Nutella and Ferrero Rocher Passionately Rooted in Turin

In addition to 2006 Tourino (Turin) Winter Olympics, Turin passionately claims title to chocolate capital of the world since 1600.

“Michele Prochet, father of Gianduja (jan-doo-yah) , grandfather of Nutella and Ferrero

Rocher, extended chocolate with local hazelnuts during a blockade in the Napoleon Wars that left cocoa beans scarce for Turin’s chocolate makers. (source: Guardian UK, “Chocolatissimo“)

Gianduja runs only second to chocolate in Turin. Gianduja is about hazelnuts not chocolate. It must consist of 35% of Tonda gentile hazelnuts (from the Alba hills and valleys). The harvest year of the hazelnuts is stamped on the product label.

In Alba, you’ll find Ferrero (Italy’s Premier chocolate company) and its Ferrero Factory, the birthplace of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. (source: Washington Post) It sounds like you’d be better off getting a reservation at Nobu’s in Soho rather than this “Fort Knox”.

That’s one story. Here’s another one. This story has it that “an Italian cake-maker, Pietro Ferrero, developed a chocolate substitute, a soft paste made from hazelnuts and vegetable oil. His brother Giovanni would load aluminium-wrapped slabs of this ‘Pasta Gianduja’ into the back of his car and hawk them up and down the Langa (the area around Alba). …Although its taste was less than distinguished, this first product sold tolerably well in post-war Italy. However, Ferrero’s major breakthrough came about through two strokes of inspiration on the part of Pietro’s son, Michele, who in the 1960s was responsible for the firm’s (Ferrero Sp.A.) marketing. Firstly, he reformulated the product to be softer and to include milk solids and a little cocoa, by then available again in Italy. Secondly, he developed a new name for it, combining the English word ‘nut’ and the Italian suffix ‘ella’.

Its up to you which story you go with. As for me, I’m going to do up some toast and spread the Nutella. If you can’t get Nutella at your grocery store, get thee to any one of the many Nutella fan clubs on the website. Here’s the first one that came up in google.

Guido Gobino is one of Turin’s most prized chocolate stores. “Its products are excellent as are some of its original ideas: like the turinot, microscopic gianduiotti, gianduiotti al caffè (coffee flavored gianduiotti), the amarissimo (super bitter chocolate), and the dark chocolate wafers with chocolate chips.”–extra torino

see also:
The Athletics of Passion
2006 Turin (Tourino) Winter Olympics_

Tagged! Turin, Ferrero, Nutello, Hazelnuts, Passion,Chocolate, 2006 Tourino Winter Olympics