How Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Is Made

The food manufacturing channel The Process looked at how Nutella is made, noting how the first ingredient is not chocolate or even hazelnuts, but sugar. And while Nutella is modeled after the Italian delicacy of gianduja, it does not remain true to its decadent roots.

In Italy, where Nutella was invented, it cannot legally be called “chocolate cream” because it doesn’t contain enough cocoa. The original recipe — gianduja — was 70% hazelnut. Nutella is 13%. The name stayed. The ratio didn’t.

The narrator also discusses the chemical process that gives Nutella its distinctive texture, as well as the product’s legal issues.

hazelnuts are roasted at 140°C to create flavor through the Maillard reaction, why palm oil melts at body temperature (and why that matters for texture), why Ferrero settled a $3M class-action lawsuit over breakfast marketing, and what to look for on any jar that calls itself “hazelnut spread.”

Nutella, which remains popular despite all its issues, even made an appearance in space during the Artemis II mission orbiting around the moon.