'Father of Nutella' Francesco Rivella passes away at 97: Pay a sweet and delicious ode by replicating his iconic recipe!
The inventor of Nutella and by proxy some of your sweetest, nostalgic food memories, Francesco Rivella is no more. Fancy a sweet homage?
From a Ferrero employee to the brain behind, easily one of the most voraciously used chocolate spreads in the world, the 'father of Nutella', Francesco Rivella, as per multiple reports, passed away on Valentine's Day at the ripe old age of 97. A lot of chemistry, expertise and genuine love went into create a product which has been breaking the market and the mold over the decades, with its many expressions and that unmissable decadent, nostalgic taste. So as we remember Rivella and his legacy-bending contribution, why don't you yourself take a hit at replicating the iconic recipe?
Homemade Nutella
Ingredients: Raw skinless hazelnuts - 250gms, unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/4 cup, icing sugar or confectionary sugar - 3/4 cup, hazelnut (or any neutral flavoured) oil - 2tbsps, vanilla extract - 1tsp
Method: Preheat your oven to 180°C. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast them for 8 minutes, or until golden. Then, transfer them to a blender. Blend on the lowest setting until the nuts are ground into a coarse crumb, scraping down the sides as you go. You're ideally trying to achieve a coarse, crumbly texture after which you are to up your blender to the highest setting and keep going until the mixture becomes smooth and has a honey-like consistency. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend, starting on low and gradually increasing to high. Continue blending until everything is smooth — the sugar is what is going to take the longest to dissolve but patience (in addition to the concise ingredients list mentioned above) is an important component of the process. By the time you're done, the mixture would have gotten super warm and maybe even rather thinned out. Simply transfer to a heat resistant jar and let it cool to a spreadable consistency. Under no circumstances must you refrigerate the Nutella at this stage as this will cause the sugar to crystallize and make the texture grainy. Once you're on the other side of the waiting game, you have yourself a fresh batch of Nutella which you made! Use it just as you would a store-bought jar.
(recipe from RecipeTin Eats)
Will you be whipping up some authentic Nutella in your kitchen tonight?