Nutella: harm or benefit? Ingredients, nutrition facts and more

So popular that according to the Nutella website, jars of Nutella could cover the circumference of the Earth 1.8 times. And this is just the number of jars that are produced in just one year.

From Nutella-inspired smoothies to Nutella-flavored ice cream, these chocolate-nut confections have appeared on restaurant menus around the world and are a homemade treat for many.

And, without a doubt, we can say that Nutella is incredibly tasty, but is it as healthy as the pasta manufacturer claims?

Many people believe that Nutella is a healthy product because it contains hazelnuts, and some even use Nutella spread as a substitute for nut butter.

In this article, we'll look at the nutritional value and ingredients of nutella to see if it's part of a healthy diet.

Nutella (Nutella) what is it?

Nutella is a sweetened cocoa spread with natural nuts created by Ferrero, an Italian company that is the third largest chocolate manufacturer in the world.

Hazelnut spread was first created in Italy during World War II, when baker Pietro Ferrero added hazelnuts to chocolate spread due to a shortage of cocoa in the country.

Today, people all over the world consume Nutella, and it continues to grow in popularity.

This variety of hazelnut-infused chocolate dessert is used in a variety of culinary variations and is commonly used as a topping for breakfast, pancakes, and waffles.

Although Nutella is currently classified as a dessert, Ferrero is pushing to market the product as a “breakfast topping,” similar to jam or preserves.

This change in classification may seem unimportant, but it can have a significant impact on how consumers perceive the nutritional value of this product.

Nutella commercials focus on the idea of ​​presenting Nutella as a quick and healthy breakfast option, especially for children. However, due to the high amount of sugar, this is not the best way to start your day.

Nutella is a sweetened cocoa and hazelnut spread that is consumed in breakfasts and desserts around the world.

Homemade Nutella recipe with hazelnuts

To get started, try this homemade Nutella recipe with nuts. This homemade Nutella is based on milk chocolate, so it has a soft, delicate taste. If desired, milk chocolate can be replaced with dark chocolate. There will most likely be no questions about what it is made of.

Cooking method:

1. Brown 200 grams of hazelnuts and dry them in a frying pan. Cool and clean. This is easier to do if you wrap the nuts in a towel and rub them - a significant part of the husk will fall off on its own. Grind with a knife or using a blender.
2. Melt 300 grams (three bars) of milk chocolate without filler in a water bath.
3. Take three tablespoons of sunflower oil, mix it with four tablespoons of powdered sugar and two tablespoons of cocoa powder. Grind everything together and add a bag of vanilla.
4. Transfer the resulting mixture into a saucepan with melted chocolate, and add nuts to the entire mixture.
5. After cooling completely, place the dessert in a resealable jar. Store the pasta in the refrigerator.

Ingredients and Nutritional Information

Ferrero is proud of the simple ingredients that make up Nutella.

For example, the company has made an effort to use more sustainable ingredients, including certified sustainable palm oil and cocoa.

Nutella contains the following ingredients:

• Sugar: Either beets or refined cane sugar, depending on where it is produced. Sugar is its largest component.
• Palm Oil: A type of vegetable oil that comes from the oil palm tree. Palm oil gives the product its signature creamy texture and spreadability.
• Nuts: 100% natural hazelnut paste. Each jar contains the equivalent of about 50 of these sweet nuts.
• Cocoa: Most of the cocoa beans used in Nutella come from West Africa. They are processed into a fine powder and mixed with other ingredients to create a chocolate flavor.
• Skim milk powder: Made by removing water from pasteurized skim milk. Powdered milk has a much longer shelf life than regular milk and does not need to be refrigerated.
• Soy Lecithin: Soy lecithin is an emulsifier, meaning it helps bind ingredients together while maintaining a smooth, uniform texture. It is a fatty substance obtained from soybeans and a common food additive.
• Vanillin: The flavoring component in vanilla extract. Nutella contains a synthetic form of vanillin.

While Nutella is advertised as a hazelnut spread, sugar is listed first on the label. This is because sugar is the main ingredient, accounting for 57% of the product's weight.

Two tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella contain:

• Calories: 200
• Fat: 12 g
• Sugar: 21 g
• Protein: 2 grams
• Calcium: 4% RDI
• Iron: 4% RDI

Although Nutella contains small amounts of calcium and iron, it is not very nutritious and is high in sugar, calories and fat.

Nutella contains sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, milk powder, lecithin and synthetic vanillin. It contains a large amount of calories, sugar and fat.

Nutella desserts? Why not!

I remember how my boyfriend and I laughed until we cried over a story from his childhood: he gobbled up two cans of condensed milk at once. Such gluttony was not in vain - his ears became so swollen that he began to look like a cartoon character popular at that time.

So my husband also turned out to have a sweet tooth. His favorite delicacy was Nutella chocolate and nut cream, revered by many Europeans, and the sweet tooth’s mother had to hide it on the very top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. However, the passion for nut cream turned out to be so strong that the little tomboy found a way to get to it: he climbed onto a stool, reached for the jar and... then the stool shook, and my future husband hung in the air, holding on to the cabinet - his finger was pinched by the door. Fortunately, his mother managed to come running to his aid - his finger was badly cut, and even to this day there is a scar on it.

