May 8, 2019 • 31 mins
This chocolate-hazelnut spread has inspired a serious fandom around the world. Anney and Lauren dip into how wars spurred its creation and how popular it’s become.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm An Eeries and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum,
and today we're talking about Ntella. Yes, Natella, which I've
always said new Tella, and some people wrote in to
say I was mispronouncing it, but I also read in
other places that it is new Tella, So murder. I
(00:30):
think that in like common parlance, like either is acceptable.
Both will get your point across about what product you're discussing. Yes,
I think that is a fair assessment, Lauren, And either,
however you pronounce it. It is something that I love
and I heard tell of it when I was a kid,
and it was like this beautiful fantasy of mine that
(00:51):
one day I would get to Europe and I would
try it because I grew up in a really small town.
I'm sure it was available in the US, but it
wasn't a ailable where I was. Um, and so I
thought the only way to get to Europe, I need
to go to Europe mostly for the natilla. I guess
other stuff as well, but but the key is the natilla.
And um, yeah, I remember indulging in quite a bit
(01:14):
of it, and I don't have it so much anymore.
But my mom gives me those little mini nutella I'll see,
I'm switching back and forth between the pressenciations. That's great. Um,
she gives me those little SnackPacks every year for Christmas.
And the crepes, oh, natilla crepes, Oh my gosh. Yeah,
they're intensely delicious. Um. Uh. My. My grandmother when I
(01:37):
was growing up, when it was maybe like like early
teens or so, UM had some. She always had some
on hand and that was her like preferred breakfast, like
natella on toast. And I never argued with that that
was delicious. It would have been foolish, too foolish. But
all of this brings us to our question tella. What
(02:00):
is it? Well, Natella is a hazel nut butter with
added cocoa, milk, sugar, and oil, resulting in a sweet, creamy, rich, toasty,
gooey spread. The cravings have already kicked in. That's fantastic.
The name ntella is a combination of the English word
nut and the Spanish suffix for sweet ella. I have
(02:21):
seen some different opinions on that as well, but I
think something like this is accurate. Sure that sounds reasonable, Yes, Um,
nutrition wise, it is a treat for sure. I know
that there that there have been points in time at
which Ttella was like, we're a great breakfast. But uh
(02:43):
like if you shouldn't really take nutrition advice for me,
definitely don't take it for my grandmother. Uh. That's no
offense grandma. Um, she she, she, She'll steer you wrong
every time. Um. No, okay. So if you check the
Natila label, which lists ingredients in order of the greatest
percentage of total content to the least, as all nutritional
(03:06):
labels do here in the United States at any rate, um,
you'll notice that sugar and palm oil appear first. So
although hazelnuts and cocoa are the primary flavors and are,
unto themselves, pretty good for you. Uh yeah, Natola is
mostly just sugar and palm oil. Yeah, so uh those
are less good for you. Um. A serving is considered
(03:27):
a relatively reasonable to tablespoons that's about thirty seven grams
and contains a fifth of your daily recommended intake of
saturated fat. Um also twenty one grams of sugar, with
a comparatively minuscule amount of protein and fiber in their
two grams and one gram respectively. So although that fat
will fill you up temporarily, um, natola is not going
(03:49):
to keep you going. Um. In contrast, for example, your
average serving of peanut butter in the same amount might
have like three grams of sugar and eight grams of protein,
a lot a lot better of about one. Yeah, and
he's like peanut butter too, And yeah, you know, I mean,
treats are okay, Just be aware of their treats and
(04:11):
also mindful of your serving sizes. Absolutely always important. Yes, um,
brief kill joy corner here that we'll have to expand
upon in another episode. Palm oil is just hella problematic. Um.
Not because it's likely to cause cancer. That was a
really misreported pops Eye headline that got passed around pretty
extensively a few years back. Uh. No, that the issues
(04:33):
are largely environmental and worker rights related. The increased demand
for palm oil because it's trans fat free in the
processed food industry has led to really widespread rainforest deforestation
and unhealthy mono cropping, with a whole bunch of accusations
of human rights abuses and child labor along the way.
There is a movement toward and it has been since
(04:55):
I think two thousand four towards sustainable and humane production practices,
but only about nineteen percent of global palm oil production
is currently certified sustainable. However, Ferreiro, the company that owns Natella,
is a leading brand in making the switch. As of
they had switched entirely to sustainable palm oil and um,
(05:16):
and organizations like the World Wildlife Federation and green Peace
both say that they're doing great. Oh that's nice. So yeah,
so feel bad about palm oil and everything else, But
in terms of Naintella, you're doing Okay. You talked about
this a little bit on stuff they don't want you
to know, right, Yeah, yeah, I did. We were doing
an episode about Nestle, and Nestlee is one of the
(05:39):
large purchasers of palm oil for their processed food products,
and they are less good at that sustainability thing. So yeah,
and I know a listener wrote in who I believe
is involved somewhere somehow? You are, I remember. But about
the complexity of just all of the differ things that
(06:01):
palm oil is used for. Oh yeah, yeah, I mean
it's it's a great product. Is the problem is the problem? Yes?
But if you're concerned about this, there is a potential solution.
Oh yeah, you can also make your own natala at home. Um.
There's a pretty good sounding recipe up on splendid table
(06:21):
involving Yeah, just like hazelnuts, milk, chocolate and coca powder
and powdered sugar and alternate vegetable oil like canola. There
you go, There you go. If we look at some numbers,
Ntella is available in one d and sixty countries globally.
As of one jar is sold every two point five seconds.
Enough ntella was produced to go around the world one
(06:43):
point four times. The world consumes about three hundred and
sixty five thousand tons of ntella every year a ton
per a ton per day wow in the UK and
to tell us sells more than marmite. Yeah, Italian consume
an annual sixty million jars and there are eleven factories
(07:04):
around the world turning out this stuff. There are a
number of Natelea themed cafes also around the world. One
in Portugal has churros and sweet kebabs that are filled
with natella. Um. Also you can find sweet natle bobs
in the at the one in Palestine and yeah, they're
chiosks and shopping centers and food markets all around the world. Apparently,
(07:26):
for a while, Italian children who came to shops with
a slice of bread in Italy could get a free
smear of natella. It was called the smearing so fantastic
because it sounds kind of like horror movie esque. I
feel like any of the I n G word. Yeah,
horror movies have ruined, sure, and kind of a fun way,
(07:48):
but yeah, no, I mean the smearing like it sounds
so delightful. And yet and yet some McDonald's in Italy
sold a natla burger. It was a dessert, not like
a real burger. No meat was involved. It was this
little pastry that was made to look like a burger,
you know, like the top and bottom the golden brown
of a burger bun, and the middle layer colored this
(08:08):
rich brown, and it had a little pocket of oozy
ntella in the center. Um it was. It was about
the size of a slider and was called the Sweetie Connetella.
