Turrón de Jijona y Turrón de Alicante
Xixona lends its name to the two turróns with Protected Geographical Indication status that come out of this province: Turrón de Jijona, a soft paste of ground almonds and honey, and Turrón de Alicante, the hard bar studded with whole almonds. Both are still made here, in the town that has lived off the trade for centuries.
💡 Local tip: Buy from a workshop in Xixona rather than a supermarket, and look for the Protected Geographical Indication seal on the packaging; it guarantees the almond and honey meet the regulated standard.
Turrón arrived on the peninsula with the almonds and honey the Arabs brought, and in Xixona it found the town that would end up specialising in it: the surrounding sierra grows quality almonds and the town had a beekeeping tradition, exactly the combination the recipe needs.
Today the Protected Geographical Indication covers two products made by different processes. Turrón de Jijona is made by grinding the almonds into a paste and mixing it warm with honey and egg white, which gives it its soft, spreadable texture. Turrón de Alicante, on the other hand, keeps the almonds whole, toasted and bound in the same honey syrup before being pressed into hard bars.
The Museo del Turrón, housed in part of a former factory in the town, walks through the whole process using the original machinery. It pairs well with a walk through the centre of Xixona, where several workshops still sell directly to the public.
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