Why is torrone like panettone?
Like panettone, torrone is one food that the Italians would not be without at Christmas. Unlike panettone, however, torrone has an ancient history dating back to Roman times. It’s basically a nougat made of egg whites, honey, sugar, with toasted almonds, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, or sometimes pistachios. The name derives from the latin torrēre which means to toast, for obvious reasons.
Torrone is often sandwiched between two pieces of ostia (similar to rice paper). There are many variations on the recipe from all over Italy and it comes in hard and soft varieties. For Italians, this is the real taste of Christmas.