This Grandma is always surprised at some national day selections and was surprised that there was a National Nutella Day. I was wrong. The celebration, this year 2020, is February 5, and the day is actually World Nutella Day.
For those of you who do not know what Nutella is, even if you have noticed the jar on the supermarket shelves, Wikipedia does a good job of explaining, except for the use of the word, “iteration” which means the first repetition of the process.
“Nutella is a brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was first introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. . . .The product that became Nutella was created by an Italian bakery owner called Pietro Ferrero in the 1940s.”
I was introduced to Nutella over three decades ago by our eldest daughter, who returned from Europe with it. She found it overseas and loved it. The “World” part of World Nutella Day is understandable. Since then, our children and now our grandchildren have been eating Nutella. Do not think that Nutella is anything but a sweet treat, like a thick chocolate and hazelnut flavored topping to put on anything. Nutella has lots of calories, lots of fat, and lots of sugar. As a parent, I cared when and how often our children ate Nutella. As a grandparent, I say bring on the Nutella.
The story of how the celebration of Nutella, with its own special worldwide day, was created is one our grandchildren can relate to. An internet blogger, Sara Rosso, a tremendous fan of Nutella, created World Nutella Day on February 5, 2007. She did this on her own, her own creation. The amount of recipes that were shared by worldwide Nutella fans through Sara Rosso’s efforts is enormous and has been preserved by another blogger. Why? Because, according to the second blogger who preserved everything that Sara Rosso compiled, the company that produces Nutella, Ferraro, told Sara Rosso to cease and desist continuing her passion. You can read all about it in the Huffington Post article by Rachel Tepper, May 22, 2013, “Sara Rosso, Nutella Superfan, Gets Cease-And-Desist Letter From Ferrero Over ‘World Nutella Day’”
There is even a video that accompanies the article.
Back to the second blogger who says she preserved every recipe that was previously shared before Sara Rosso had to stop the World Nutella Day celebration she created. Here is a link to more Nutella recipes than one might think existed in the world.
In 2015, Ferraro, the company that produces Nutella, took over World Nutella Day and the website to continue to grow hat is a Nutella fan club.
The fun part is what comes next. We can make homemade Nutella with our grandchildren. The recipe calls for roasting and peeling your own hazelnuts. This Grandma, who makes reservations and likes everything simple and easy especially when doing it with grandchildren, says buy roasted hazelnuts. You can find them at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or buy on Amazon. If you are one to do everything from scratch, then use the recipe on line which has directions on how to roast and peel hazelnuts.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
5 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons confectionery sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, stirring every 5.
Blend hazelnuts in a food processor or blender until they form a thick, smooth paste. This should take approximately 5 minutes. It will be crumbly at first but the crumbs will begin to come together to form a butter. Add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and extract. Continue to blend until smooth (approximately 1 to 2 minutes).
Melt together chocolates and heavy cream in a double boiler, until a smooth whipped filling, a ganache, forms. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Once the whipped filling has cooled slightly, add it to the food processor or blender and blend until just combined (around 15 seconds). Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. (The nutella will firm up slightly in the fridge, so let it sit out at room temp for approximately 30 minutes to soften the consistency.)
If you want a simple recipe for cookies made with Nutella and only three other ingredients (almond flour, egg, and baking powder) or four ingredients (adding chocolate chips), just make flourless nutella cookies, and not worry about prebaking regular flour. You can find the recipe on line.
Introduce Nutella to your grandchildren on or around World Nutella Day. They will love it. On everything.
Joy,
Mema
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