5 Things You Didn't Know About Nutella

Nutella is a sweetened chocolate hazelnut spread manufactured by Italian company Ferrero. It was first rolled out in 1964, and has become a thing of cultish devotion for millions of people worldwide. But even though this spread is ubiquitous these days (New York's Eataly even has a Nutella-centric restaurant), we bet that there are some things you didn't know about this sweet spread.

It's Based On an Old Italian Recipe
Nutella is a play on gianduja, a mixture of about 70 percent hazelnut paste and 30 percent chocolate. It was invented in Turin during Napoleon's reign around 1800. A blockade of the Mediterranean made chocolate scarce, so chocolatiers mixed it with hazelnuts, which were ample in the region. Gianduja took its name from a popular marionette character.

It Can't Be Called Chocolate Cream
Under Italian law, Nutella can only be called hazelnut cream, because it doesn't meet the criteria for minimum cocoa solids.

Ferrero Uses 25 Percent of the Global Hazelnut Supply
Each jar of Nutella contains about 50 hazelnuts.

It's Like Spreading a Candy Bar on Bread
Nutella is 70 percent fat and sugar, and two tablespoons contain 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 21 grams of sugar. In fact, Ferrero faced a class action lawsuit a few years ago for falsely advertising that Nutella is nutritious.

There's a World Nutella Day
It's on February 5, but it should probably be April 20, because that's the date in 1964 when the first jar left the plant.