Focus on Gianduia, Part 31: Ferrero and Giandujot

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Oct 102011
 

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.

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 27: Evolutionary Gianduia

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Jul 182011
 

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.

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 20: What Gianduiotti are Made of (Hazelnuts)

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May 232011
 

We now turn to the third necessary component of gianduia: roasted hazelnuts.  Before getting into specifics, some general information may be helpful.

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 17: Il Duce e il Dolce

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May 022011
 

Most efforts to historically contextualize gianduia focus solely on the era of its presumed invention in the mid-1860s.  However, as we’ve seen, many components of the gianduia myth first arose in the 1930s, through Cagliano’s article in Il Dolce (1932), Succ. Caffarel Prochet & Co.’s “Gianduia 1865” marketing campaign (1936), and the booklet Il Cioccolato ed il Suo Valore Alimentare (1933).  The 1930s witnessed a confluence of factors favorable to increased prominence and production of gianduia—a perfect storm, with Benito Mussolini at the eye.

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