Turin, Piedmont — created in 1865 by the confectioner Paul Caffarel at the Turin Carnival. Named after Gianduja, the traditional Carnival mask of Piedmont. The Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnut has been cultivated in the Langhe hills since the medieval period and the confectionery tradition of Turin dates to the Savoy court.
Gianduiotto is the defining confection of Turin: a small, distinctive boat-shaped chocolate made from gianduia — a paste of Piedmontese Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnuts ground with sugar and blended with dark chocolate — moulded into the boat shape and wrapped in gold foil. Created in 1865 during the Turin Carnival by Caffarel (the oldest confectionery firm still in production), it is considered the first individually wrapped chocolate in history. The gianduia base — approximately equal parts hazelnut paste and chocolate — produces a flavour that is simultaneously chocolate and hazelnut: neither predominates, and the resulting taste is more complex than either component alone.
Gianduiotto melts on the tongue at a specific rate — slower than plain chocolate, because the hazelnut oil in the gianduia has a higher melting point than cocoa butter. As it melts, the flavour develops: first the chocolate bitterness, then the creamy hazelnut sweetness, then a long, nutty finish. The two components together produce something neither could alone — a unified flavour of remarkable depth.
The Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnut (IGP) from the Langhe hills is the specific variety required — its high oil content, thin skin, and sweet, rounded flavour make the gianduia. The hazelnuts are roasted, skinned, ground to a fine paste, mixed with icing sugar and dark chocolate to produce gianduia. For artisanal gianduiotti: temper the gianduia chocolate mixture, pipe into boat-shaped moulds, cool, unmould, wrap. The ratio of hazelnut paste to chocolate varies by producer: the traditional is 50:50 by weight. The chocolate component can be dark, milk, or white — each produces a distinct product.
The gianduia paste is the base for Nutella (which was invented in post-war Piedmont when cocoa was scarce — Ferrero extended the hazelnut-chocolate ratio further toward hazelnut). The artisanal gianduiotti of the Langhe confectioners (Caffarel, Guido Gobino, Guido Castagna) are made with a higher percentage of Tonda Gentile than any commercial product, and the flavour difference is significant.
Using generic hazelnuts — the Tonda Gentile has a specific flavour profile that other varieties don't replicate. Over-roasting the hazelnuts — the fine, sweet hazelnut flavour is destroyed by over-roasting. Insufficiently fine grinding — gianduia must be silky smooth; any detectable texture is a flaw.
Slow Food Editore, Piemonte in Cucina; Carol Field, The Italian Baker