Nutella and gianduia (sometimes spelled gianduja) is kind of a Kleenex and tissues situation. Nutella is the brand-name for a more general Italian chocolate-hazelnut confectionery known as gianduia. Many people say that high-end gianduia, where hazelnuts make up at least 50-percent of the ingredients, is like an evening gown next to the ripped denim of Nutella, which averages at about 13-percent. J.C. Reid of Houston Press's Eating Our Words blog recently compared the two: Ultimately, comparing gianduia to Nutella is comparing apples to oranges. They are born from the same tradition, but the resulting flavor profiles are very different. Grateful Bread's gianduia has a wonderful depth and complexity of flavor manifested in the combination of hazelnuts, cocoa, sugar, vanilla and...
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"Basically a way to eat Nutella in a handy wrapped stick." I picked up the Classic Nougat Chocolate Bar from the small but packed-full-of-goodness Blue Apron Foods in Brooklyn. Blue Apron carries a wide variety of international candy bars, but this one with its classic gold wrapper caught my eye. The bar's gold packaging reminded me (how could it not) of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Forget the kiddie cartoon characters and bright colors, I'll take a crisp gold wrapper any day. I unfolded the wrapping to reveal two layers of solid nougat, one dark and one light. The bar proved to be soft and dense at the same time. Each bite screamed chocolate and hazelnut nougat perfection. The...
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Nutella and tortilla chips. Awesome apart. Better together. I still remember the day I first discovered the harmonious union of Nutella and tortilla chips—a dorm room invention if ever there was one. A friend and I were lying around in beanbag chairs at around three in the morning, staring down his nearly-full jar of Nutella. We had run out of the potato bread we’d been spreading it on. He didn’t have any other bread, or crackers, or cookies, or anything remotely carby to slather with Nutella. And though we could have just reached for two spoons, we weren’t quite at the straight-from-the-jar phase. That’s when it hit me. I rummaged through the cabinet and unearthed a half-full bag of...
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Photograph from stickygooeychef on Flickr Apparently yesterday was World Nutella Day. Though we forgot to celebrate, this doesn't compromise the glory of a gnome wheelbarrowing nutella and banana filled aebleskiver in celebration of the hazlenuty goo holiday. Aebleskiver are spherical Danish pancakes, and in a perfect world, a gnome would always be delivering them. Previously Nutella Champagne Shooter Recipe Got Nutella? Hand me the Jar and a Spoon, Please. [Talk] Nutella Ravioli [Photograzing]...
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I've been cheating on Signore Nutella. If Nutella is like a familiar pair of comfy jeans, then lately I've been trying on evening gowns, taking it up a notch or two on the gianduja scale with crema di gianduja from some of Italy's finest confectioners. Last week, I popped over to the gastronomic emporium Volpetti in the Testaccio section of Rome on a sworn mission to just browse (the rent is due soon). Willpower dissolved when I spotted a jar of Giacometta, the crema di gianduja by Piemontese chocolate producer Giraudi. The little card attached proclaimed the percentage of Piemontese hazelnuts at a respectable 32 percent. Sold. Rent, be damned!...
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Sara Rosso made a beautiful tower of sliced pear smothered with hefty Nutella splodges in preparation for next Tuesday's World Nutella Day. If you have a blog, you can participate too!...
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