War and Peace and Nutella
Ah, yes, who hasn't heard of it? This ooey chocolatey goodness packaged in a squat little jar and its little white cap is a common household name - and some say, a culinary icon. Featured in millions of recipes and Instagram posts, the humble simplicity of this chocolate hazelnut spread has morphed into something of a symbol of indulgent decadence.
Its history, however, has not always been as simple as its taste. Its story begins with its ancestor, gianduia (also spelled gianduja at times, but always pronounced jon-DOO-ya), and is one often woven into the pop history of Nutella and other similar products. It's a compelling story, to be sure: it tells of an ingenuous triumph over wartime strife and economic desperation. However, as with all sweet things, these tales should be taken with a grain of salt.
What most historians can agree on is that its origins go all the way back to the 1800s, to the time of the Napoleonic Wars. At the time, Turin, an Italian city-state, was the chocolate capital of the world. When Napoleon and his squad barged into Europe under the banner of "social enlightenment," Great Britain DID NOT like that at all. This hotpot of European political beef resulted in the disruption of trade, which made imported goods like cocoa very very rare. Needless to say, the merchants of Turin were NOT happy about that.
And somewhere around here... well, the story gets a little iffy. Many claim that Turin chocolatiers, unable to have access to a steady supply of cocoa, saw the abundant hazelnut trees in the area as a solution. When ground up, the hazelnuts had the same texture as cocoa powder. When mixed together, they created a thick, ganache-like confection. The chocolatiers then saved the local industry through their ingenuity and created a brilliant new product in the process.
This is an attractive narrative and one that has been pushed forward in many marketing campaigns. However, there are certain discrepancies that must be addressed. Some point out that, at the time, chocolate was consumed as a drink rather than as a solid bar. Others argue that the Turin chocolatiers lacked the necessary technology for ground hazelnuts to be a sufficiently cost-effective solution that could single-handedly save the industry. Finally, there are no primary sources that link the Continental System to the creation of gianduia.
Here's an alternative version. Ken Albala, historian and director of the food studies program at the University of the Pacific in California, suggests that gianduia was instead brought to Italy during France's conquest of the area. This may be a more reasonable narrative, as versions of gianduia existed in France before they did in Italy. But of course, the motivation to shift the narrative over time is understandable. A story that credits an invading force for a national gem is not as compelling as one of the locals as ingenious victors.
The birth of Nutella as we know it, however, is a less confusing tale. Like gianduia, Nutella was born as a result of war. Pietro Ferrero, the founder, was struggling to sell chocolate in the economically depressed post-WWII Italy. After the Second World War, chocolate remained an expensive commodity, and Fererro knew he had to make something just as delicious, but less expensive. The precursor to Nutella was called guiandujot, and it was a thick slab of chocolate mixed with roasted almonds and hazelnuts, cocoa powder, sugar, and vegeteble oil. Vendors could slice off slabs and serve it on bread, to be enjoyed as an afternoon snack.
In 1950, Ferrero's son took over the family business and created Supercrema, a more spreadable version of giandujot. It was advertised as a product you could use as little as you could afford to, while still having the delicious flavor. For today's equivalent of $25, you could get over 5000 calories! It was an instant success amongst parents and children.
A law passed in 1962, however, banned misleading product names. Supercrema did not have an objective reason why its product was "super" and foresaw future legal trouble if they kept their name. And so, Nutella was born.
Sources:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/nutella-history-gianduia-origin-story.html
https://www.foodnonfiction.com/episodes/item/25-67-nutella-since-napoleon
https://www.thegrandwinetour.com/famous-italian-art-sites/history-of-gianduia/
https://dallasfood.org/2011/01/gianduia-gianduja-nutella-part-1/