That sounds good, right, that sounds good. And two thousand, five,
seven thousand, eight hundred and fifty four people gathered in
Germany to earn the Guinness world record for largest continental
(08:29):
breakfast in honor of Ntella's fortieth anniversary, the bakfast largely
featured Natella yep, and until his death in MICHAELA Ferrero,
the son of Ntella inventor Pietro Ferrero, was believed to
be the richest man in Italy at twenty six point
eight billion dollars. Yeah. They also make those Ferrero Rochet chocolates. Yeah,
(08:54):
with the hazel lit in the center. Yeah. Yeah, what
my young child mind a fancy chocolate? Oh yeah, that
was like a big deal. I still think those are
pretty fancy. True, It's true. Um. The company is the
fourth largest in the chocolate confectionery market, making about eleven
billion dollars a year, and it's also the largest user
(09:16):
of hazel nuts in the world, using up to the
supply hazelnuts go into each seven graham jar on average. Wow. Yeah,
that is quite a few hazelnuts. And I've got a
I've got a little bit of history or recent history
about how that is becoming a problem. But we've got
(09:37):
more history before that, and even before that, we've got
a quick break for a word from our sponsor, and
we're back. Thank you sponsors. Yes, thank you. Tella itself
(09:57):
might be a recent tishue the element, but its roots
go way back to the Napoleonic Wars in eighteen o six.
What Yes, Napoleon was doing his best to win the
war by decimating British commerce with a devastating continental blockade.
Makes sense, okay. As part of this, the price of
chocolate sword too exorbitant heights, And just as a reminder,
(10:20):
record show, eating chocolate was a thing in Europe by
at least the mid seventeenth century. And you can see
our chocolate episode from more on that. Yeah, so people
were like Jones, ng for it. Yes, and Italian chocolate
teers on the boarder of France and Sweden, the Piedmont
region of Italy, where the finest chocolate in the world
was being made at the time, We're searching for a
solution to their chocolate woes, and they landed on adding
(10:43):
chopped hazel nuts to the mix to make the supply
last longer. And they named this paste John Doya, and
the paste was named after a character from an Italian comedy. Yeah,
a peasant with a three point hat. He goes around
on a donkey carrying a container called a Douya, probably
with wine in it. Okay, chocolate maybe, we don't know, Cocoa,
(11:06):
could have been anything. It was probably one. But eventually
the character evolved into a puppets. Yes, and at the
touring carnival these candies were handed out and people noticed
a resemblance of the candy shape to the three point hats. Yeah.
So these candies made with this paste and you can
(11:27):
find these John Dooya mask in the Piedmont region of Italy,
and the character featured heavily in the advertising. Four the
product that we're talking about, of whose history we're about
to get into, featured probably on there. Yeah. Worth noting
though some dispute this history and think that the combination
(11:47):
of chocolate and hazel nuts like in a piece happened
in France first and then you know, and then moved around. Yeah,
those kind of things mysteries of history. But if we
skip ahead, another war sparked more hazel lit spread innovation.
Ntella got its start in the nineteen forties and an
(12:09):
Italian baker named Piotro Ferreiro, faced with the chocolate shortage
due to World War Two, was looking for a cheaper alternative,
and hazel nuts were easy to find in the area,
and they were inexpensive, and with the addition of sugar
and a small amount of cocoa, he had a winner
on his hands. According to the version of the story
(12:30):
on the Italian Heritage website, a long forgotten jar of
cocoa butter was what went into this first iteration. And
whatever the case, it was up to five times cheaper
than chocolate. Yeah, it was pretty substantial. The story goes
Pietro had along been attempting to come up with a sweet,
inconvenient and cheap option for workers, an alternative to their
(12:52):
like cheese and tomato sandwiches. Um, and he took inspiration
from the still available John Doya to make a paste
called Postone, which is a pastry mesh of chocolate and hazelnut.
Several interviews, well no, I don't know if several, but
in interviews um his son said that Pietro's like it
(13:13):
was his destiny to invent this. He was determined to
invent it. Yeah. Also fun. When you look up the
history of Natella, it says you can think Hitler and
Napoleon for Natella. And I was like what and like
whole a little different, a little bit of a head
like an eye catching headline. But I guess at first
(13:35):
they sold this new product in a solid block that
could be sliced off in what was called pasta John Douya.
So it's kind of like a big block and it
was wrapped in aluminum. Okay, it kind of looks like
a bread move oh sure, sure, yeah, and just and
just just hunk a slice off. Yeah. But there was
a problem because children who loved it, um, they would
(13:57):
often remove it from in between the slice of bread
that their parents served it to them. Yes, exactly. So
Pho went back to the drawing board, and not too
long after that they offered a more familiar, spreadable version
called Super Grandma. And in ninety eight a river in Alba,
which is where the factory was located, overflowed and flooded
(14:19):
the facility and the one and twenty women working there
at the time or rescued from the roof. It took
three days to get all of the mud out, and
Pietro was involved in this effort. But some people think
that really stressed his heart and he died in nineteen
forty nine. Whether it was that or something else, but
the ownership of the company passed to his son Machayley.
(14:40):
The name Natella didn't come around until nineteen sixty four,
and that is the same year it was introduced into
the UK. And this was due to the efforts of Michael,
who improved the recipe and designed the jar. The iconic
jar um Nutella spread throughout year pretty quick clean, making
(15:00):
it to Germany by nineteen sixty five, in France by
nineteen sixty six. By nineteen seventy eight, not only could
most of Europe find utella, but it had made the
journey to Australia. Yeah, but why the name change? Oh?
I love this. I'm so in love with weird legal things.
