Wednesday is for Wow, I Love Food

Nutty for Nutella

I don't spend much on furniture, clothes, or accessories. But I will fork out the bucks when it comes to food (within reason, of course). That's why I was skeptical when my husband Rick came home with the Kroger version of Nutella instead of the real deal when I sent him to the store. 

"It was a dollar cheaper than the other stuff," he told me as he pulled it out of the grocery sack. "I read the ingredients and they're the same. So I figured it couldn't hurt to try."

Rick set the new jar on the table as well as the tablespoon or so we had left in an old Nutella jar. We began to eat, spreading the Nutella imposter on freshly made crepes. Rick was the first to take a bite. "Huh," he said while chewing slowly. "This is actually better than Nutella." 

I couldn't help but pick up the two jars to examine them both. Both versions do have the same ingredients, save a small difference in lecithin, whatever that is. But having no evidence that the ingredients themselves were equal in quality, I remained dubious. I sniffed each jar. The Kroger version certainly smelled nuttier. And when I finally had a taste, I had to admit Kroger's "Hazelnut Spread" beats Nutella by a mile. It was like the difference between frosting made with shortening versus frosting made with butter. You can always tell which is which by the complexity of the flavor. This came as a shock to me, a professed European-stuff-tastes-better-than-American food snob. I mean, even if I read about French food I start to salivate. Reading a McDonald's menu just doesn't have the same effect.  

I sat with both jars in front of me, savoring the chocolaty, nutty, silky sweetness of the Kroger hazelnut spread. Examining the labels closer, I noticed that our jar of Nutella, which its maker Ferrero touts as "the original creamy, chocolaty hazelnut spread" was made in Canada. "Hey!" I told the family in an outrage. "This stuff isn't European--it's not even made in Italy." 

I felt like we'd been ripped off all these years, smacking our lips over what we thought was a gen-u-wine product made by exuberant Italians way across the sea. But no. We'd been chowing down on nuts ground by people who speak English just like us, aside from a few elongated vowels here and there. How pedestrian. How North American. How disappointing.  

We looked at the Kroger jar, expecting to see that it was made in China or Mexico. To our surprise, we found  "PRODUCT OF ITALY" printed in tiny capital letters on the back. That's when everyone had seconds, taking great slabs of the Kroger stuff to put on our crepes. Though far less exciting to say than Ferrero, Kroger does have a superior, authentically Italian product in their Hazelnut Spread. I give it five stars for taste and value. Buon Appetito! 

Comments

[allison]

Did you know there's also a version at World Market? They distribute it themselves, manufactured in holland, and just as yummy as the Kroger brand: 750g for $4.
I remembered this post when I found it yesterday. :)

[Susan Hayward]

Shelly, you can put Nutella on toast, make a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, eat it straight from the tub, whatever you want!

[Shelly T]

I have not yet become addicted to Nutella or any version thereof, but I am sure I could be easily persuaded, as our tastes seem to be the same. What else do you put it on?

[Susan Hayward]

Jana: Heavy sigh. Eating anything Europe is heavenly, especially the bread. I'm wondering, did the Nutella there taste different than here?

[Jana]

When we've traveled in Europe we often eat fresh bread with Nutella for at least one meal/day to save money. Yum! When we have it at home it makes me feel like we're traveling again. :)

[Susan Hayward]

Shannon: I've seen Nutella at Costco, but I've got an addict in my house who would eat it straight from the jar with a spoon as well. The Kroger brand is really better, I promise.

Macey's has a generic brand?

[Shannon]

I buy Nutella at Costco and it disappears pretty quickly around here (maybe because Livi eats it with a spoon).
Never, ever buy the generic brand at Macey's. It is SO nasty.

[shelby]

OH, HOW FUNNY! I always thought nutella was a french thing! (Either way, it is yummy on crepes, isn't it?)