This French nougat known as "gâteau au nougat de Montélimar" in French is as good as it looks. It is cut into individual slices. Each slice is covered almonds and pistachios and sprinkled with pieces of candied fruit. Each slice is wrapped in cellophane. (7.05 oz)

The origin of the nougat is uncertain: the word “nougat” probably comes from the Latin “nux” (walnut). The Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius, known under the name of Apicius and who lived during the reign of Tiberius, second Roman Emperor, had written the recipe of the nougat based of pine nuts, walnuts, honey and eggs. On the other hand, some scholars claim that the Greeks from Massilia made the “nôgalon”, which was a piece of candy with honey and almonds. Whatever its origin may be, the nougat appeared in France in the 16th century at a time when the agronomist Olivier de Serres (1539-1619) developed the cultivation of the almond tree next to the town of Montélimar in Southern France. The existence of the nougat in Montélimar is evidenced by official documents of the town that recount the visits of Philippe V d'Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, and his brothers the duke of Burgundy and the duke of Berry who were offered some nougat as a present in 1701. The first nougat factory appeared in Montélimar in 1770 and in the 19th century, the nougat was very popular beyond the French border. Emile Loubet, who was the mayor of Montélimar and the President of France from 1899 to 1906, was known for never have let a visitor leave without giving him some nougat.