I don't know why. Um. So they had to change
in the name from super crema due to the passage
(15:22):
of a nineteen sixty two law in Italy banning the
use of superlatives and products for consumers. Isn't that great? Great?
When trying to get to the heart of Nattella's popularity
in Italy, is often described as an affordable luxury, something
that felt unique and modern and fancy, but you could
still you could still afford to. Yeah, get a job.
(15:45):
The first jar of nutella um in the US at Restorn,
New York in nineteen eighty three. That kind of blows
my mind. In n Pereiro put together an exhibition in
the Carousel de Louver in Paris called Generation Atla, featuring
thirty years of art created by artists and their thirties.
I see what you did? Who had been inspired by
Breakfast of Natella. Oh wow? And in Natla sponsored the
(16:11):
Italian football team and a lot of people when I
was reading about Natilla, they said that this was a
very smart move because it made it seem and we're
going to talk about this a little bit more in
a second, but Natella did try to get away with
this whole healthy thing for a while. And someone it
was like, oh, the Italian football today, na Tella, look
(16:33):
at them in great shape. I can do it too,
if you run around as much as those players. Yeah,
that's it, if that's your job. A specialized Natella knife
becomes available in France and two thousand two. The snack
packs with Natella and those little bread sticks debuted in
two thousand and three, and then in in seven two
(16:58):
bloggers in Italy started were Natilla Day on February five,
a day to celebrate and enjoy the spread. You're supposed
to share your stories of Nutella, your pictures of new Tella.
Oh that's so nice. The company must have been so excited. Nope,
they they attempted to shut it down in but they
later changed your mind, Like, maybe this isn't a good
(17:19):
look for maybe if people want to celebrate a thing
that that's nice. Yeah. Yeah, Natella has super fans. That's
something else. I read a lot about ownership of world
Natilla day shifted to the company for a row. Um
two eight is also when Ntella found itself onto the
(17:40):
microscope for exaggerating its health benefits as the breakfast for children. Um,
there's a lot of walls and I won't go into them,
but yeah, they kind of got their wrist slapped a
little bit. Yeah. Yeah, there's still the jar that I
have in my own house still has a little a
little like like picture on the back. That's like part
of a healthy breakfast if you have a whole healthy bracte. Right,
(18:04):
I'm like, all right, sure, yeah, I guess that's true.
In two thousand twelve, a French proposed tax on palm oil,
one of Natella's primary ingredients, caused such an international uproar
that it became known as natal attack, and while it passed,
a coalition of conservative and communist members of the French
(18:27):
Senate defeated the social security budget it was a part of.
It was a big deal. I think it was called
like the Communist coalition. The Yeah, it's a whole thing.
I oh goodness, that's that. Knowing what I know about
palm oil, that's really upsetting all. I mean, I love
to tell it to but heck, yeah, we have more
(18:51):
intrigue though. In a parked van in Germany was robbed
of five tons of Natella worth about sixteen thousand euros
just about twenty dollars food. And then there's more and
more intrigue. Columbia University found itself at the center of
Ntella Gate, when an expose revealed almost six thousand dollars
(19:13):
a week went to Natella for the dining facilities for
the one pounds a day consumed by the students, and
this was partially because so many students were sneaking jars
back to their rooms. It does not surprise me at all.
It wasn't just that they were eating a lot. They
were eating a lot all the time and stealing and
(19:34):
and if you're worried someone might steal your Natella, never fear.
German designer Daniel Schoblock invented the Natella lock. What it's
pretty much what it sounds like. Um. It started out
as sort of a joke product. According to the inventor,
one of my friends was always getting worked up because
his children were stealing his Natella, so he invented a
(19:56):
lock that goes on top. Okay um. But he ended
up selling about a thousand of them, so apparently this
is a concern for at least a thousand people. Clearly
a problem. When a French supermarket chain dropped the price
of Natella by seventy a couple of years ago, it
caused a bit of a riot, like actually people fighting.
(20:19):
Everyone was stock pining, stockpiling Natella like there was no tomorrow.
And I remember this when I saw it in the news.
Remind me of Black Friday. Sure yeah, say yeah, like
like like elbows were thrown. Yes, and the chain actually
went under investigation for potentially violating French trade laws after that. Yeah,
don't don't undersell your Natella. No, no. In Ferreiro opened
(20:45):
its first and telecafe in Chicago and a second one
opened in late New York. And yes, these are officially
branded cafes devoted to Ntella. Like the decor is all
done in white with these accents of rich woods and
golds and cream and pops of red. The light fixtures
are shaped like hazel flowers. Um. I've seen photos of
(21:06):
what look like savory sandwiches from the past, but the
current menus are entirely sweets, like fruit pies with Natella
grilled banana bread topped with bananas and hazelnuts, and Natila
yogurt parfait with Chian hempseeds and fresh fruit, and Natla
Panzanella of pound cake and yogurt and berries and fresh
basil and Natela um a brioche uh gelato sandwich with Natella. Wow.
(21:32):
Um it honestly sounds completely overwhelming. That's all. Yeah, that's
all that going on. Yeah, the mini says in like
multiple places, like all of the blow items contained to
tell all right, well, um, Natella, which I should mention
here Natella does have the super fans and there there's
(21:55):
been um other companies like Hershey's has introduced their own
chocolate spread. But a lot of people who study this
kind of thing have said, like Natella has solidified this
kind of fandom. Um. Also, they've never revealed their recipe
and they've lost lawsuits rather than have it have to
reveal parts of what it is. But they change their
(22:19):
recipe in even though no one is entirely sure what's
going on in there. Their fans flipped out, okay, um yeah,
hashtag intelligate um anohing to delegate another intelligate Um. What
happened was this German consumer protection organization came out with
this report that the makeup of new jars of Natla
was different than that of old jars, UM, with more
(22:42):
powdered skim milk added and more sugar added than before. Um.
I mean, companies change recipes from time to time, and
they're not, you know, like legally obligated to tell you
about it really um, but yeah, yeah, it caused a
whole kerfuffle um here here in the States. UM. In
respond to the story, like reporters reached out to Ferreiro company. UM.
