In honor of this unculent*, exquisite, spreadable joy-in-a-jar, I will offer this brief history of Nutella:

Nutella spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing.

So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.

See earlier posts for homemade Nutella and Nutella Poptarts (adapted from King Arthur Flour).

*Unculent: Origination, Val Lombardo of delectablediction.com; verb; of particular sensational taste; a step beyond scrumptuous; of delicate, palatable consistency. Excessively smooth, almost illegal, immoral. (If Rachel Ray can coin “Yummo”, I can coin Unculent!)

Eat well, hug often, love deeply ~ happy week before Valentine’s Day! v