The town is famous for a type of soft
nougat, known in
Valencian as
Torró de Xixona and in
Spanish as
Turrón de Jijona. This is mostly due to the extensive
almond farming that has existed since
Moorish farmers originally cultivated the almond trees following the
Islamic conquest of the
Iberian Peninsula. Several factories produce nougat, which is distributed for sale principally around Christmas and the New Year, although now they are trying to expand its consumption throughout the rest of the year. This kind of nougat is protected by the European Union, through the IGP (
Indicación Geográfica Protegida). ==References==