Nocilla Spread From Spain - Is It Better Than Nutella Part 2

 

This particular chocolate spread has lead me to a conclusion about chocolate spreads. Some people argue that Nutella is full of sugar, fillers, and generally non-healthy things. The argument is that it's basically icing being sold as a breakfast spread. While I don't disagree that one should probably limit the amount of any chocolate spread one eats particularly in the mornings, I'm starting to think that certain ingredients are key to make a great chocolate spread. I say this arguing that Nocilla is a fine spread, but it's not as good as Nutella. 

Here's what I think is better about Nutella, or at the very least the problems I have with Nocilla using Nutella as the example. First of all, Nocilla as many of the other spreads I've discovered, does not advertise as a hazelnut, or any other kind of nut spread. I'm starting to think that Hazelnuts are a key ingredient in chocolate spread, as if the cocoa powder needs something else to balance out. I don't totally feel that nuts are totally necessary, as my favourite spread in the world contains no nuts, I just think that you really have to have amazing quality chocolate to be able to pull of no nuts.

The second problem is the oil. I believe that choosing the right oil is key, and I feel like many of the secondary brands of chocolate spread that I taste do not pick the right oil or oil combination. I believe this come about because you want a certain texture when room temperature, and palm oil is great for creating that texture. Unfortunately palm oil is a faux pas today, so companies move instead towards coconut oil. Coconut oil has the perfect texture, but the flavour is overpowering. In particular it overpowers anything that doesn't have a strong flavour, even more so if you don't blend it with a nice nutty flavour.

What I'm saying is this spread is good, but I think it pushes the limitations of what can be done when excluding certain ingredients. While I feel many companies, including the fine people who make this spread, want to be different than Nutella, I just don't think it's as good. Maybe it's because I like icing, and I'm generally not fond of coconut oil except in very particular circumstances. Needless to say I do not believe this is better than Nutella, it's fine, but it's just not better.

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Amazing Candy/Junk Food Thing That You Should Buy - Grandpa Witmer's Old Fashioned Nut Butter Mixer

It's rare that I post something on this blog that is at all useful, however I would argue that every house in the world should have one of these.

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Candy In The Media

Can you say that you love Nutella so much that you've written and produced and hip hop song with video all about it?

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It's National Peanut Butter Lover's Day!!!

In North America it's just assumed that peanut butter is loved the world over, but that's just not true.  I've met people from all over the world that really don't understand the North American obsession with peanut butter.  They see advertising, cooking shows, and sweet treats that features this sticky spread, and they can't figure out why we like to eat the stuff.  I have to admit that peanut butter is so ingrained into my psyche that I can't figure out what's not to like about the stuff.

Think about this, a great deal of the population of the Western World has never tasted a peanut butter cup, and they have very little interest in trying them either.

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Spreads - Zoodles

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

You're probably thinking that I'm nuts for calling Zoodles a spread.  I'll admit, I'm pushing it, but only because you don't really spread them the same way you spread something like butter.  As far as eating Zoodles on bread, well that's been a favorite snack of mine since I was a little kid.  I don't remember if I saw someone else doing it, or if I just started it myself.

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Spreads - Yogurt

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I've been getting a little bit of grief about spreading yogurt on bread and calling it a spread.  I understand why you might not think this works, but it does, and it has.  Many cultures have been using yogurt as an ingredient in spreads for many years, although they don't normally spread it on bread, they use pitas and wraps instead.  The thing is, after having sampled yogurt on bread I have to tell you that it actually tastes really good too.

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Spreads - Yam Jam

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I'm not a huge fan of yams, the red ones, the yellow ones, or even the purple ones.  I was also not that sure that yams would make for a great jam, or what one spreads yam jam onto.  The lady at the store where I bought it assured me that you can spread yam jam on bread.  I also thought that the colour of this stuff was well worth exploring.  As it turns out, it's pretty tasty, and the colour does not disappoint at all.

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This Week In Candy

I'm still baking a whole lot, to the point that I've been asked to bake some cupcakes for an event this Friday.   I'm nervous, because I'm worried I won't bake the perfect cupcakes, but I'm also ticked off because I hate being asked to bake something because it makes it feel like a chore.  I like the idea of baking because it's fun, and because I can work on my cookbook, which is also fun.  The idea of baking for someone's event makes me feel like I should be getting paid for it.  The thing is, the people coming to this event, and the people running it, are great people, so it would be silly for me to charge for it.  So that brings up the idea that I'm nervous about baking for them, because I don't want to let them down.

