THE IMPACT OF THE HAZELNUT CROP DECLINE IN ITALY

Gianduja is in trouble.

Gianduja is two things in the Italian chocolate world:

1. A Chocolate Confection: It is a sweet, smooth paste made from chocolate and at least 30% hazelnut paste (often combined with sugar).

• It originated in Turin, Piedmont (a region famous for its hazelnuts) in the early 19th century.

• The combination was an ingenious solution by local chocolatiers who were facing a shortage of cocoa due to a Napoleonic blockade, so they stretched their limited cocoa supply by mixing it with the abundant local hazelnuts.

• Gianduja is used to make chocolate bars, creamy fillings for truffles, spreads (like the ancestor of Nutella), and the famous boat-shaped, individually-wrapped chocolates called Gianduiotti.

2. A Character: The confection is named after Gianduja (pronounced jan-DOO-yah), a cheerful, wine-loving peasant character from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte (a form of theater), who became the official carnival mask and symbol of Turin.

Every time I’ve entered the labs of Italian chocolatiers for the past 3 months, it didn’t take longer than 1 hour to get into the “hazelnut crisis” topic 🌰 ⚠️ 

So I did my research.

For the 3rd consecutive year, Italy has seen a collapse in hazelnut production, with record losses up to 60% spanning across all the most productive regions (Piemonte, Lazio, Campania and Sicilia).

Hazelnuts are sadly on track to become more a luxury product than the everyday ingredient that Italian chocolatiers were used to taking for granted.

The usual suspects are:

🌦️ climate change

🌳 intensive farming

📉 old underperfoming trees

☢️ pests

🪰 destructive bugs

🌱 soil exploitation

💲 quantity over quality goals

Since July, the weird recurring drop of unripe, empty or damaged fruits with no good hazelnuts inside was already the prelude of the disappointing harvest that would manifest in September.

Major hazelnut producers in Italy have already anticipated doubling their prices for the new harvest.

Italian chocolatiers will be soon forced to raise prices on chocolate spreads, pralines and hazelnut inclusions, find substitutes like almonds and peanuts, or buy hazelnuts from other countries (Turkey, USA, Chile).

Gianduja (or Gianduia) is a delicious, creamy blend of chocolate and at least 30% hazelnut paste. It originated in Turin, Italy, in the Piedmont region, which is famous for its hazelnuts.  

Here is some key information about Gianduja:

• Composition: It's a smooth, homogeneous paste made from cocoa, sugar, and finely ground hazelnuts, giving it a distinctive rich, nutty flavor and silky texture.  

• History: The creation of Gianduja is generally traced back to the early 19th century (around 1806) in Turin. Due to the high cost and scarcity of imported cocoa caused by the Continental System (Napoleon's blockade on British goods), local chocolatiers started mixing their limited cocoa supply with the abundant, high-quality local hazelnuts (Tonda Gentile delle Langhe) to stretch their product.  

• Forms:

• It is often consumed in the form of Gianduja chocolate bars or spreads.  

• The most famous individual confection is the Gianduiotto (a small, individually-wrapped, boat-shaped chocolate), which was officially launched in 1865.  

• Pronunciation: It is pronounced roughly as "jahn-DOO-yah."

• Famous Brands: Several Italian brands are known for high-quality Gianduja, including Venchi, Domori, Guido Gobino, and Caffarel.  

The iconic taste and texture of Gianduja is a direct result of using a high percentage of hazelnut paste blended with chocolate, and it is a popular ingredient in other pastries, truffles, and spreads (it is the precursor to Nutella).