(23:03):
Natella told news outlets that they were fine tuning the
recipe over here as well, swapping in milk powder for
the previously used way powder. They seemed a little bit
defensive and and honestly quite surprised that all of this
was happening, probably a little fair. I was like when
(23:25):
I was going through it and reading comments from people
are so funny. It was like sweeter than before. It's
not a sweet Like everybody had something to say. Yeah.
I think the tweet that stuck with me was why
don't you just stick a mustache on the mona Lisa? Wow?
People love them Natella, they do, they do um and
(23:46):
uh yeah. The popularity of Natella and other hazelnut based
foods is causing something of a supply and demand issue.
Like candy, companies are predicting a shortage of hazelnuts within
the next five years if demand continues to increase, and
that's because of um. There's this fungal blight that's preventing
farmers from growing hazel nut trees in more areas, or
(24:09):
even in all of the areas that they used to grow.
Right now, it's down to like I think Oregon and
like one part of Turkey, and that's about it. Because
this blight has been for a century, people have been
trying to figure out how to get around it. Um,
and researchers are still working on it. And UM there's
one study. There's one program out of Rutgers University that
has been like the guys there have been working on
(24:29):
this for like twenty years and um, and they hope
that they have now developed trees as of that can
both produce good nuts and resist the blight. And they
have some of these trees out for like testing. Yeah, well,
I hope it. I hope it's successful. Yeah, absolutely, it's
It's really interesting, like like hazel nuts were added into
(24:52):
this chocolate stuff to make it cheaper, and now hazelnuts
are way more expensive than CaCO. So yeah, yeah, I mean,
you never know things are gonna go. Um. Oh gosh,
I'm had nattellan so long. I resisted eating any well
from the aforementioned jar while I was researching this. And
(25:16):
I'm very proud of myself. I have this weird thing
about um not trusting myself a snack. So, like I said,
like I said earlier, my mom gives me the snack
box every year, and this year, I um donated them
all to a friend of mine. And now I'm regretting
that decision. Well, yeah, maybe that's maybe Chandler still has
(25:38):
Oh I don't know, Oh, probably not. I don't think
she had them the next day. Probably not even that.
I'm like, Oh, it's Chandler peek behind the curtain. Yes
he is. He's one of our co workers, favorite producers. Uh,
he's always got a snack. Yes, he's a snacker. He is. Well. Um,
(26:02):
that about brings us to the end of this episode
on Natilla. It does, um, and it's going to bring
us to some listener mail. But first it's going to
bring us to one more quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsors, Yes,
(26:26):
thank you, And we're back with listener mail. Yeah. It's
a face I make. You can't see it, but it
was very dreamy I think about Natilla. Christina wrote just
made it Through Deviled Eggs, a tip I ran across
several years ago from Tricia Yearwood. Helps save you from
those wonky eggs with lopsided whites. A day or two
(26:50):
before you're going to make your eggs, flip them over
in the cartain or the whole carton if you're crazy
like that. It resenters the yoke for those perfect deviled eggs.
The trick remembering to do it and not want deviled
eggs to eat. Also, don't forget you've done it. I
will add. Also I mentioned my work habit of keeping
track of what kind of mold I find. The last
(27:11):
time I wrote, she did, and since then I've found
pink mold. I didn't know what came in pink most
exciting part of work in a while. My co workers
still think I'm strange. But you have to take your
fun where you can find it. And I can tell
you I am super excited that you found pink old.
I hope it's not some kind of like zombie thing
that's going to kill me, but sure, but it's exciting.
(27:32):
That's great. Yeah, I mean pink things are frequently exciting,
especially in nature, especially right. Yeah. Isn't that there a
whole thing about how pink is kind of rare nature?
It's not pink, it's some other color. Yeah, I think
I'm I think blue is relatively rare, like a good
true indigo. Um, flying squirrels, did you know glow pink
under UV light? That's amazing, they're they're underbellies. Yeah. Researchers
(27:57):
aren't sure why. Oh I love it. I love it.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Lauren, anytime, anytime.
Y'all can also find me on brain Stuff wherever fun
podcasts are found. The luck of the episode also tell
us kind of not intentional. Yeah no, hey, not not
(28:19):
a sponsored episode, just a subjective interest. Rachel wrote, Kiwi's
never turn up empty handed, and we call this bring
a plate. If you were ever told to bring a
plate to a party in New Zealand, make sure it
has food on it. Migrants often talk of the embarrassment
of assuming their host just does not have enough crockery.
I think, though, as controversial as the Pavlova, is that
(28:41):
the national dish of New Zealand is the handheld meat pie,
something you seriously miss out on in the United States.
You are so correct. You really cannot go past a
good steak and cheese pie. Every bakery, convenience store, cafe,
and gas station sells pies because they're small. We don't
say I love pie like you do in the US
about fruit pie. We say I love pies. Hearing it
(29:01):
in the singular is super weird for us. I think
if you ever ever tried to claim that the pie
was New Zealand or Auesie, it would be a war.
Not the affectionate pa banter, but complete lockdown of borders.
All right. Goodness, well I was nervous when we did
Pavlova and meat pies has been on our list for
(29:21):
a long time. Goodness, good to know, good to know
that there's okay. I mean I think that meat pies
belonged to everyone. Can we can? We can we agree on? That?
Is that anything we can agree on? Vegans and vegetarians
are like, no, that's true, that's true. Uh. The one
(29:42):
time that I got to hang out in England for
a week, I ate more than one meat pie per day.
Yeah oh yeah, like Australia New Zealand. Every time, I'm
just so part of me is upset and we don't
have this. Yeah yeah, there is a shop here in Atlanta.
Yeah yeah, there's also an Australian one. I can't rear
the name of it. Yes, yeah, there's an Australian bakery
(30:04):
up on. The only location left I think is upon
Marietta Square. If y'all, if y'all live in Atlanta, please
like google Ausie meat Pie Atlanta and go find it,
because holy heck, it's so good. Yeah. Oh, now I'm
just dreaming about meat We've gotten from Natila Meat What
an episode every always Sorry. Thanks to both of them
(30:26):
for writing in. If you would like to write to
as you can, Our email is hello at savor pod
dot com. We're also on social media. You can find
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do hope to hear from you. Savor is production of
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heart Radio, because the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you as
(30:46):
always to our superproducers Dylan Fagin and Andrew Howard. Thanks
to you for listening, and we hope that lots more
good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm An Eeries and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum,
and today we're talking about Ntella. Yes, Natella, which I've
always said new Tella, and some people wrote in to
say I was mispronouncing it, but I also read in
other places that it is new Tella, So murder. I
(00:30):
think that in like common parlance, like either is acceptable.