As far as the site goes, this week is the last week of featured spreads.  I may feature another kind of food on a daily basis again on this site in the future, but I have nothing concrete planned.  If you have any ideas I'd be happy to hear them out.

Finally this weekend I've been super tired.  I have a lot to prepare for the Christmas holidays and very little time to prepare it.  But you'll understand my issues a little better very soon.

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Spreads - Tuna Salad

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

Of all of the mayonnaise based salads that I've posted on this "Spreads" series, Tuna is really the true comfort food for me.  I've been eating tuna salad for as long as I can remember.  I think I like it because of its versatility, you can pretty much add anything to tuna salad and it'll taste great.  I like apples, celery, cucumbers, just about any vegetable, and even a few fruit work really well.

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Spreads - Tzatziki

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

When it comes to Greek spreads, the most famous, and tastiest one has to be Tzatziki.  It's really the perfect blend of flavours, and it's also really simple to make.  The only tip I can give you to making this stuff at home for yourself is always add way too much garlic.

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Spreads - Strawberry Jam

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

Strawberry jam is really my go to jam.  I'll sample others, but I have to say that strawberry is by far my favorite.  It's always best when it's totally loaded with big chunks as well.  A little peanut butter, a huge dollop of chunky strawberry jam, and I'm a happy boy.

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Spreads - Chocolate Sprinkles

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I got this idea from a Finnish friend of mine, and it was really tasty.  I'm surprised that this isn't a thing in North America too, it seems like it fits all of the flavours that Canadians and Americans love.  It's got butter, chocolate, and sugar, slap on some bacon and it's pretty much the perfect food.

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Crunchy Nutella!.. Sort Of.

I recently discovered what might be the next evolution in chocolate hazelnut spreads.  Surprisingly it didn't come from our friends at Nutella, instead it came from Merenda brand hazelnut spread.  I've had Merenda in the past, and it's pretty good, but this new version takes it into a new place.

This new version of Merenda is crunchy.  It's a brilliant idea that I'm surprised hasn't come up before.  The main brilliance of this is the fact that it's made crunchy with bits of hazelnut.  I could see some chocolate spread makers using other nuts, like peanuts, instead of hazelnuts, and that would be just wrong.

 These little chunks of hazelnut add so much to this spread.  The nut itself is a softer nut, so it works really well with the smooth spread.  I think a peanut might be too hard, and anything like an almond would be way too hard.  Best of all, it really adds a hint more hazelnut to the mix.  Most of the time when you're eating a hazelnut spread, you're really thinking of chocolate, in this case the nutty texture and flavour are increased and it makes for a really great spread.  I highly recommend you give it a try.

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Spreads - Speculoos

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I've written about Speculoos spread before.  The simple way to describe it is that it's a cookie that you can spread.

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Spreads - Smooth Peanut Butter

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

Have you ever noticed that some people call "smooth" peanut butter, "creamy" peanut butter.  I can only assume that it's the same thing, unless there's some kind of dairy product involved that I don't know about.

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Spreads - Salsa

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I think Jerry Seinfeld knows the most about salsa:

George: Why don't they have salsa on the table?
Jerry: What do you need salsa for?
George: Salsa is now the number one condiment in America.
Jerry: You know why? Because people like to say "salsa." "Excuse me, do you have any salsa?" We need more salsa." "Where's the salsa? No salsa?"
George: You know, it must be impossible for a Spanish person to order seltzer and not get salsa. "I wanted seltzer, not salsa!"
Jerry: "Don't you know the difference between seltzer and salsa?! You have the seltzer after the salsa!"

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Spreads - Raspberry Jam

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

I have two favorite jams, and this is one of them.  Chances are if you look in my cupboard I will have a jar of this stuff.  If it's not in my cupboard than chances are it's in my refrigerator.  If you happen to check my cupboard, and my refrigerator, and you still don't see any raspberry jam, than you might want to check my grocery list.

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Spreads - Potted Chicken

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

See yesterday's post and insert "Chicken" wherever is says "Beef".

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Spreads - Potted Beef

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

My favorite thing about this spread is what people call it "Potted Beef".  It sounds so dignified and classy, as if you'd expect to get it on little crackers at afternoon tea. Maybe that's how you're supposed to eat potted beef.  I don't really know much about this stuff other than the fact that I don't really like it.

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Spreads - Htipiti (Red Pepper Dip)

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

This dip is not hot, it's made with sweet red peppers, and that's probably best.  I'm not a huge fan of hot peppers, but I love red peppers.  I'd even go so far as to say that red peppers are my favorite kind of pepper.

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