For a long time, I was absolutely indifferent to Nutella, but regular afternoon snacks with toast, spread with this cream and decorated with fruit, and a cup of tea, carefully prepared by my husband, did their job - I got hooked on Nutella. In the end, my husband even regretted that he taught me to use it and began to take it with him to work, afraid that when he came home in the evening he would find only an empty jar.

Nutella, or Nut-Nut - that's what I call it, is good not only with toast, it goes well with pancakes. But there are other recipes based on this cream. If your family loves Nutella, try preparing something new for your big and little sweet tooth, they should like it.

Truffles

This recipe is very quick and easy. Take twenty cookies or crackers, grind them in a blender, mix with 150 g of Nutella and 10 g of bitter cocoa. Then wet your hands with water and make balls from the resulting mixture, roll them in cocoa. Place the truffles on a plate and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Souffle

Take 4 eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Then you need to beat the yolks with Nutella (250 g) and beat the whites separately. Now we carefully add the whites to the mixture of yolks and Nutella. Place the resulting mixture in muffin tins, pre-greased with butter, and sprinkle with powdered sugar on top. Place in the oven for about twenty minutes, the appropriate temperature is 200 degrees C. Serve hot.

Cupcakes

Take 250 g of sugar, 6 eggs, 250 g of flour, baking powder, 250 g of butter melted over low heat or in the microwave and mix it all well. Place the dough in molds and place in the oven, heated to 250 degrees C, for 3-4 minutes. Then place a tablespoon of Nutella on each cupcake and leave to bake for another 8 minutes.

Mousse

Take 1 cup of heavy cream and a quarter teaspoon of instant coffee and stir until the coffee dissolves. Add half a glass of Nutella to the mixture and beat until peaks form. Place the resulting mousse in bowls and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours, and before serving, decorate with whipped cream.

Fondue with Nutella

Take 300 ml of heavy cream and 400 g of Nutella, place in a saucepan and put on low heat. Stir until smooth. Then remove from heat and continue stirring - the cream should turn out shiny. After that, pour it into a beautiful vase and serve it along with fruits or marshmallows strung on long sticks.

Pancake cake

To begin, sift 2 cups of buckwheat flour and 1 cup of wheat flour, then add a pinch of soda to the flour. Beat 3 eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. While stirring, start adding flour, and then milk (2 cups) in a thin stream. Leave in a warm place for twenty minutes. Heat a frying pan, put a tablespoon of butter on it and start baking pancakes. To keep the pancakes warm, place them in a pan and cover with a lid. While the pancakes are baking, soak the gelatin in cold water (15 minutes), squeeze out excess water. Take a can of canned peaches (800 g), put the peaches (without syrup) in a blender and puree them. Then take a third of a glass of peach syrup and boil, then dilute the gelatin in it, mix with the resulting puree and cool. Place in the refrigerator for about twenty minutes. Now you can start assembling the cake: prepare a beautiful dish, put a pancake on it and spread Nutella on top. On top is another pancake, which we will spread with peach puree. So we lay out the pancakes in layers, alternating Nutella and puree until the pancakes are gone. The topmost pancake should be with Nutella, which we generously sprinkle with grated walnuts. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

And finally, you can make Turin coffee . The recipe for this coffee comes from Turin itself, it is located near this city in northern Italy - during the difficult war years, its owner Pietro Ferrero invented Nutella - a delicacy that today has a huge number of fans who even founded the Nutellaville club.

Heat 4 tbsp. spoons of Nutella in a small saucepan over low heat, and then pour evenly into 4 cups. Prepare espresso coffee and top it up without stirring. You must put a spoon in the cup - to get the best deliciousness from the bottom...

Bon appetit!

Tags: dessert, cooking, recipes, food, Nutella

Lots of sugar in the composition

Sugar is the main component of Nutella, giving the spread its sweet taste.

2 tablespoons (37 grams) contain 21 grams of sugar, or about 5 teaspoons.

High levels of added sugar are critical to your health.

The American Heart Association recommends that women and children consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day, while men should limit their intake to 9 teaspoons (38 grams).

Using this rule, a woman or child will be close to the daily added sugar limit by simply consuming 2 tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella at a time.

Consuming too much added sugar has been linked to a variety of chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, cognitive decline, and even some types of cancer, including esophageal cancer.

Plus, added sugar may be a contributing factor to childhood obesity.

For these reasons, consumption of foods high in sugar, such as Nutella, should be kept to a minimum.

High in fat and calories

Although the recommended serving size is small, 2 tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella. This small volume contains 200 calories.

Because Nutella is sweet and creamy, people have a hard time controlling portion sizes, making it easy to consume more than the recommended amount and end up with quite a lot of calories.

Eating one or two servings of Nutella daily can lead to weight gain over time, this is especially true for children.

The ingredient that makes Nutella such a high-calorie food is the high amount of fat it contains. After sugar and palm oil, fats are the second most common ingredient in Nutella.

