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Apr 02 2026
Liquid Turrón Rewrites the Rule Book for Spanish Chefs
Turrón has been a favorite traditional Spanish sweet for centuries. However, with the advent of liquid turrón, recent trends and innovations have elevated it from a classic Holiday Season staple to a versatile, artisan ingredient used in professional pastry-making and haute cuisine in hotels, restaurants, and tapas bars all over Spain.
Liquid turrón, or turrón líquido de Jijona, is a creamy, pourable paste made from a mix of ground Marcona almonds, honey, sugar, and extra virgin olive oil. This mixture is further refined to form a smoother, finer paste compared to regular turrón.
While traditional turrón is typically packaged in a bar format, liquid turrón, such as the product produced by El Almendro, is aimed at professionals in the HORECA sector, packaged in large 2kg to 24kg tubs. This allows it to be used conveniently, eliminating the need to break down turrón blocks, while providing a consistent texture that can be used as an ingredient to flavor ice cream, creams, fillings, sauces, and mousses.
“With this range, we are reinforcing our commitment to taking nougat beyond its traditional use and bringing it into contemporary cuisine, with solutions designed for the hospitality, pastry, and restaurant industries,” says Maria Herranz, Marketing Director of Delaviuda Confectionery Group, the company behind the El Almendro brand. “Our goal is to showcase the versatility of a product as iconic and delicious as our El Almendro nougat, inspiring professionals to explore its full potential.”
Turrón in haute cuisine
Liquid turrón is increasingly used in haute cuisine and savory cooking as a versatile, high-quality ingredient that brings creaminess, notes of toasted almonds, and a subtle sweet-savory balance to dishes. The high oil content from the extra virgin olive oil and the Marcona almonds enables liquid turrón to seamlessly blend into sauces, emulsions, and glazes, bringing a unique flavor.
Chef Susi Díaz, the Michelin-starred owner of La Finca in Elche, Alicante, and star of the Top Chef TV show, has highlighted turróns potential as a ‘wildcard’ ingredient with her foie gras with turrón de Jijona, hints of pepper, and a mushroom powder bonbon.
Meanwhile, chef Carles Abellán, who trained under Ferran Adrià at elBulli, the iconic three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the town of Roses on the Costa Brava, used turrón de Jijona as the secret flavor-maker for his signature Catalan dish fricandó de ternera (veal stew), heating it into the sauce at the end of the cooking process.
Spanish chefs are increasingly using liquid turrón to complement delicate fish and seafood dishes. The likes of hake, as well as fatty fish like salmon, are ideal candidates for the velvety texture and nutty flavor that this versatile ingredient brings. It’s also ideal as a marinade, as the high sugar content can help caramelize meat or fish during cooking.
Jijona’s annual ode to turrón
Nowhere is the versatility of turrón in savory dishes more evident than in the home of turrón – the town of Jijona in Alicante, where the soft version of the ingredient, turrón de Jijona, originates. The town hosts an annual gastronomic event called “Tapeando con turrón por Jijona”, during which visitors and locals traverse a route of local bars, restaurants, and cafes, sampling special tapas that incorporate turrón as a key ingredient.
