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Issue #12 December 6, 2013
At the Hawaiian Nougat Company, owners Liz and Peter Anderson believe that using local ingredients makes for better confections. With locally grown sugar, honey, macadamia nuts and vanilla at her disposal, Liz expertly handcrafts each nougat in the traditional French style, rooting these traditional southern European treats firmly in Hawaiʻi soil.
“With the nougat, our main focus is to use local ingredients,” Peter explained. “Maui sugar and vanilla bean, island purchased macadamia nuts, honey from the big island and local eggs. The only two ingredients that aren’t local are glucose and the wafer paper that we use, which we get from the Netherlands. [Our ingredients] can’t be from Thailand or anywhere else—they have to be Hawaiian grown.”
Nougat (pronounced noo-gah) is a family of confections made with sugar and/or honey, whipped egg whites and roasted nuts as a base. A traditional Christmas season treat, nougat can range in texture from soft and chewy to hard and crunchy.
Chatting with Peter for a few minutes while Liz was hard at work provided the opportunity to sample the two nougat varieties offered—standard white chocolate and white chocolate partially dipped in milk chocolate. Neither variety was too sweet, and the hint of sweetness paired quite nicely with the soft, chewy texture of the nougat.
Chatting with Peter for a few minutes while Liz was hard at work provided the opportunity to sample the two nougat varieties offered—standard white chocolate and white chocolate partially dipped in milk chocolate. Neither variety was too sweet, and the hint of sweetness paired quite nicely with the soft, chewy texture of the nougat.
Featuring a fully-functional commercial kitchen and a modest seating area, the Hawaiian Nougat Company is clean and inviting, its walls lined with nougat and various other items for purchase—all of which are tastefully packaged and presented.
Liz’s passion for the culinary arts was always present, though she spent 25 years of her working life in the financial services sector. But when the opportunity to take time off presented itself, she took it.
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to
“I needed a respite; I was getting burned out,” said Liz. “So I went to