Every since a local pastry chef named Pietro Ferrero mixed hazelnuts, cocoa and sugar into a paste, it has taken the world by storm. Nutella has a dedicated and growing fan following. It was created to take care of the cocoa shortage during WW II. So let us explore and understand this magical blend of cocoa and hazelnut.
History of nutella
Pastry chef Pietro Ferrero from Turin came up with the idea to sell something inexpensive for factory workers to eat along with their bread. Hazelnuts were abundant at that time in Piedmont and there was already a kind of preparation of chopped nuts with chocolate in his mind. He named it “Gianduja” after local mascot used at the carnival. Instead of the workers it was the children who started loving it. Somewhere around 1945, Pietro had moved to Alba where he created Pasta Gianduja. Instead of selling a solid block, he cut it into slices and sold them at prices cheaper than chocolate. The next year Ferrero company was founded encouraged by the rise in sales.
At that time it was still solid. Pietro died in 1949 and his son Michele took over the family business. One day he accidentally discovered that the melted form of Giandujot is softer and more ‘Spreadable’. Some believe that due to particularly hot summer, the entire batch melted. It was then sold as a spread in jars. It also got a new name “Supercrema”.
A new law in 1962 forced Ferrero to change the name. Nutella was registered in 1963 and consisted of two words. Nut which represents the hazelnut and ella is an Italian suffix which stands for sweet. The first Nutella jar came out of the factory at Alba on 20 April 1964.
Mixing of Hazelnuts with chocolate
Way back in 1806 every chocolatier in north Italy was experimenting to take care of the cocoa beans shortage. One of the more popular method was mixing hazelnuts with cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Ferrero just picked up the recipe and perfected it. But along with the apparently simple mix they had an innovative marketing campaign too. The old TV ads and the present campaigns on social media, everything is planned meticulously and made trendy.
As the popularity of Nutella increased there were factories build all over Europe to cater for the every growing demand. What was basically hazelnut and chocolate became mostly sugar and palm oil replaced cocoa butter. There is a raging debate among the scientific community about the health aspect of palm oil. Sugar along with palm oil is about 50% and hazelnut with cocoa is hardly 20%. It was challenged in the US Courts on the misleading label being nutritious breakfast spread.
Health concerns
The popularity of nutella is partly because of the heavenly taste and also the carefully crafted advertising. It is touted as the tasty kids breakfast spread. Because of the taste, people tend to consume it way above the healthy limits.
Any food which is high in sugar content consumed in the morning spikes the blood sugar levels of the body. It contributes to lack of concentration and aggression. When people see the brown colour looking spread, they mistake it for chocolate. The visually appealing label does not help either.
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil. It is heavily processed with chemicals at such heavy temperatures that any possibility of nutrients is destroyed by the heat.
Dark chocolate infused with hazelnut
The only healthy way to enjoy the 400 year old recipe is dark chocolate mixed with hazelnut paste and roasted hazelnuts. You get the goodness of the king of nuts and dark chocolate pure with cocoa butter. Custom handmade dark chocolates are more assured of purity than their commercial counterparts.
