from the LA Times

Nutty for Nutella: spreadable joy

Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

SLATHER IT ON: Homemade hazelnut-chocolate spread.

The Italian chocolate and hazelnut spread has its devoted fans.

By Amy Scattergood
February 11, 2009

Do a Google search for “Nutella,” the Italian hazelnut-chocolate spread that comes in a squat jar like peanut butter and is often found right next to it in grocery aisles, and you’ll get about 5 million results. Which is about twice what you get when you Google “chocolate chip cookies” — and several times as many as the phrase “Valentine’s Day chocolates.” You might want to remember that this weekend.

Because Nutella isn’t just junk food with a European pedigree. It can be an obsession, a habit, even a cult. If you think this is foodie hyperbole, you’re just not among the initiated.

[ click to continue reading at the LA Times ]