Both will get your point across about what product you're discussing. Yes,
I think that is a fair assessment, Lauren, And either,
however you pronounce it. It is something that I love
and I heard tell of it when I was a kid,
and it was like this beautiful fantasy of mine that
(00:51):
one day I would get to Europe and I would
try it because I grew up in a really small town.
I'm sure it was available in the US, but it
wasn't a ailable where I was. Um, and so I
thought the only way to get to Europe, I need
to go to Europe mostly for the natilla. I guess
other stuff as well, but but the key is the natilla.
And um, yeah, I remember indulging in quite a bit
(01:14):
of it, and I don't have it so much anymore.
But my mom gives me those little mini nutella I'll see,
I'm switching back and forth between the pressenciations. That's great. Um,
she gives me those little SnackPacks every year for Christmas.
And the crepes, oh, natilla crepes, Oh my gosh. Yeah,
they're intensely delicious. Um. Uh. My. My grandmother when I
(01:37):
was growing up, when it was maybe like like early
teens or so, UM had some. She always had some
on hand and that was her like preferred breakfast, like
natella on toast. And I never argued with that that
was delicious. It would have been foolish, too foolish. But
all of this brings us to our question tella. What
(02:00):
is it? Well, Natella is a hazel nut butter with
added cocoa, milk, sugar, and oil, resulting in a sweet, creamy, rich, toasty,
gooey spread. The cravings have already kicked in. That's fantastic.
The name ntella is a combination of the English word
nut and the Spanish suffix for sweet ella. I have
(02:21):
seen some different opinions on that as well, but I
think something like this is accurate. Sure that sounds reasonable, Yes, Um,
nutrition wise, it is a treat for sure. I know
that there that there have been points in time at
which Ttella was like, we're a great breakfast. But uh
(02:43):
like if you shouldn't really take nutrition advice for me,
definitely don't take it for my grandmother. Uh. That's no
offense grandma. Um, she she, she, She'll steer you wrong
every time. Um. No, okay. So if you check the
Natila label, which lists ingredients in order of the greatest
percentage of total content to the least, as all nutritional
(03:06):
labels do here in the United States at any rate, um,
you'll notice that sugar and palm oil appear first. So
although hazelnuts and cocoa are the primary flavors and are,
unto themselves, pretty good for you. Uh yeah, Natola is
mostly just sugar and palm oil. Yeah, so uh those
are less good for you. Um. A serving is considered
(03:27):
a relatively reasonable to tablespoons that's about thirty seven grams
and contains a fifth of your daily recommended intake of
saturated fat. Um also twenty one grams of sugar, with
a comparatively minuscule amount of protein and fiber in their
two grams and one gram respectively. So although that fat
will fill you up temporarily, um, natola is not going
(03:49):
to keep you going. Um. In contrast, for example, your
average serving of peanut butter in the same amount might
have like three grams of sugar and eight grams of protein,
a lot a lot better of about one. Yeah, and
he's like peanut butter too, And yeah, you know, I mean,
treats are okay, Just be aware of their treats and
(04:11):
also mindful of your serving sizes. Absolutely always important. Yes, um,
brief kill joy corner here that we'll have to expand
upon in another episode. Palm oil is just hella problematic. Um.
Not because it's likely to cause cancer. That was a
really misreported pops Eye headline that got passed around pretty
extensively a few years back. Uh. No, that the issues
(04:33):
are largely environmental and worker rights related. The increased demand
for palm oil because it's trans fat free in the
processed food industry has led to really widespread rainforest deforestation
and unhealthy mono cropping, with a whole bunch of accusations
of human rights abuses and child labor along the way.
There is a movement toward and it has been since
(04:55):
I think two thousand four towards sustainable and humane production practices,
but only about nineteen percent of global palm oil production
is currently certified sustainable. However, Ferreiro, the company that owns Natella,
is a leading brand in making the switch. As of
they had switched entirely to sustainable palm oil and um,
(05:16):
and organizations like the World Wildlife Federation and green Peace
both say that they're doing great. Oh that's nice. So yeah,
so feel bad about palm oil and everything else, But
in terms of Naintella, you're doing Okay. You talked about
this a little bit on stuff they don't want you
to know, right, Yeah, yeah, I did. We were doing
an episode about Nestle, and Nestlee is one of the
(05:39):
large purchasers of palm oil for their processed food products,
and they are less good at that sustainability thing. So yeah,
and I know a listener wrote in who I believe
is involved somewhere somehow? You are, I remember. But about
the complexity of just all of the differ things that
(06:01):
palm oil is used for. Oh yeah, yeah, I mean
it's it's a great product. Is the problem is the problem? Yes?
But if you're concerned about this, there is a potential solution.
Oh yeah, you can also make your own natala at home. Um.
There's a pretty good sounding recipe up on splendid table
(06:21):
involving Yeah, just like hazelnuts, milk, chocolate and coca powder
and powdered sugar and alternate vegetable oil like canola. There
you go, There you go. If we look at some numbers,
Ntella is available in one d and sixty countries globally.
As of one jar is sold every two point five seconds.
Enough ntella was produced to go around the world one
(06:43):
point four times. The world consumes about three hundred and
sixty five thousand tons of ntella every year a ton
per a ton per day wow in the UK and
to tell us sells more than marmite. Yeah, Italian consume
an annual sixty million jars and there are eleven factories
(07:04):
around the world turning out this stuff. There are a
number of Natelea themed cafes also around the world. One
in Portugal has churros and sweet kebabs that are filled
with natella. Um. Also you can find sweet natle bobs
in the at the one in Palestine and yeah, they're
chiosks and shopping centers and food markets all around the world. Apparently,
(07:26):
for a while, Italian children who came to shops with
a slice of bread in Italy could get a free
smear of natella. It was called the smearing so fantastic
because it sounds kind of like horror movie esque. I
feel like any of the I n G word. Yeah,
horror movies have ruined, sure, and kind of a fun way,
(07:48):
but yeah, no, I mean the smearing like it sounds
so delightful. And yet and yet some McDonald's in Italy
sold a natla burger. It was a dessert, not like
a real burger. No meat was involved. It was this
little pastry that was made to look like a burger,
you know, like the top and bottom the golden brown
of a burger bun, and the middle layer colored this
(08:08):
rich brown, and it had a little pocket of oozy
ntella in the center. Um it was. It was about
the size of a slider and was called the Sweetie Connetella.
