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...
Continue reading »
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!...
Continue reading »
