Why Italy’s “King of Chocolate” Is So Delicious为什么意大利的“巧克力之王”如此美味

There’s chocolate， and then there’s gianduiotto chocolate. An ancestor of Nutella1， the melt-in-the-mouth treat is as rare as it is delicious. Like most renowned Italian artisan chocolate， gianduiotto originates from Piedmont， Italy， where it’s considered the “king of Italian chocolate.”

世上有两种巧克力：一种是普通巧克力，另一种是吉安杜奥提榛子巧克力。作为“能多益”榛子巧克力酱的原型，这种入口即化的珍品味美稀有。与大多数闻名遐迩的意式手工巧克力一样，吉安杜奥提起源于意大利的皮埃蒙特——在那里，它被誉为“意大利巧克力之王”。

Made of a rich paste consisting of fine cocoa mixed with the premium hazelnuts that grow in Piedmont’s Langhe region， it’s hugely popular with locals. Some have it with an espresso for breakfast， and/or after a meal， along with snacks and aperitifs.

这种巧克力由上等可可粉调制的浓郁糊状物制成，可可粉中混合了生长在皮埃蒙特朗格地区的优质榛子，深受当地人欢迎。有些人早餐时将其与浓缩咖啡一起享用，或餐后用来配小吃和开胃酒。

Usually wrapped in a thin silver， golden or colored aluminum foil， the ingot shape treat has been produced by local chocolatiers here for centuries. Its birthplace is the region’s capital， Turin， which has been known as Italy’s “chocolate capital” ever since maître choc- olatiers began making their sweet artisan delicacies for the House of Savoy， the royal dynasty established in the Savoy region of Italy， here in the 1500’s.

几个世纪以来，当地的巧克力制造商一直在生产这种锭状巧克力，通常用薄薄的银色、金色或彩色铝箔包装。吉安杜奥提的发源地是皮埃蒙特的首府都灵。16世纪时，巧克力大师们就开始为建立于意大利萨伏依地区的王朝——萨伏依家族——制作香甜的手工美食，自此，都灵一直被称为意大利的“巧克力之都”。

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 givù2 （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.

人们认为，吉安杜奥提这个名字出自狂欢节上的人物吉安杜佳。吉安杜佳是19世纪一个深受人们喜爱的农民——他幽默风趣，酷爱葡萄酒，体现了当地人及时行乐的天性。这种巧克力最初被称为“吉福”（或铅笔头），1865年都灵狂欢节庆祝活动期间，一位扮成吉安杜佳的演员将其分发给人们品尝——很显然，这是普通民众第一次真切享受到这种美味，吉安杜奥提因此闻名。

Gianduiotto was originally born out of necessity—to overcome a cocoa shortage in mainland Europe. When Napoleon Bonaparte conquered northern Italy and declared war against Britain in 1806， he banned all English-imported goods， including cocoa beans. As a consequence， pastry makers in Turin decided to switch to something a little closer to home—the hazelnuts that grew in abundance in the surrounding lush hills. 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. A century or so later， Pietro Ferrero， a confectioner from Piedmont， created Nutella based on that old recipe.

吉安杜奥提问世最初是为解决欧洲大陆的可可豆短缺问题。1806年，拿破仑·波拿巴征服意大利北部并向英国宣战时，他禁止了包括可可豆在内的所有英国进口商品。因此，都灵的糕点师决定改变配方，采用家乡附近出产的食材——周围郁郁葱葱的山丘上大量生长的榛子。通过将榛子、糖及仅有的极少量可可粉存货混合调配，他们制作出了一种口味丰富的糊状物，并最终提炼开发出吉安杜奥提。大约一个世纪后，皮埃蒙特的糖果制造商彼得罗·费列罗根据这个古老的配方制作出了“能多益”榛子巧克力酱。

Back in the 1800s， hazelnuts were very affordable， but things are very different now. Not only are they far more expensive， but the “tonda gentile”3 hazelnuts produced in Langhe have Protected Geographical Indication status， a European designation aimed at protecting regional foods. Rich in aromatic oil， they blend perfectly with， and exalt the flavor of the cocoa butter， creating a tender， voluptuous and creamy concoction.

19世纪时榛子非常便宜，但现在情况大不相同了。榛子不仅贵多了，而且朗格出产的“圆形贵族”榛子属于“地理标志保护”（欧洲专门保护区域食品权益的称号）产品。这些榛子富含芳香油，可与可可脂完美融合并提升其风味，从而创制出一种柔软、丰润且具有奶油口感的巧克力。

Gianduiotto is now a specific chocolate type alongside dark， white， and milk chocolate. The most savory artisan gianduiotti are those with the highest percentage， usually between 25 and 40%， of hazelnuts.

吉安杜奥提如今已成为一种经典的巧克力品类，与黑巧克力、白巧克力和牛奶巧克力比肩。最美味的手工吉安杜奥提榛子含量最多，通常在25%到40%之间。

Castagna uses a sophisticated mechanical procedure called “extrusion，” where semi-solid tidbits of gianduia paste are squeezed onto a tray into the form of gianduiotti. In the old days， making gianduiotti was something of a ritual. The process involved repeatedly battering the hazelnut paste to give it consistency and then kneading it as though it were pizza flour. Women， known as “gianduiere，” would sit in pairs around a table with the gianduia paste positioned in the middle. They’d then scoop it up with two long spatulas， roll it over several times， and cut off tiny morsels with a butter knife， dropping them onto a tray to solidify.

卡斯塔尼亚使用了一种称为“挤压”的精细机械手法制作吉安杜奥提，即将半固态的糊状物挤到一个托盘上定型。过去，制作吉安杜奥提在某种程度上是一种仪式。制作过程中，师傅们会反复敲打榛子酱，使其变得粘稠，然后以揉披萨粉的方法揉捏它。被称为“吉安杜耶尔”的女师傅会成对围坐在一张桌子周围，将榛子酱放在中间。然后，她们用两把长抹刀将其铲起，翻动几次，再用黄油刀切成小块，最后放在托盘上凝固。

Up until the 1960s， Turin was dotted with hundreds of artisan boutiques. But as labor costs rose and mass production kicked in， they began to disappear. 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.

直到20世纪60年代，都灵还遍布数百家手工精品店。但随着劳动力成本的上升和大规模生产的出现，它们便开始消失了。现在只有A.焦尔达诺精品店仍在营业。这家巧克力工坊成立于1897年，历史悠久，目前也只剩下屈指可数的几位吉安杜耶尔了。

“We are the only ones who still hand make gianduiotti. It’s very expensive to employ such skilled labor，” says owner Laura Faletti. 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.