That sounds good, right, that sounds good. And two thousand, five,
seven thousand, eight hundred and fifty four people gathered in
Germany to earn the Guinness world record for largest continental
(08:29):
breakfast in honor of Ntella's fortieth anniversary, the bakfast largely
featured Natella yep, and until his death in MICHAELA Ferrero,
the son of Ntella inventor Pietro Ferrero, was believed to
be the richest man in Italy at twenty six point
eight billion dollars. Yeah. They also make those Ferrero Rochet chocolates. Yeah,
(08:54):
with the hazel lit in the center. Yeah. Yeah, what
my young child mind a fancy chocolate? Oh yeah, that
was like a big deal. I still think those are
pretty fancy. True, It's true. Um. The company is the
fourth largest in the chocolate confectionery market, making about eleven
billion dollars a year, and it's also the largest user
(09:16):
of hazel nuts in the world, using up to the
supply hazelnuts go into each seven graham jar on average. Wow. Yeah,
that is quite a few hazelnuts. And I've got a
I've got a little bit of history or recent history
about how that is becoming a problem. But we've got
(09:37):
more history before that, and even before that, we've got
a quick break for a word from our sponsor, and
we're back. Thank you sponsors. Yes, thank you. Tella itself
(09:57):
might be a recent tishue the element, but its roots
go way back to the Napoleonic Wars in eighteen o six.
What Yes, Napoleon was doing his best to win the
war by decimating British commerce with a devastating continental blockade.
Makes sense, okay. As part of this, the price of
chocolate sword too exorbitant heights, And just as a reminder,
(10:20):
record show, eating chocolate was a thing in Europe by
at least the mid seventeenth century. And you can see
our chocolate episode from more on that. Yeah, so people
were like Jones, ng for it. Yes, and Italian chocolate
teers on the boarder of France and Sweden, the Piedmont
region of Italy, where the finest chocolate in the world
was being made at the time, We're searching for a
solution to their chocolate woes, and they landed on adding
(10:43):
chopped hazel nuts to the mix to make the supply
last longer. And they named this paste John Doya, and
the paste was named after a character from an Italian comedy. Yeah,
a peasant with a three point hat. He goes around
on a donkey carrying a container called a Douya, probably
with wine in it. Okay, chocolate maybe, we don't know, Cocoa,
(11:06):
could have been anything. It was probably one. But eventually
the character evolved into a puppets. Yes, and at the
touring carnival these candies were handed out and people noticed
a resemblance of the candy shape to the three point hats. Yeah.
So these candies made with this paste and you can
(11:27):
find these John Dooya mask in the Piedmont region of Italy,
and the character featured heavily in the advertising. Four the
product that we're talking about, of whose history we're about
to get into, featured probably on there. Yeah. Worth noting
though some dispute this history and think that the combination
(11:47):
of chocolate and hazel nuts like in a piece happened
in France first and then you know, and then moved around. Yeah,
those kind of things mysteries of history. But if we
skip ahead, another war sparked more hazel lit spread innovation.
Ntella got its start in the nineteen forties and an
(12:09):
Italian baker named Piotro Ferreiro, faced with the chocolate shortage
due to World War Two, was looking for a cheaper alternative,
and hazel nuts were easy to find in the area,
and they were inexpensive, and with the addition of sugar
and a small amount of cocoa, he had a winner
on his hands. According to the version of the story
(12:30):
on the Italian Heritage website, a long forgotten jar of
cocoa butter was what went into this first iteration. And
whatever the case, it was up to five times cheaper
than chocolate. Yeah, it was pretty substantial. The story goes
Pietro had along been attempting to come up with a sweet,
inconvenient and cheap option for workers, an alternative to their
(12:52):
like cheese and tomato sandwiches. Um, and he took inspiration
from the still available John Doya to make a paste
called Postone, which is a pastry mesh of chocolate and hazelnut.
Several interviews, well no, I don't know if several, but
in interviews um his son said that Pietro's like it
(13:13):
was his destiny to invent this. He was determined to
invent it. Yeah. Also fun. When you look up the
history of Natella, it says you can think Hitler and
Napoleon for Natella. And I was like what and like
whole a little different, a little bit of a head
like an eye catching headline. But I guess at first
(13:35):
they sold this new product in a solid block that
could be sliced off in what was called pasta John Douya.
So it's kind of like a big block and it
was wrapped in aluminum. Okay, it kind of looks like
a bread move oh sure, sure, yeah, and just and
just just hunk a slice off. Yeah. But there was
a problem because children who loved it, um, they would
(13:57):
often remove it from in between the slice of bread
that their parents served it to them. Yes, exactly. So
Pho went back to the drawing board, and not too
long after that they offered a more familiar, spreadable version
called Super Grandma. And in ninety eight a river in Alba,
which is where the factory was located, overflowed and flooded
(14:19):
the facility and the one and twenty women working there
at the time or rescued from the roof. It took
three days to get all of the mud out, and
Pietro was involved in this effort. But some people think
that really stressed his heart and he died in nineteen
forty nine. Whether it was that or something else, but
the ownership of the company passed to his son Machayley.
(14:40):
The name Natella didn't come around until nineteen sixty four,
and that is the same year it was introduced into
the UK. And this was due to the efforts of Michael,
who improved the recipe and designed the jar. The iconic
jar um Nutella spread throughout year pretty quick clean, making
(15:00):
it to Germany by nineteen sixty five, in France by
nineteen sixty six. By nineteen seventy eight, not only could
most of Europe find utella, but it had made the
journey to Australia. Yeah, but why the name change? Oh?
I love this. I'm so in love with weird legal things.
I don't know why. Um. So they had to change
in the name from super crema due to the passage
(15:22):
of a nineteen sixty two law in Italy banning the
use of superlatives and products for consumers. Isn't that great? Great?
