Nutella - Taste my nuts and go to Heaven (Spreads)

Member Name: DJBorley

Product:	Spreads
Date:	01/02/03 (338 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes Great

Disadvantages: High in calories

Nutella. Hazelnut chocolate spread.

We've all heard of this product, and probably all tasted it too. So why write an opinion on it? Because it's scrummy, that's why!

* History

Nutella was created in the 1940's by Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero Company. War rationing at the time meant that cocoa was in short supply, and chocolate was considered a delicacy, so Pietro Ferrero mixed cocoa with toasted hazelnuts, cocoa butter and vegetable oils to create an economical spread of chocolate. Simple? Genius? Either way, the success of which was unprecedented.

In February 1946, 660 pounds were sold. To keep up with demand, Ferrero worked with local farmers to improve and extend the cultivation of hazelnuts. 3 years later, in 1949, a spreadable and inexpensive version named "supercrema gianduja" was produced. Finally in 1964 it was renamed "Nutella" (its origin being the word "nut"), and began to be marketed outside Italy!

* The Look

The jar appears stumpy to me. Wider and shorter compared to a jar of peanut butter or jam, the white label stands out well against a chocolaty background that can be seen through the glass jar. The word Nutella is all in lower case, with a black "n" and the remaining letters all red at the top of the label, with a drawing of a piece of bread spread thickly with Nutella beneath it, and a glass of milk and some hazelnuts alongside it.

* Breaking In

The jar has a metallic gold coloured foil lid, similar to the type found on coffee jars. However, whereas the coffee jars normally make a satisfactory "pop" when you plunge a spoon through the foil shell and into the coffee granules, doing the same with the Nutella jar is not nearly as satisfying, as no sooner have you broken through the foil than you are stuck spoon-deep in thick chocolate spread. Any excuse to get licking, eh? !!

*
Smell

As soon as the foil layer is off, you can smell the sweet goodness of the product. Chocolaty, nutty and delicious. It reminds me of Ferraro Rocher. (Ahhh, monsieur, wiz zis spread you are really spoiling us!)

* Interesting Fact:

Worldwide, it outsells all peanut butter brands combined.

* Taste

Right, the good part. Described by Nutella as: "The combination of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and cocoa create a creamy, chocolaty taste with a hint of that roasted nut flavour that will delight your taste buds as you enjoy each delicious mouthful.", I will offer up my own judgement.

Most people would spread this on bread. Others on loved ones (great for foreplay, but a bugger of a mess on the sheets. Best saved to hotel rooms when someone else is cleaning up, since you asked). Me? Well I am a pig and just eat it straight from the jar! Smooth in texture, it can also be thick, so with a large splodge of Nutella on my spoon, here we go...
If there is a closer way to get to Heaven other than through death or sexual pleasure, then this is it. Unbelievably sweet and chocolaty, it has the texture of melted chocolate on your tongue, and feels much thicker than it looks. Again, Ferrero Rocher springs to mind, so much so that I'm beginning to wonder if the products are linked? A quick squizz at the jar and I can see the word "Ferrero" under the word Nutella, so I'm going to jump to a conclusion and say that they are made by the same company.

* Ingredients

Whoa! Before you all go reaching for the Helpful button to mark me down, I'm not going to list the ingredients. I will say, however, that this product contains more sugar than anything else (great for an artificial buzz, but probably not ideal if you want to drink Red Bull or something similar with it!) With an incredible 2132 calories per jar, you should only be spreading this thinly on sandwiches, and definitely not
eating it straight from the jar if you intend to watch your waistline.

So now you've tasted the sweetness and read the calorie intake, are you feeling guilty? Let Nutella ease your conscience a little with the following info:

"Nutella looks like chocolate because of the cocoa that gets added into the ingredients. Cocoa, which is naturally low in fat, gives Nutella its smooth chocolaty appearance. This rich infusion of hazelnuts, skim milk and cocoa makes Nutella a perfect choice to be enjoyed with various foods."

Don't kid yourself. This is still packed with calories, no matter how you dress it up.

* Unsuitable for:

Strictly speaking, if you suffer from nut allergies, then you should steer clear of this product. Once again though, Nutella are keen to still get you to buy the stuff, and so put the following on their website:

"The peanut oil that Nutella contains goes through a hot-solvent extraction process which takes out all the proteins, so you are left with pure peanut oil which is generally non-allergenic. Only oil prepared by the hot solvent extraction process that is commonly used in the United States is known to be free of protein. But, of course, please consult your doctor about any health concerns you may have."

Personally, if I were a nut allergy sufferer, I'd stick to what I know. I'd rather not have any Nutella, than get a gobful and risk being rushed to hospital.

* The price:

Available from Tesco.com for £1.65 for a 400g jar, which seems an average price for this product, I can't say I've ever really seen this on offer anywhere. Saying that, it's still worth splashing the cash for, in my opinion!

* The conclusion

You know the film "When Harry Met Sally" when Meg Ryan does her orgasm routine in a restaurant, many people think it's part of the script. Me? I reckon that Ms Ryan had just had a Nut
ella sandwich, and was remarking on how much she liked it!
With a range of recipes on the website (NutellaUSA.com), you can even test your cooking dexterity. I'd list some of the recipes here, but I think I've got you all drooling already, so mentioning Meringue eggs with Nutella Nutty Eggs will probably make you insane with hunger, so I won't go there!

Great to eat, fun to play with (hehehe!) you have to wonder why the name on the jar is all lower-case. If any product deserved to begin with a capital letter, it's this one!

Summary: