 

• Fruit chews tend to be grained 

• Salt Water Taffy - not grained

Aeration (Density) 

• Aeration is important 

– Improves texture 

– Chew character 

– Appearance 

• Whipping agents 

- Egg albumen 

- Soy protein 

- Gelatin

Aeration (Density) 

• Important processing parameters 

– Temperature 

– Time 

– Weight

Troubleshooting 

• Product 

– Too Soft / Hard 


• Cook temp 

• Density 

– Density 

• Control of aeration process 

– weight 

– aeration time 

– temperature 

• Proper cook temperature 

• Addition of fat 

• Excessive heat (breaks down whipping agent)

• Product 

– Sticky 



• Fat content too low 

– Cold flow 

• Water content too high 

– Increase cook temp 

– Aeration (smaller air bubbles) 

• Addition of starch granules after cooking


• Machine compatibility 

- Need to supply uniform candy rope to cut & wrap machine. 

- not sticky 

- proper aeration / density

• Aerated candies 

• Density 

• Moisture 

• Graining factor 

Key Points

Nougat, Fruit Chews & Taffy - staging.files.cms.plus.com

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