Nutella facts for kids
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A jar of Nutella and bread with Nutella spread
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| Owner | Ferrero SpA |
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| Introduced | 1964 |
Nutella is a very popular, sweet spread. It is made from hazelnuts and cocoa. The Italian company Ferrero makes Nutella. It was first introduced in 1964.
Contents
History of Nutella
Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, a town in Italy. Alba is famous for growing hazelnuts. In 1946, Pietro Ferrero made a new spread called Pasta Gianduja. It was inspired by a traditional Italian chocolate called gianduja.
At first, Pasta Gianduja was sold as a solid block. Later, in 1951, Ferrero started selling a creamy version. He called it Supercrema gianduja.
In 1963, Pietro's son, Michele Ferrero, decided to improve Supercrema gianduja. He wanted to sell it all over Europe. So, he changed the recipe and renamed it "Nutella". The very first jar of Nutella left the factory in Alba on April 20, 1964. It quickly became very popular and is still loved by many people today.
In 2012, there was talk in France about a new tax. It would have increased the tax on palm oil. Palm oil is a main ingredient in Nutella. Because of this, the media called it "the Nutella tax".
On May 14, 2014, the Italian postal service, Poste Italiane, released a special stamp. It celebrated Nutella's 50th anniversary. The stamp showed a jar of Nutella on a golden background. Ferrero also held a special "Nutella Day" event to celebrate.
What is Nutella Made Of?
The main ingredients in Nutella are sugar and palm oil. These two make up more than half of the spread. Nutella also has hazelnuts (about 13%), cocoa, and skimmed milk. In some countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, it also contains soy products.
Nutella is often called "hazelnut cream" in many places. However, Italian law says it cannot be called "chocolate cream". This is because it does not have enough cocoa to meet the rules for chocolate cream. Ferrero uses a lot of the world's hazelnuts. But not all of them go into Nutella.
In 2017, the company changed the recipe a little bit. They added more sugar and skimmed milk powder. Some people noticed the color of Nutella looked lighter. This made them think there might be less cocoa too. Many fans were upset about this change.
The original Italian recipe that inspired Nutella, called gianduja, was mostly hazelnut paste. It had about 71.5% hazelnut paste and 19.5% chocolate. Nutella was created in Italy after World War II. At that time, cocoa beans were hard to get. So, they used more hazelnuts instead.
Nutritional Information
| Place of origin | Italy |
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| Main ingredients | Sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa solids, milk powder |
| 80 (15 g serving) kcal |
Nutella contains a good amount of sugar and fat. About 10.4% of it is saturated fat. Also, 58% of Nutella by weight is processed sugar.
A serving of about two tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella has 200 calories. Out of these, 99 calories come from 11 grams of fat. About 3.5 grams of that fat are saturated. Another 80 calories come from 21 grams of sugar. This serving also has 15 milligrams of sodium and 2 grams of protein.
Where is Nutella Produced?
Nutella is made in many different factories around the world. For North America, it is made in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. It is also made in San José Iturbide, Mexico.
For Australia and New Zealand, Nutella has been made in Lithgow, New South Wales, since the late 1970s.
In Italy, two of Ferrero's four factories make Nutella. These are in Alba and Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi. There is also a factory in Villers-Écalles, France. For Eastern Europe and South Africa, Nutella is made in Warsaw and Manisa. For Germany and northern Europe, it is made at the Ferrero factory in Stadtallendorf. Nutella is also made in Vladimir, Russia, and in Poços de Caldas, Brazil. Some of the Nutella made in Brazil is sent to other countries. It is also made in Turkey and sent to places like India.
In 2013, about 350,000 tonnes of Nutella were made around the world.
How Nutella is Made
Nutella is a chocolate and hazelnut spread. But it is mostly made of sugar and palm oil. The way it is made is similar to how other chocolate spreads are produced. Nutella uses sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin.
The process starts with getting cocoa powder from cocoa beans. Cocoa beans are dried for about ten days after they are picked. Then they are shipped to the factory. Cocoa beans have about 50% cocoa butter. They are roasted to turn them into a liquid. This liquid is then pressed to squeeze out the cocoa butter. The leftover part becomes solid discs of pure cocoa. The cocoa butter is used for other products.
Next, the hazelnuts arrive at the factory. They are checked to make sure they are good quality. A special machine cuts them to check inside. Then, the hazelnuts are cleaned and roasted. A computer uses air to remove any bad nuts. This helps make sure every jar of Nutella tastes and looks the same. The company says there are about 50 hazelnuts in each jar of Nutella.
The cocoa powder, hazelnuts, sugar, vanillin, and skim milk are all mixed together in a big tank. They become a thick, paste-like spread. Modified palm oil is added next. This oil helps Nutella stay solid at room temperature. It takes the place of the cocoa butter that was removed earlier.
Whey powder is added to help bind the paste together. It stops the product from separating. Lecithin, a type of fatty substance, is also added. It helps all the ingredients mix smoothly and keeps the spread from separating. Vanillin is added to make the chocolate taste sweeter. Finally, the finished Nutella is put into jars.
Storing Nutella
The label on Nutella says you do not need to keep it in the refrigerator. This is because the large amount of sugar in Nutella acts like a preservative. It stops tiny living things (microorganisms) from growing. The sugar does this by holding onto the water in the spread. This means the microorganisms cannot use the water to grow.
If you put Nutella in the fridge, it will get hard. This is because of the fats from the hazelnuts. When nut fats get cold, they become too hard to spread. Hazelnuts have a lot of monounsaturated fat. This type of fat is liquid at room temperature but gets solid when it's cold. Keeping Nutella at room temperature makes it smooth and easy to spread.
The palm oil in Nutella also does not need refrigeration. It has a lot of saturated fat and does not go bad easily. The other ingredients, like cocoa, skimmed milk powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin, also do not need to be refrigerated.
Lawsuit About Advertising
In the United States, the company Ferrero faced a class action lawsuit. This happened because of how they advertised Nutella. Some people felt that the ads made it seem like Nutella had more health benefits than it really did. For example, ads said Nutella was "part of a nutritious breakfast."
In April 2012, Ferrero agreed to a settlement. They paid $3 million. Customers could get up to $4 back for each jar, for up to five jars. The settlement also required Ferrero to change how they labeled and advertised Nutella. This included their TV commercials and website.
See also
- List of brand name condiments
- Ferrero Rocher
- Nocilla
- Nudossi
- Nutellagate
Images for kids
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Palm oil is a main ingredient in Nutella.
