What gianduia paste is
Gianduia paste is a concentrated semi-finished product for gelato and pastry work: hazelnuts, cocoa 22/24, sugar, almonds and flavourings milled into a dense, homogeneous cream that is dosed straight into the mix. It is not a spread and not a finished product. It is a professional raw material that delivers nut fat, body and flavour in a single step. At 470 kcal and 40 g of fat per 100 g it is a rich ingredient that performs well even at moderate dosage. It removes the need to roast and refine nuts in house.
Origin: Turin, the Napoleonic blockade, 1865
Gianduia began as a workaround. During the continental blockade imposed by Napoleon, cocoa reached Turin in small quantities and at high cost, so Piedmontese chocolatiers extended it with the ingredient they had in abundance: hazelnut from the Langhe, roasted and milled very fine. Michele Prochet refined the blend and gave it the soft texture still associated with it today. The chocolate was presented at the Turin Carnival of 1865 and took its name from the Gianduja mask. From the chocolate shop it moved quickly into gelato, where it remains an Italian classic.
Messina, the Sicilian city of gianduia
Messina is not a master gelato maker. It is a Sicilian city, known in Italy as the city of gianduia because of the local gelato tradition built around this flavour. On the island the Piedmontese classic was reinterpreted with a Mediterranean palate: nuts are an everyday ingredient rather than an exception, the roast is more pronounced and the cocoa stays in a supporting role. That is exactly what this paste is named after. It is the Sicilian reading of a Turin classic, with almonds alongside hazelnuts in the recipe and a warm, roasted, sun-driven profile.
The producer: from liqueur to gelato, since 1959
Behind this paste is a long-established Palermo company founded in 1959. It did not start with gelato. It produced spirits and liqueurs for the bars of Palermo, in a city where the bar was the centre of social life. The turning point came almost by accident with a flavour conceived as a liqueur, zuppa inglese, which proved ideal once it was taken into gelato. The company changed trade, moved to semi-finished products for gelato shops and developed one of the first balanced gelato bases. That double origin, aromatic and technical, is still audible in its products.
How to use it in gelato and pastry
The manufacturer's dosage is 100-150 g per litre of mix: 100 g gives an elegant, restrained gianduia, while 150 g builds the full display-case flavour. Dissolve the paste into the white mix before churning, with no added fat. Outside the batch freezer it works just as reliably: mousses, bavarois, semifreddo, fillings for cornetti and doughnuts, ganache and creams for modern cakes. It pairs with pure hazelnut, coffee, dark chocolate, a pinch of salt, pear and candied citrus, and it carries a variegate of hazelnut grain or almond brittle without losing definition.
Format, storage and allergens
The format is a 3 kg tin with a carry handle, built for kitchen use: easy to move, resealable and compact on the shelf. EAN 8021977011853. Store in a cool, dry place away from heat sources and strong odours. Stir before use so the fat phase returns to an even consistency. ALLERGENS: contains tree nuts, hazelnuts and almonds. Carry that declaration on your display labels and product sheets. This is a semi-finished product for professional use and is not intended for direct consumption. Values per 100 g: 470 kcal, fat 40 g of which saturates 3 g, carbohydrate 25 g of which sugars 18 g.
