Gianduja chocolate with whole hazelnuts from Piedmont

Gianduja chocolate with whole Piedmont hazelnuts

D.Barbero's Gianduja chocolate with hazelnuts combines creamy Gianduja chocolate with whole, roasted Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnuts. From Asti in Piedmont, in a 120g square bar format – the hazelnut experience in two states of matter.

Cioccolato gianduja con nocciole – D.Barbero's Gianduja chocolate brings two worlds together in one bar. Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnuts are finely ground and blended with milk chocolate to create the typical melt-in-the-mouth Gianduja mass. Whole, freshly roasted hazelnuts are then embedded into this creamy bar. A 120g square bar from Asti.

Creamy Gianduja melt with a crunchy nut center

This Gianduja chocolate is a double encounter with the Tonda Gentile: once in ground form as a delicate melt that runs throughout the bar, and once as a whole, roasted hazelnut that provides a satisfying crunch. In this way, the bar combines the character of a praline chocolate with the classic bar experience.

Barbero intentionally avoids artificial flavorings throughout its entire workshop, allowing the character of the hazelnut to remain clearly recognizable – both in the Gianduja melt and in the whole nuts. A bar for lovers of Piedmontese confectionery in its most honest form.

What makes Gianduja chocolate special

Gianduja is a 19th-century Piedmontese invention: around 1865, Turin confectioners had the idea of incorporating hazelnut paste into chocolate mass instead of serving pure chocolate. This resulted in the Gianduja melt, which today stands worldwide for Piedmontese confectionery – creamier than pure chocolate, fuller-bodied than pure hazelnut.

D.Barbero refines this traditional method in their own bar format: the Gianduja mass is poured into bar molds, and whole Tonda Gentile hazelnuts are pressed into the still-warm chocolate and evenly distributed. After cooling, the result is a 120g square bar with a characteristic soft, melting texture and a crunchy nut accent.

The difference lies in the nut oil. There is so much finely ground hazelnut in the Gianduja mass that its oil complements the cocoa butter – the bar becomes softer as a result and melts at body temperature rather than waiting to yield in the mouth. This is why you don't cut Gianduja; you break it.

Anyone visiting Asti can watch the workshop at work. The Fondo Ambiente Italiano, Italy's national heritage trust, manages the facility as a "museo che lavora," or working museum – historic machines, original documents from the 19th century, and old steam boilers are not behind glass, but still in operation. A tasting is part of the tour.

You can taste this commitment. Nothing about this bar is rushed: the nuts are roasted, not flavored; the mass is stirred until it has the perfect consistency; and the nuts are placed in whole rather than chopped up.

Seven generations of confectionery from Asti

In 1883, Melchiorre Barbero received the license in Asti to commercially produce "Torroni e Noasetti." Today, in family hands for seven generations, Giovanni Barbero and his nephew Davide Maddaleno continue to run the workshop at Via Brofferio 84. When selecting raw materials, the company leaves no doubt about its standards: hazelnuts are always of the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe variety, both for the Gianduja mass and for the whole nuts in the bar.

In our shop, you will find other specialties from D.Barbero – the Nocciolone as a large Gianduja slab or the classic Gianduiotti pralines in copper-colored foil.

Break instead of cutting, then you'll see the nuts

It is better to break the bar than to cut it – at the break point, you can see how densely the whole nuts are packed into the mass.

The creamy melt and the bitter character of an espresso play perfectly with one another. The bar also pairs wonderfully with a glass of Marsala or Vin Santo in the evening. Serve at room temperature, as this allows the delicate Gianduja melt to unfold most beautifully. 120g, square, with hazelnut in two states of matter. Stored closed in a cool, dry place, it will stay fresh for at least three months.