As the sign in the photo above says, Che Mondo Sarebbe Senza Nutella, What Kind of World Would This Be Without Nutella? Good question indeed... I’m very very excited about Nutella today. First of all, because Nutella, that delicious chocolate/hazelnut spread from Italy, now has its very own holiday. True. Thanks to bloggers Michelle at Bleeding Espresso, www.bleedingespresso.com, and Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy, www.msadventuresinitaly.com, who together started it all two years ago, today, February 5, will mark the third annual celebration of WORLD NUTELLA DAY! Second, I’m proud to say that I'm participating in the World Nutella Day celebration, by submitting this post. And third, this is especially exciting to me because Nutella happens to be from right here, in Piemonte.

Yes, folks, it all started right here, in Alba, Piemonte, in the 1940s, when cocoa was in short supply due to WWII rationing. An innovative pastry maker, Pietro Ferrero, (and let’s assume he was also a chocoholic), devised a way to use the plentiful hazelnuts in the Piemonte area to blend with the available amount of chocolate. The first version he created, called Pasta Gianduja, was thicker and heavier than now, formed into a loaf that could be sliced. It seems there was a bit of resistance to this first product; mothers discovered their bambini would eat only the slices of chocolate, and not the bread or pasta it was served with. Innovative Pietro made a creamier version, one that would have to be spread onto bread. He called it Supercrema Gianduja. It wasn’t until 1964 that it was renamed Nutella, for “Nut”, and “ella”, a soft Italian ending.

Good job Pietro… Nutella is now available in more than 75 countries and outsells all brands of peanut butter in the world combined. Che mondo sarebbe senza Nutella? Let's not even think about it!