Extraordinary Nutella – Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Nearly three generations of Europeans have grown up eating Nutella, which was created in the 1940’s by Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company.
At the time, cocoa was in short supply due to war rationing, and chocolate was a delicacy limited to a lucky few. So Pietro Ferrero mixed cocoa with toasted hazelnuts, cocoa butter and vegetable oils to create an economical spread of chocolate which he called “pasta gianduja” (pronounced: pasta jon-du-ja). Pasta gianduja’s success was unprecedented.
In 1949, Ferrero made a “supercrema gianduja” which was spreadable as well as inexpensive. This product became so popular that Italian food stores started a service called “The Smearing”. Children could go to their local food store with a slice of bread for a “smear” of “supercrema gianduja”. In 1964 supercrema gianduja was renamed “Nutella” (its origin being the word “nut”), and began to be marketed outside Italy!
Today, Nutella is the number one spread in Europe (In Germany Nutella is a favorite breakfast spread, and in both Italy and France Nutella is a popular afterschool snack). Worldwide, it outsells all peanut butter brands combined.
You simply spread it on Italian bread, toast or croissants. You can use Nutella atop apple slices or pretzels. Substitute Nutella in recipes calling for peanut butter and you will wonder why you hadn’t discovered it before.
Each jar contains 13 oz. of Kosher certified dairy Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread.
Nutella “Dog” Recipe
Spread the cut sides of a hot dog bun with Nutella. Cut a banana in half, length-wise, and sandwich with half the banana in the bun.