When trying to get to the heart of Nattella's popularity
in Italy, is often described as an affordable luxury, something
that felt unique and modern and fancy, but you could
still you could still afford to. Yeah, get a job.
(15:45):
The first jar of nutella um in the US at Restorn,
New York in nineteen eighty three. That kind of blows
my mind. In n Pereiro put together an exhibition in
the Carousel de Louver in Paris called Generation Atla, featuring
thirty years of art created by artists and their thirties.
I see what you did? Who had been inspired by
Breakfast of Natella. Oh wow? And in Natla sponsored the
(16:11):
Italian football team and a lot of people when I
was reading about Natilla, they said that this was a
very smart move because it made it seem and we're
going to talk about this a little bit more in
a second, but Natella did try to get away with
this whole healthy thing for a while. And someone it
was like, oh, the Italian football today, na Tella, look
(16:33):
at them in great shape. I can do it too,
if you run around as much as those players. Yeah,
that's it, if that's your job. A specialized Natella knife
becomes available in France and two thousand two. The snack
packs with Natella and those little bread sticks debuted in
two thousand and three, and then in in seven two
(16:58):
bloggers in Italy started were Natilla Day on February five,
a day to celebrate and enjoy the spread. You're supposed
to share your stories of Nutella, your pictures of new Tella.
Oh that's so nice. The company must have been so excited. Nope,
they they attempted to shut it down in but they
later changed your mind, Like, maybe this isn't a good
(17:19):
look for maybe if people want to celebrate a thing
that that's nice. Yeah. Yeah, Natella has super fans. That's
something else. I read a lot about ownership of world
Natilla day shifted to the company for a row. Um
two eight is also when Ntella found itself onto the
(17:40):
microscope for exaggerating its health benefits as the breakfast for children. Um,
there's a lot of walls and I won't go into them,
but yeah, they kind of got their wrist slapped a
little bit. Yeah. Yeah, there's still the jar that I
have in my own house still has a little a
little like like picture on the back. That's like part
of a healthy breakfast if you have a whole healthy bracte. Right,
(18:04):
I'm like, all right, sure, yeah, I guess that's true.
In two thousand twelve, a French proposed tax on palm oil,
one of Natella's primary ingredients, caused such an international uproar
that it became known as natal attack, and while it passed,
a coalition of conservative and communist members of the French
(18:27):
Senate defeated the social security budget it was a part of.
It was a big deal. I think it was called
like the Communist coalition. The Yeah, it's a whole thing.
I oh goodness, that's that. Knowing what I know about
palm oil, that's really upsetting all. I mean, I love
to tell it to but heck, yeah, we have more
(18:51):
intrigue though. In a parked van in Germany was robbed
of five tons of Natella worth about sixteen thousand euros
just about twenty dollars food. And then there's more and
more intrigue. Columbia University found itself at the center of
Ntella Gate, when an expose revealed almost six thousand dollars
(19:13):
a week went to Natella for the dining facilities for
the one pounds a day consumed by the students, and
this was partially because so many students were sneaking jars
back to their rooms. It does not surprise me at all.
It wasn't just that they were eating a lot. They
were eating a lot all the time and stealing and
(19:34):
and if you're worried someone might steal your Natella, never fear.
German designer Daniel Schoblock invented the Natella lock. What it's
pretty much what it sounds like. Um. It started out
as sort of a joke product. According to the inventor,
one of my friends was always getting worked up because
his children were stealing his Natella, so he invented a
(19:56):
lock that goes on top. Okay um. But he ended
up selling about a thousand of them, so apparently this
is a concern for at least a thousand people. Clearly
a problem. When a French supermarket chain dropped the price
of Natella by seventy a couple of years ago, it
caused a bit of a riot, like actually people fighting.
(20:19):
Everyone was stock pining, stockpiling Natella like there was no tomorrow.
And I remember this when I saw it in the news.
Remind me of Black Friday. Sure yeah, say yeah, like
like like elbows were thrown. Yes, and the chain actually
went under investigation for potentially violating French trade laws after that. Yeah,
don't don't undersell your Natella. No, no. In Ferreiro opened
(20:45):
its first and telecafe in Chicago and a second one
opened in late New York. And yes, these are officially
branded cafes devoted to Ntella. Like the decor is all
done in white with these accents of rich woods and
golds and cream and pops of red. The light fixtures
are shaped like hazel flowers. Um. I've seen photos of
(21:06):
what look like savory sandwiches from the past, but the
current menus are entirely sweets, like fruit pies with Natella
grilled banana bread topped with bananas and hazelnuts, and Natila
yogurt parfait with Chian hempseeds and fresh fruit, and Natla
Panzanella of pound cake and yogurt and berries and fresh
basil and Natela um a brioche uh gelato sandwich with Natella. Wow.
(21:32):
Um it honestly sounds completely overwhelming. That's all. Yeah, that's
all that going on. Yeah, the mini says in like
multiple places, like all of the blow items contained to
tell all right, well, um, Natella, which I should mention
here Natella does have the super fans and there there's
(21:55):
been um other companies like Hershey's has introduced their own
chocolate spread. But a lot of people who study this
kind of thing have said, like Natella has solidified this
kind of fandom. Um. Also, they've never revealed their recipe
and they've lost lawsuits rather than have it have to
reveal parts of what it is. But they change their
(22:19):
recipe in even though no one is entirely sure what's
going on in there. Their fans flipped out, okay, um yeah,
hashtag intelligate um anohing to delegate another intelligate Um. What
happened was this German consumer protection organization came out with
this report that the makeup of new jars of Natla
was different than that of old jars, UM, with more
(22:42):
powdered skim milk added and more sugar added than before. Um.
I mean, companies change recipes from time to time, and
they're not, you know, like legally obligated to tell you
about it really um, but yeah, yeah, it caused a
whole kerfuffle um here here in the States. UM. In
respond to the story, like reporters reached out to Ferreiro company. UM.
(23:03):
Natella told news outlets that they were fine tuning the
recipe over here as well, swapping in milk powder for
the previously used way powder. They seemed a little bit
defensive and and honestly quite surprised that all of this
was happening, probably a little fair. I was like when
(23:25):
I was going through it and reading comments from people
are so funny. It was like sweeter than before. It's
not a sweet Like everybody had something to say. Yeah.
