MORE HISTORY OF HAZELNUT SPREAD

It was not until 1983 that the United States was introduced to the popular chocolate hazelnut spread, Nutella. It was the first time chocolate and hazelnut had been mixed together. It took the United States a little bit of time to get use to the new flavor of chocolate. It soon became a “hit” and was loved by America. There are a multitude of recipes that incorporate hazelnut chocolate instead of chocolate without the hazelnut flavor.

There are more reasons than just the taste of it that has won American’s hearts over. America is always on the next health “kick” – the next diet, the newest piece of exercise equipment to help lose weight, etc. With an effort to be healthy, “moderation is key” is sometimes forgotten about. Instead of eating in moderation, Americans decide that it is okay to eat more of something just because it is deemed healthy. Enter: hazelnuts. (Note, we are not denying the fact that hazelnuts are healthy – we are just letting you know that we do believe that moderation is indeed key in a healthy diet.)

Hazelnuts (and other tree nuts) are known to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Hazelnuts have a great deal of monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, copper, magnesium, and other minerals. These minerals reduce blood pressure and inflammation. Also, people that are on a nut-rich diet usually shows weight loss. Eating nuts is known to stimulate the metabolism and make you burn more calories. Since nuts make you feel full due to the amount of high fat, protein, and fiber that a nut is composed of, you are less likely to eat foods that are not dense in nutrition.

The health-factor of hazelnuts is a significant reason why hazelnut chocolate has become so popular. Originally, the introduction of Nutella to the United States opened up American’s minds to a new “type” of chocolate. Now, America has expanded their idea as to what chocolate is.