Bittersweet

You are no doubt familiar with Nutella, the obsessively good chocolate-hazelnut spread that has inspired a legion of followers so great that it now has its own feast day, World Nutella Day – celebrated on February 5th. Wonderful spread on bread, pressed between cookies or simply licked off a spoon dipped into the jar (Try it with peanut butter, you won’t be disappointed), Nutella is a the best known example of Italian Gianduja.

Gianduja (pronounced zahn-DOO-yah) is one of Italy’s Piedmont region’s most famous creations. In 1861, the Italian government increased the tax on cocoa beans, threatening the chocolatiers livlihood. The resourceful Torino chocolatiers responded to this outrage by experimenting with adding new ingredients in their chocolate to replace some of the chocolate mass. When hazelnuts were ground into a paste and added to the liquid chocolate, the chocolatiers knew they had stumbled upon something wonderful. Gianduja was born and there was much rejoycing in the Italian countryside.

Today’s Gianduja, a combination of hazelnut paste and milk chocolate  is one of Piedmont’s signature products, and is used in pralines, chocolate bars and is sold as Nutella and it’s many competitors.

The proper way to enjoy Gianduja is to put it into your mouth and simply let it melt across your tongue. As it warms and melts, the rich flavor of toasted hazelnuts fills your senses and send your thoughts skipping back to childhood and warm summer days.

So when I found Vosges Haut-Chocolat Gianduja Bar and read the description, Nuances of roasted and carmelized hazelnuts fill your palate followed by a crunch of chopped almonds and a long lingering creamy finish,  I was hooked. Doesn’t the description sound lovely? I contemplated Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s talent to paint mental pictures that make all of your senses stand up and take notice. 

As I unwrapped the Gianduja Bar, the earthy aroma of Nutella filled the room. Sweet chocolate and toasted hazelnuts swirled around me. I think I might have drooled a little bit (Sorry). At first glance, the bar is nothing special – light brown with a matte finish, that made a soft crack as I broke off a piece. The package speaks of “almonds, carmelized hazelnuts and deep milk chocolate”, so I was expecting pieces of almond and hazelnut, maybe a little bit salty, enrobed in a bed of sweet milk chocolate.   

So I was suprised when I put a small piece into my mouth and let it melt. As the chocolate slid over my tongue, I noticed that the bar isn’t sweet the way many milk chocolates can be. Instead it’s subtle, but aromatic and fragrant – the hazelnuts are the paste in the chocolate (the Gianduja), not distracting chunks in the bar. 

The way it feels in your mouth as it melts is almost more remarkable than the taste. It’s silky, with a creamy texture that begs you not to bite into it. As it melts away, you are left with a lingering sense of creaminess and a bit of almondy bitterness. 

Overall, a terrific surprise. If Nutella grew up and became an elegant chocolate bar, this would be it. It’s well worth the money.   

***********************************************

Vosges Haut-Chocolat Gianduja Bar: Almonds, Carmelized hazelnuts and deep milk chocolate         

      Cost: .5oz MiniBar- $2.00 3oz Bar- $5.99

Available online from Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Tags:

This entry was posted by Chelly on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 2:13 pm and is filed under Milk Chocolate, Nuts, Vosges Haut-Chocolat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.