I think the tweet that stuck with me was why
don't you just stick a mustache on the mona Lisa? Wow?
People love them Natella, they do, they do um and
(23:46):
uh yeah. The popularity of Natella and other hazelnut based
foods is causing something of a supply and demand issue.
Like candy, companies are predicting a shortage of hazelnuts within
the next five years if demand continues to increase, and
that's because of um. There's this fungal blight that's preventing
farmers from growing hazel nut trees in more areas, or
(24:09):
even in all of the areas that they used to grow.
Right now, it's down to like I think Oregon and
like one part of Turkey, and that's about it. Because
this blight has been for a century, people have been
trying to figure out how to get around it. Um,
and researchers are still working on it. And UM there's
one study. There's one program out of Rutgers University that
has been like the guys there have been working on
(24:29):
this for like twenty years and um, and they hope
that they have now developed trees as of that can
both produce good nuts and resist the blight. And they
have some of these trees out for like testing. Yeah, well,
I hope it. I hope it's successful. Yeah, absolutely, it's
It's really interesting, like like hazel nuts were added into
(24:52):
this chocolate stuff to make it cheaper, and now hazelnuts
are way more expensive than CaCO. So yeah, yeah, I mean,
you never know things are gonna go. Um. Oh gosh,
I'm had nattellan so long. I resisted eating any well
from the aforementioned jar while I was researching this. And
(25:16):
I'm very proud of myself. I have this weird thing
about um not trusting myself a snack. So, like I said,
like I said earlier, my mom gives me the snack
box every year, and this year, I um donated them
all to a friend of mine. And now I'm regretting
that decision. Well, yeah, maybe that's maybe Chandler still has
(25:38):
Oh I don't know, Oh, probably not. I don't think
she had them the next day. Probably not even that.
I'm like, Oh, it's Chandler peek behind the curtain. Yes
he is. He's one of our co workers, favorite producers. Uh,
he's always got a snack. Yes, he's a snacker. He is. Well. Um,
(26:02):
that about brings us to the end of this episode
on Natilla. It does, um, and it's going to bring
us to some listener mail. But first it's going to
bring us to one more quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsors, Yes,
(26:26):
thank you, And we're back with listener mail. Yeah. It's
a face I make. You can't see it, but it
was very dreamy I think about Natilla. Christina wrote just
made it Through Deviled Eggs, a tip I ran across
several years ago from Tricia Yearwood. Helps save you from
those wonky eggs with lopsided whites. A day or two
(26:50):
before you're going to make your eggs, flip them over
in the cartain or the whole carton if you're crazy
like that. It resenters the yoke for those perfect deviled eggs.
The trick remembering to do it and not want deviled
eggs to eat. Also, don't forget you've done it. I
will add. Also I mentioned my work habit of keeping
track of what kind of mold I find. The last
(27:11):
time I wrote, she did, and since then I've found
pink mold. I didn't know what came in pink most
exciting part of work in a while. My co workers
still think I'm strange. But you have to take your
fun where you can find it. And I can tell
you I am super excited that you found pink old.
I hope it's not some kind of like zombie thing
that's going to kill me, but sure, but it's exciting.
(27:32):
That's great. Yeah, I mean pink things are frequently exciting,
especially in nature, especially right. Yeah. Isn't that there a
whole thing about how pink is kind of rare nature?
It's not pink, it's some other color. Yeah, I think
I'm I think blue is relatively rare, like a good
true indigo. Um, flying squirrels, did you know glow pink
under UV light? That's amazing, they're they're underbellies. Yeah. Researchers
(27:57):
aren't sure why. Oh I love it. I love it.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Lauren, anytime, anytime.
Y'all can also find me on brain Stuff wherever fun
podcasts are found. The luck of the episode also tell
us kind of not intentional. Yeah no, hey, not not
(28:19):
a sponsored episode, just a subjective interest. Rachel wrote, Kiwi's
never turn up empty handed, and we call this bring
a plate. If you were ever told to bring a
plate to a party in New Zealand, make sure it
has food on it. Migrants often talk of the embarrassment
of assuming their host just does not have enough crockery.
I think, though, as controversial as the Pavlova, is that
(28:41):
the national dish of New Zealand is the handheld meat pie,
something you seriously miss out on in the United States.
You are so correct. You really cannot go past a
good steak and cheese pie. Every bakery, convenience store, cafe,
and gas station sells pies because they're small. We don't
say I love pie like you do in the US
about fruit pie. We say I love pies. Hearing it
(29:01):
in the singular is super weird for us. I think
if you ever ever tried to claim that the pie
was New Zealand or Auesie, it would be a war.
Not the affectionate pa banter, but complete lockdown of borders.
All right. Goodness, well I was nervous when we did
Pavlova and meat pies has been on our list for
(29:21):
a long time. Goodness, good to know, good to know
that there's okay. I mean I think that meat pies
belonged to everyone. Can we can? We can we agree on? That?
Is that anything we can agree on? Vegans and vegetarians
are like, no, that's true, that's true. Uh. The one
(29:42):
time that I got to hang out in England for
a week, I ate more than one meat pie per day.
Yeah oh yeah, like Australia New Zealand. Every time, I'm
just so part of me is upset and we don't
have this. Yeah yeah, there is a shop here in Atlanta.
Yeah yeah, there's also an Australian one. I can't rear
the name of it. Yes, yeah, there's an Australian bakery
(30:04):
up on. The only location left I think is upon
Marietta Square. If y'all, if y'all live in Atlanta, please
like google Ausie meat Pie Atlanta and go find it,
because holy heck, it's so good. Yeah. Oh, now I'm
just dreaming about meat We've gotten from Natila Meat What
an episode every always Sorry. Thanks to both of them
(30:26):
for writing in. If you would like to write to
as you can, Our email is hello at savor pod
dot com. We're also on social media. You can find
us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at savor pod. We
do hope to hear from you. Savor is production of
iHeart Radio and stuff media from More Podcasts for my
heart Radio, because the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you as
(30:46):
always to our superproducers Dylan Fagin and Andrew Howard. Thanks
to you for listening, and we hope that lots more
good things are coming your way.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.