Making gianduiotto by hand requires painstaking precision. Ramella Alberto/AGF/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Our spread is the end product of 72 hours of mechanically mixing and kneading the paste – that’s three whole days, while other gianduia spreads are ready in four hours. Ours is fresher and healthier,” says Faletti. It’s a job only women can do, for it requires a lot of passion, patience and precision. A bit like hand stitching. It can be quite tiresome, I need to rotate my gianduiere in shifts otherwise their hands get muscle cramps.”

The most savory artisan gianduiotti are those with the highest percentage, usually between 25 and 40%, of hazelnuts. Gianduiotto is now a specific chocolate type alongside dark, white, and milk chocolate,” says Castagna. Artisan chocolatier Guido Castagna has created a highly-refined version of gianduiotto chocolate called Giuinott. Castagna Gianduiera Ambra Nobili, 32, has been making A. Giordano’s gianduiotti ever since she graduated from a local pastry academy. Gianduiotto isn’t available all year round. Artisan boutiques halt production when spring is near to avoid selling melted chocolates, which is actually another gourmet delicacy made with the gianduia hazelnut paste.

We are the only ones who still hand make gianduiotti. It’s very expensive to employ such skilled labor,” says owner Laura Faletti. Now there’s just one left – the A.Giordano boutique. Only a handful of gianduiere remain at the historic chocolate lab, which was founded in 1897. To create gianduiotti, they press the gianduia mix into lasagne-like sheets. These sheets are then shredded and beaten into a paste on an old granite basin, just like those used in the past, says Faletti. When it comes to gelato, Turin has plenty of hotspots to enjoy this Italian classic. Grom and Venchi are the top artisanal gelato chains you'll spot throughout the city. Grom was opened in 2003 by wine and gelato maker Guido Martinetti and businessman Federico Grom. After experiencing a smashing success in their hometown and throughout Italy, they've since expanded to the U.S. market. You'll want to try hazelnut, chocolate and pistachio. Gianduiotto was originally born out of necessity – to overcome a cocoa shortage in mainland Europe.

Castagna has reinvented gianduiotto by creating a highly refined, roundish take called Giuinott (meaning “young lad” in local dialect) with premium Venezuelan cacao and sugar cane instead of sugar and 40% hazelnuts. The Gianduiotto chocolate is made with a chocolate and hazelnut paste, the gianduja paste, and is wrapped in aluminum foil to improve its preservation.

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Ask an Italian what giandujia (sometimes known as gianduja) is and they could give two different answers, depending their age, where they’re from and how much they love chocolate. The word refers both to a traditional Carnival mask – from the name Gioan d’la douja (‘John of the tankard’) – and to the delicious creamy paste made of cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar and finely ground hazelnuts. After mixing them with sugar and the very little cocoa they still had on their shelves, they were able to create a rich paste that was eventually refined and honed into gianduiotto. The gianduiotto ( IPA: [dʒanduˈjɔtto]; Piedmontese: giandojòt [dʒaŋdʊˈjɔt]) is chocolate originally from Piedmont, in northern Italy. Gianduiotti are shaped like ingots and individually wrapped in a (usually) gold- or silver-colored foil cover. It is a specialty of Turin, and takes its name from gianduja, the preparation of chocolate and hazelnut used for gianduiotti and other sweets (including Nutella and bicerin di gianduiotto). This preparation itself is named after Gianduja, a mask in commedia dell'arte, a type of Italian theater, that represents the archetypal Piedmontese. Indeed, Gianduja's hat inspired the shape of the gianduiotto.

According to revered artisan chocolatier Guido Castagna, gianduiotto is far more than just an iconic chocolate. It’s a symbol of Turin, and a big part of the city’s identity.The name gianduiotto is thought to come from carnival figure Gianduja, a jolly wine-loving peasant, popular in the 1800s, who embodied the epicurean nature of locals. Initially called givù (or stubs,) gianduiotto became famous when the general public apparently got their first real taste as the treats were handed out during Turin’s 1865 carnival celebrations by an actor dressed as Gianduja. The hazelnuts used to make gianduiotto can be found growing in the Langhe region of Italy. Cooper/ullstein bild/Getty Images Rich in aromatic oil, they blend perfectly with, and exalt the flavor of the cocoa butter, creating a tender, voluptuous and creamy concoction. When Napoleon Bonaparte conquered northern Italy and declared war against Britain in 1806, he banned all English-imported goods, including cocoa beans.

A century or so later, Pietro Ferrero, a confectioner from Piedmont, created Nutella based on that old recipe. It’s a chocolate of prestige, I’ve always loved it,” says Nobili. “I’m filled with joy when after a hard day’s work, cutting and shaping 48 kilograms of gianduiotti with another gianduiera, I finally see how perfect and beautiful they look, and how I’m constantly improving.” For those who prefer their chocolate in a Nutella-style spread, gianduiotto has its own version, “crema spalmabile di Gianduja,” with a slightly granular texture that tastes wonderful on bread. A six-times gold medal winner at the International Chocolate Awards, an independent competition recognizing excellence in fine chocolate making, Giuinott comes in a glossy copper-colored wrap. The secret of the craft, says Nobili, lies in the firm and rapid movement of the wrists and hands to scoop up the paste before it solidifies, smooth it over with spatulas and give it final cut with a butter knife to achieve the prism-like shape.Castagna often holds wine tastings, pairing Giuinott with Piedmont’s Vermouth wines and other sweet alcoholic drinks like passito, which he believes complements the chocolate tasting experience. They’re Piedmont’s gold, absolutely the best in the world,” he adds, before explaining that the hazelnuts are priced at €16 per kilogram versus €10 per kilogram for high quality cocoa. Gianduiotto chocolate is made from a paste of cocoa mixed with premium hazelnuts. A.Giordano Torino