Gianduja

Gianduja is a confection from Piedmont in which finely ground hazelnuts are combined with cocoa and sugar into a smooth paste, served as a chocolate, a bar, or a spread.

Gianduja is a confection from Piedmont in which finely ground hazelnuts are combined with cocoa and sugar into a soft mass, served as a praline, a bar, or a spread.

Everything about it begins with a shortage. When cocoa was barely obtainable and unaffordable in Turin, the city's confectioners stretched the little they had with what the hills of the Langhe offered in abundance: ground hazelnuts. What was intended as a substitute became its own thing, and nothing has changed in that regard for over a century and a half. Anyone who lets a Gianduja praline melt on their tongue today tastes the nut first and the cocoa only afterwards, and that is exactly how it is meant to be.

What is Gianduja in German?

It is best translated as nougat, or more precisely, hazelnut nougat. Duden describes nougat as a mass made from finely crushed roasted nuts or almonds, sugar, and cocoa, used as a confection or as a filling for confectionery; the word came via French and Provençal from the Latin "nux," meaning nut, and it can also be spelled "Nugat." Gianduja is the Piedmontese version of this, and it has what the German word lacks: a specific nut and a specific place. The nut is the Tonda Gentile Trilobata, which is protected as Nocciola Piemonte IGP and grows primarily in the hills of Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato. The place is Turin.

And the name belongs to a character. Gianduja is the mask of the Turin Carnival, its king, and the city museum MuseoTorino tells the story of how the praline got its name. In 1852, the confectioner Michele Prochet replaced part of his cocoa with finely ground Tonda Gentile hazelnuts from the Langhe, thereby inventing the mass that would later be called Gianduia. In 1865, the piece took on its shape, an inverted boat, but was still called "givo," Piedmontese for "tipping." It was not until the 1869 carnival that the Gianduia mask permitted the confectioner by decree to give the praline its name. Since then, it has been called Gianduiotto, and the mass within it, Gianduja.

What is Gianduja made of?

Hazelnuts, cocoa, and sugar—and the law dictates how much of each. The Cocoa Ordinance allows the designation "Gianduja hazelnut chocolate" only for a product made of chocolate with at least 32 percent total dry cocoa solids, of which at least 8 percent is dry cocoa solids excluding cocoa butter, and which contains no less than 20 and no more than 40 grams of finely ground hazelnuts per 100 grams. Milk may be added up to 5 percent, and whole or chopped nuts combined with the ground nuts up to 60 percent. For a Gianduja made from milk chocolate, the hazelnut content starts at 15 grams.

On the label, it looks like this: The Gianduiotti from D.Barbero in Asti consist of sugar, 25 percent Piedmontese hazelnuts IGP, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, and cocoa paste, with at least 32 percent cocoa. Its dark sister, the Giandujotti Fondente, contains 30 percent hazelnut in a chocolate with at least 48.6 percent cocoa. With spreads, the ratio shifts. The Crema Gianduia from Papa dei Boschi consists of 60 percent Piedmontese hazelnuts IGP, plus cane sugar, skimmed milk powder, 5 percent low-fat cocoa, and Bourbon vanilla. Here, the nut leads, and the cocoa merely accompanies.

The Noè family shows where these nuts come from. Their farm, Papa dei Boschi, is located in Lequio Berria in the Alta Langa, at 700 meters, and processes exclusively their own harvest from around 40 hectares of hazelnut groves. They harvest towards the end of August, when the fruits are fully ripe; they are then dried in a single layer for several days under the sun. The entire production is certified as Nocciola Piemonte IGP, and Josè Noè oversees every step personally.

Are Gianduja and nougat the same thing?

At their core, yes; in word, not quite. What is allowed to be called "Nougat" in Germany is regulated by the guidelines of the German Food Book: A "Nussnugatmasse" (nut nougat mass) is made from largely skinned nut kernels that are finely crushed with sugar and cocoa products, containing at least 30 percent nut kernels, a maximum of 50 percent sugar, and at least 30 percent fat. "Nugat" is such a mass plus at most half the amount of sugar, and if only "nut" appears on a package, hazelnuts or walnuts are meant. A "Nugatcreme" (nougat spread) requires at least 10 percent hazelnut kernels and may contain up to 67 percent sugar.

Gianduja is therefore a nougat, but one with an origin: the Tonda Gentile, from Piedmont, in the Turin shape. That is why two jars stand side by side at Papa dei Boschi: one Crema Gianduia and one Nussnougat Creme. The latter is darker, with 55 percent hazelnuts and 10 percent low-fat cocoa, without milk. Anyone who tries both side by side understands the difference faster than from any regulation: the Gianduia is lighter, milkier, and nuttier, while the Nussnougatcreme is more chocolatey. And the third sister, the Crema di Nocciola La Reina, manages entirely without cocoa and shows how the nut tastes on its own.

How does Gianduja taste?

Like roasted hazelnut first, like cocoa afterwards, and in between, like nothing that distracts. The Consorzio for Nocciola Piemonte IGP cites the aroma after roasting, ease of peeling, and shelf life as the strengths of their nut. Roasting is the keyword that matters: only roasting gives the Tonda Gentile the warm, slightly bready scent found in every good Gianduja. The mass melts because the hazelnut provides its own fat, and it melts at body temperature. A Gianduiotto from the refrigerator is therefore dull; let it sit on the table for a while until the paper loosens slightly, then it will yield upon the first bite, with the aroma following.

The milk variant is rounded and sweet; the Fondente is sharper, with the cocoa at the forefront and the nut as an aftertaste. The spread in the jar is the most indulgent of all: on bread in the morning, in warm milk, between two butter cookies, or with a spoon straight from the jar when no one is looking. And that is what an afternoon looks like: an espresso, a Gianduiotto out of its paper next to it, and the rest of the day can wait.

Gianduja from Asti and the Langhe

Pralines, bars, and spreads can be found under Nougat & Gianduja. From D.Barbero in Asti, craftsmen in the torrone and praline trade since 1883, come the Gianduiotti, the dark Giandujotti Fondente, and the Gianduiotti Mix featuring all five varieties from the house; the entire collection is under D.Barbero. From the Langhe come the Crema Gianduia by Papa dei Boschi and its darker sister, the Nussnougat Creme.

Sources

Last checked on 09/16/2026

By Kerstin Uhlenbusch