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Rich in aromatic oil, they blend perfectly with, and exalt the flavor of the cocoa butter, creating a tender, voluptuous and creamy concoction. It had humble origins but then became an elite, niche product of the highest quality, the first ever to be wrapped [in foil] in the history of chocolate.” Initially called givù (or stubs,) gianduiotto became famous when the general public apparently got their first real taste as the treats were handed out during Turin’s 1865 carnival celebrations by an actor dressed as Gianduja.
Castagna often holds wine tastings, pairing Giuinott with Piedmont’s Vermouth wines and other sweet alcoholic drinks like passito, which he believes complements the chocolate tasting experience. We are the only ones who still hand make gianduiotti. It’s very expensive to employ such skilled labor,” says owner Laura Faletti. Turin's love for chocolate runs so deep it's no wonder locals found a way to blend it with their coffee. The city is home to il bicerin, a velvety beverage made from hot chocolate, espresso and whipped cream. It is said to be have been invented in 1763 at a shop by the same name. It's best to enjoy a nice cup of bicerin after you've taken a stroll through Via Roma and the nearby Turin Cathedral ( Duomo di Torino). Making gianduiotto by hand requires painstaking precision. Ramella Alberto/AGF/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Davide Appendino, another top Turin chocolatier, uses a wide array of top quality biological cacao beans to make pistachio, coffee, white chocolate, dark chocolate and sugar free gianduiotti sold in colorful wraps.
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A century or so later, Pietro Ferrero, a confectioner from Piedmont, created Nutella based on that old recipe. The Gianduiotto chocolate is made with a chocolate and hazelnut paste, the gianduja paste, and is wrapped in aluminum foil to improve its preservation.
Ask an Italian what giandujia (sometimes known as gianduja) is and they could give two different answers, depending their age, where they’re from and how much they love chocolate. The word refers both to a traditional Carnival mask – from the name Gioan d’la douja (‘John of the tankard’) – and to the delicious creamy paste made of cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar and finely ground hazelnuts. Gianduiotto was originally born out of necessity – to overcome a cocoa shortage in mainland Europe. When Napoleon Bonaparte conquered northern Italy and declared war against Britain in 1806, he banned all English-imported goods, including cocoa beans.The idea of mixing hazelnut pieces to "standard" chocolates is said to have arisen during Napoleon's reign, when importing cocoa from South America became difficult. With "raw" cocoa's high prices, local producers started incorporating bits of roasted hazelnuts (which were locally grown and readily available in Piedmont) to make the final product more affordable. The name gianduiotto is thought to come from carnival figure Gianduja, a jolly wine-loving peasant, popular in the 1800s, who embodied the epicurean nature of locals. The secret of the craft, says Nobili, lies in the firm and rapid movement of the wrists and hands to scoop up the paste before it solidifies, smooth it over with spatulas and give it final cut with a butter knife to achieve the prism-like shape. Our spread is the end product of 72 hours of mechanically mixing and kneading the paste – that’s three whole days, while other gianduia spreads are ready in four hours. Ours is fresher and healthier,” says Faletti.
According to revered artisan chocolatier Guido Castagna, gianduiotto is far more than just an iconic chocolate. It’s a symbol of Turin, and a big part of the city’s identity. The Gianduiotto or Giandujotto is a typical Italian chocolate from Piedmont immediately recognizable by its famous upturned boat shape. For those who prefer their chocolate in a Nutella-style spread, gianduiotto has its own version, “crema spalmabile di Gianduja,” with a slightly granular texture that tastes wonderful on bread.Gianduiotti are produced from a paste of sugar, cocoa and hazelnut Tonda Gentile delle Langhe. The official "birth" of gianduiotti was in 1852 in Turin, by Pierre Paul Caffarel and Michele Prochet, the first to completely grind hazelnuts into a paste before adding them to the cocoa and sugar mix. [1] Gianduiotto is now a specific chocolate type alongside dark, white, and milk chocolate,” says Castagna.
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