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Turrón de Jijona is the soft, smooth cousin of the crunchy Turrón de Alicante. To make it, blocks of hard turrón are ground up with almond oil to form a sticky paste. Then, it is reheated and beaten for hours until it forms a soft, even mix. Imagine marcona almond butter mixed with light wildflower honey and cooked until its just right.

Severino Cortés turrón de Jijona is made in the town of Jijona itself by hand the same way it has been for centuries. The recipe is strictly overseen by Jijona's "Consejo Regulador" - something like a D.O. for sweets - ensuring that only the original ingredients are used in the correct ratios: 69% toasted Marcona almonds, 17% honey, sugar, and egg whites. The art of turrón making has reached such a level in Jijona that the town was granted protected geographic status by the EU for its turrón - you aren't allowed to make real Turrón de Jijona anywhere else.

In Spain there are three levels of Turrón: the supermarket variety (lots of sugar), the more expensive industrial varieties, and the handmade, artesanal kind. Severino Cortés turrón is in the last category. Severino is the scion of a Valencian family that has been in the business for four generations. (If you're in Barcelona, stop by their horchateria on Calle Aribau, 16, for the hands-down best horchata you have ever tasted. Unfortunately, we haven't figured out a way to ship it.) The family also runs Productos Parami, the best nut store in the city.

This turrón bears the seal of the Consejo Regulador de Jijona. We're always looking for better Turrones. So far we haven't found them.