Words are inadequate

Ah, nostalgia, you've brought back memories of when my maternal grandmother (aka Granny) taught me how to make divinity. It does require pecans. And she made the best divinity that I've had. It is hard to find up north, and alas, being diabetic, I can no longer eat it - but it was lovely back in the day. You're right - it's best described as a kind of nougat, but fluffier or lighter in texture and not quite as dense. Basically if marshmallow and nougat got together to have kids - it would be divinity.

And that sounds painful. Working with hot sugar is not easy. My grandmother was a bit of a pro at it. We did it in Missouri, so almost the South? Also had grits in Missouri - same grandmother.