By Isla Quinn
Gold foil. A smooth trapezoid. Cocoa, sugar and ground hazelnut, nothing more complicated than that. Gianduiotto is Turin’s chocolate, and its story carries two dates, 1852 and 1865.
Cocoa ran short
Gambero Rosso, the Italian food magazine, ties the hazelnut to the Continental Blockade that Bonaparte imposed on 21 November 1806, which cut Piedmont off from colonial goods such as cocoa. The Opportunitaly website, run by the Italian government, says Turin chocolatiers began blending cocoa with ground hazelnuts in the early 1800s when the blockade made cocoa scarce and expensive. Hazelnuts grew nearby. Cocoa did not.
One chocolate, two dates
- 1852. Gambero Rosso says Michele Prochet and a Caffarel patented the new recipe that year. The Museo del Marchio Italiano says the Caffarel factory introduced a chocolate blending cocoa, sugar and Piedmontese hazelnuts in 1852. Gambero Rosso adds that no written record shows who first made hazelnut paste.
- 1865. The Museo del Marchio Italiano says the chocolate was named gianduiotto and shown at the Turin Carnival that year. Opportunitaly gives 1865 for the Carnival presentation and names Prochet as the artisan who refined the blend. Italia.it says Prochet created it in 1865 and calls it the first wrapped chocolate. Gambero Rosso dates the “christening” to 1865, when Caffarel began shaping the chocolates into an upturned boat wrapped in gold foil.
Read in order, the sources describe a recipe in 1852 and a name and public launch in 1865.
A puppet in a tricorn hat
The name comes from Gianduja, the Piedmontese Carnival mask, whom the Museo del Marchio Italiano calls the godfather of the name. Gambero Rosso says the upturned-boat shape imitates the brim of the tricorn hat he wears. Italia.it says the chocolate was first sold for Carnival. Opportunitaly describes the shape as trapezoidal and ingot-like, cut from blocks of gianduia paste.
What the rules say
There is a legal definition of gianduja chocolate. Directive 2000/36/EC on cocoa and chocolate products, published on EUR-Lex, sets finely ground hazelnut at 20 to 40 per cent of gianduja chocolate, or 15 to 40 per cent for gianduja milk chocolate, with a minimum of 32 per cent total dry cocoa solids, at least 8 per cent of them dry non-fat cocoa solids, for gianduja chocolate. None of the pages we read mentions a protected geographical indication for gianduiotto itself, and we could not confirm whether one exists.
The nut
The hazelnut has a protected name of its own. The consortium for Nocciola Piemonte IGP says the variety is Tonda Gentile Trilobata, recognised by Ministerial Decree of 2 December 1993, grown mainly in the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato hills. It lists the traits confectioners like: a spherical kernel, strong aroma after roasting, easy peeling and good shelf life. Italia.it and Gambero Rosso both say the gianduiotto uses Tonda Gentile hazelnuts from the Langhe.
Turin and its cocoa
Italia.it says Turin holds a chocolate festival, CioccolaTo. We give no date, because dates change each year and the page gives none.
Dates in order
- 21 November 1806: the Continental Blockade, according to Gambero Rosso.
- 1852: the recipe patented, according to Gambero Rosso; the chocolate introduced, according to the Museo del Marchio Italiano.
- 1865: named gianduiotto and presented at the Turin Carnival, according to the Museo del Marchio Italiano, Italia.it and Opportunitaly.
- 1993: Tonda Gentile Trilobata recognised by ministerial decree, according to the hazelnut consortium.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is it all hazelnut? No. Directive 2000/36/EC allows 20 to 40 per cent hazelnut in gianduja chocolate, with cocoa and sugar making up the rest. Is “Piedmont hazelnut” the same as “Langhe hazelnut”? Not quite: the consortium lists the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato hills, while Italia.it and Gambero Rosso name the Langhe. Read the ingredient list for the hazelnut and the cocoa.
What kind of sources these are
Gambero Rosso (Italian food magazine), the Museo del Marchio Italiano, Opportunitaly (Italian government promotion site), Italia.it (national tourism board), Directive 2000/36/EC on EUR-Lex and the hazelnut consortium (producers’ body, promotional).
What we left out
Brand histories, shop addresses, cremino and other Turin sweets beyond a mention, nutrition, and prices. The Nutella story on the tourism page was left out.
Quick answers
Why is it called gianduiotto? After Gianduja, the Piedmontese Carnival mask, according to the Museo del Marchio Italiano; Gambero Rosso says the shape echoes the brim of his tricorn hat.
What is in gianduja? Cocoa, sugar and ground hazelnut. Directive 2000/36/EC requires 20 to 40 per cent hazelnut in gianduja chocolate, or 15 to 40 per cent in milk versions.
When was gianduiotto invented? Gambero Rosso says the recipe was patented in 1852. The Museo del Marchio Italiano and Opportunitaly place the name and the Turin Carnival presentation in 1865.
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Roam first. Shop later.