No discussion of gianduia would be complete without consideration of Ferrero SpA and its flagship product, Nutella. Though a detailed examination of the company and its products is beyond the scope of this series, a brief historical sketch will suffice as background for some more specific observations to come.
Though we’ve been discussing the earliest gianduiotti, the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought a number of innovations in production, not all of them bad.
Having discussed the traditional tripartite composition of gianduiotti (i.e., sugar, cacao, Tonda Gentile delle Langhe), we now turn to their shape and three methods of formation.
We now turn to the third necessary component of gianduia: roasted hazelnuts. Before getting into specifics, some general information may be helpful.
Having devoted some time to the questions of gianduia’s origins, we now turn to its composition. Though recipes have varied over the years according to the cost and availability of ingredients, the earliest gianduiotti consisted of three principal ingredients: sugar, cacao, and roasted hazelnuts (1).
