Originated from Piedmont in Italy, Nutella is a sweet paste made of hazelnuts, sugar, and a rare cocoa powder. Who was the first person to create the recipe? Why do we celebrate World Nutella day on Feb 5? We have all the answers for you!
Here are the 5 facts about your favorite addictive spread:
1. Napoleon is responsible for bringing in Nutella
Back in 1806, Napoleon froze British commerce to win the wars. This resulted in a continental blockade that caused the price of Chocolate to skyrocket. Chocolatiers started to mix hazelnut to stress the supply as much as possible.
2. Blame Hitler for the World’s Nutella addiction
After a century, the second world war led to a shortage of food and exported items. Chocolate was one of them. In 1946, an Italian Baker named Pietro Ferrero used the hazelnut salvation recipe to create a spreadable treat. He came up with this sweetened hazelnut-cocoa spread recipe that would be a cheaper alternative to chocolate.
3.The word ‘Nutella’ was tweaked by Pietro’s son Michele
The hazelnut spread was initially named after Gianduza( an Italian Commedia dell-Arte). He was a Piedmontese peasant who used to roam around the town of England on a donkey clutching a duja ( a container). Early advertisements of Nutella had the face of Gianduja on the containers. In 1964, Pietro Ferrero’s son Michele tweaked the name ‘Nutella’ for the new recipe.
4. Originally Nutella came in the form of a loaf
A lesser-known fact is that Ferrero made this paste into a loaf which could be sliced precisely and placed on bread. Imagine the cheese slices on sandwiches. Today, Nutella is available for consumption in 160 countries. It takes up 1/4 of the world’s supply of hazelnut supply each year!
5. World Nutella day emerged from dedicated fans
On February 5, 2000, Sara Rosso, An American Blogger who is a Nutella lover shared her opinion that Nutella deserved a worldwide celebration day. Nutella lovers from all around the world agreed and started sharing pictures, ideas, inspirations, and recipes on their Social media, thus turning the day into a global phenomenon. In 2013, Nutella manufacturer Ferrero tried to shut down World Nutella Day but at the request of Sara, Fererro took over the holiday again in 2015.
