Finally, when the mixture was ready it was poured on marble tables, sprinkled with fine sugar, in a uniform layer and left to dry. Subsequently, sheets of colored tissue paper were cut, frayed, as an elegant wrapping of the nougats, once ready.
In the Christmas period the torroni were offered to visiting friends or left in the baskets " of the customers and farmers of the house master, in exchange for the good things from the countryside, as good wish offers, in accordance with ancient habits.
The Nurzia family was originally from Arischia, which Gennaro left in the early 1800's to move to Aquila. Gennaro Nurzia was a wood carver and liquor maker, and he established in the Abruzzo capital a confectionery shop. His grandson Ulisse created the soft chocolate nougat, as an alternative to the white, almond nougat from Cremona. The secret of the recipe is in the quantities of the ingredients and in the procedure, which gives out a tender, but easy to cut product.
The new product became famous and appreciated, and Ulisse was invited to Milan but the nougat, though with the same ingredients and procedure, had a different flavor and texture, and did not hold together, so he realized that the secret must be in the Gran Sasso water and returned to his hometown.
A Torrone recipe from the year 1866
"honey 18 lbs - hazelnuts 33 lbs - sugar 3 lbs - egg whites 15 in number.
The eggwhites are added as soon as the honey becomes liquid. In order to obtain a perfect mixture, the pot is removed from the fire and stirred for about 7 hours; sugar and hazelnuts are added at the very end. Sugar must be sprayed over a table, where the mixture is poured in a uniform layer. Before the mixture is too hard, it must be cut into rectangles".
A Torrone recipe from the year 1872
"honey 4 lbs - hazelnuts 9 lbs, not cleaned and not dried - sugar 2 lbs - egg whites 4 in number".
A Torrone recipe from the year 1873
"honey 5 lbs - hazelnuts 13 lbs, not cleaned and not dried - sugar 3 lbs - egg whites 4 in number, cooked in a pot immersed in hot water ("a bagnomaria") then squashed when solid".
A Torrone recipe from the year 1874
"honey 10 lbs - hazelnuts 26 lbs, not cleaned and not dried - sugar 5 lbs - egg whites 7 in number".
A Torrone recipe from the year 1879
"honey 10 lbs - hazelnuts 26 lbs, not cleaned and not dried - sugar 6 lbs - egg whites 8 in number".