While fats are healthy in many ways, consuming too much can lead to weight gain.

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.

Nutella has a more natural composition than other similar products

Ferrero promotes Nutella as a product containing simple, quality ingredients.

Although the spread contains a synthetic form of vanilla flavoring, the rest of Nutella's ingredients are natural.

The minimal amount of Nutella spread ingredients makes this dessert a better choice when compared to similar processed foods.

It does not contain high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils or artificial colors, all of which are ingredients of concern to healthy consumers.

This makes Nutella attractive to consumers.

Nutella is high in calories, sugar and fat, which can cause health problems over time if consumed in large quantities. At the same time, it contains more natural ingredients than some similar products.

Homemade Nutella recipe made from cream

Melt milk chocolate in a double boiler for Nutella

If you take the recipe for Nutella with cream, the paste turns out very similar to the real thing. And we definitely add nuts to it; it’s good with both hazelnuts and walnuts. Using the products described in the recipe, you can make a whole jar of delicious homemade Nutella chocolate spread.

Cooking method:

1. Grind 150 grams of roasted hazelnuts with a blender or food processor until they resemble a paste.
2. Melt two bars of milk chocolate in a water bath and add 130 grams of condensed milk to them.
3. Whip 130 ml of low-fat cream with 200 grams of powdered sugar.
4. Combine everything together and mix well.
5. Now put the paste into jars and store in the refrigerator.

Not suitable as a substitute for natural nut butters

Nutella is associated with nut butter because it is often called hazelnut spread.

Although Nutella contains small amounts of ground hazelnuts, it should not be used as a substitute for nut butters.

Nut butters, including peanut butter, almond butter, and cashew butter, contain calories and fat. However, natural nut butters contain more nutrients than Nutella.

While some nut butters may contain added sugar, natural nut butters contain only nuts and sometimes salt.

Take for example 2 tablespoons (32 grams) of almond butter, which contains:

• Calories: 200
• Fat: 19 grams
• Protein: 5 g
• Sugar: less than 1 gram
• Manganese: 38% RDA (Recommended Daily Value)
• Magnesium: 24% RDA
• Phosphorus: 16% RDN
• Copper: 14% of RDN
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 12% RDA
• Calcium: 8% of RDA
• Folate: 6% of RDA
• Iron: 6% RDA
• Potassium: 6% RDA
• Zinc: 6% of RDA

As you may have noticed, natural almond oil contains many important nutrients that help the body function and thrive.

What's more, most natural nut butters contain less than 1 gram of sugar per serving, which is a major difference from the 5 teaspoons (21 grams) of sugar found in one serving of Nutella.

Compared to Nutella, natural nut butters are a much healthier choice.

Natural nut butters are much more nutritious than Nutella, providing more protein, less sugar and many important nutrients.

Nutella recipe at home “Minute” with vegetable oil

Making Nutella in a blender

Another way to quickly make Nutella at home. To make homemade Nutella using this recipe, you will definitely need an immersion blender.

Cooking method:

1. Pour 150 ml of warm milk into a blender container, add 120 grams of powdered sugar and a bag of vanillin.
2. Pour in 350 grams of refined and deodorized sunflower oil and beat for a couple of minutes at maximum speed.
3. Add three tablespoons of cocoa and milk powder and whisk quickly.
4. Add 100 grams of nuts and blend everything well with a blender. It turned out to be chocolate-nut butter. As you can see, we prepare it very quickly and simply.

Should you eat Nutella?

Like any food high in sugar, Nutella should be considered a dessert. The problem is that people often use it more as a breakfast than a dessert.

Consuming Nutella every day will increase the amount of added sugar in your diet.

For your health, it is recommended to limit the amount of sugar in your diet on a daily basis whenever possible by eating fewer sugary foods and reducing the number of sweetened drinks.

Although Nutella is sold and provided as a breakfast food, the smartest way to use it is as a dessert.

If you're a fan of Nutella, you can enjoy a small amount every now and then.

However, don't be fooled into thinking that this pasta is a healthy addition to your diet or your baby's bread/toast.

Because Nutella is high in sugar and calories, it should be used as a dessert and not as a breakfast item. If you like to eat this pasta, then eat it in moderation.

Homemade Lenten Nutella Recipe from Chickpeas

Nutella chocolate spread, prepared at home, can please those who fast, vegetarians, and those who are allergic to milk. The recipe for this Nutella is based on the use of chickpeas and the exclusion of dairy products. But to make it almost like the real thing, of course, you can’t do without chocolate.

Cooking method:

1. We will replace nuts with chickpeas. Soak 120 grams of dry chickpeas in water overnight. In the morning, fill it with clean water in a ratio of one to three or one to four and cook for 45 minutes.
2. Ready warm chickpeas should be cooled a little and, turning them into puree, add 100 grams of brown sugar to it.
3. Melt two bars (200 grams) of dark chocolate without filler in a water bath and add two tablespoons of vegetable oil to it.
4. Place the puree into the chocolate and sprinkle in a little vanilla or vanilla sugar.
5. If it turns out too thick, the paste can be diluted with chickpea broth. Add more sugar and nuts if desired.