Eladio Ivanez Coloma Turroneria (La Turronería Iváñez)
Jijona Turron – Almond and Honey, Turron de Pistache
Polvorones, Marzipan, Pastries, Mazanougat
Crafting their signature nougat since 1860, with a single retail outlet on foot-access-only Correo Kalea, Turroneria Iváñez is something of a Bilbao institution and taking a chance to visit on “Black Friday” that suddenly seems to be a internationally celebrated holiday the small store was found to jammed packed, though they were one of the few offering no sales.
No doubt a tourist destination, but during my visit populated only by Spanish speaking natives on both sides of the exchange, it was with some fortune that an elderly patron spoke a limited amount of English and was happy to make some recommendations, the wrapped confections virtually indistinguishable from one another based on mere appearance though flavors ranged from honey and sugar to chocolate or dried fruit.
Taking my goods to the street, a “some for now, some for later” plan cast aside when early tastes showed most of the candies to be far lighter than those typically found back home, it was perhaps expected that nougat and nut options that proved most interesting as chocolates trended almost ‘chalky’ while fruits were mostly just sugary sweet.
Obviously not leaving Iváñez without tasting the signature items for which they are renowned it was with two sizable tablets of nougat tightly vacuum wrapped that the indulgence later commenced and partaking first in the seasonal pistachio version that tasted lightly sweet but moreso of nuts there is little doubt as to why the Jijona is considered to be the “signature” as each bite of the slowly melting candy comes across rich and silky with occasional spots of granulated honey juxtaposing those filled with salty roast Almonds.
http://turronbilbao.com/