With a jar sold every 2.5 seconds, there’s no denying that Nutella has just about taken irreversibly melded itself to mankind (a baby is born every 4.3 seconds, by the way).
And while the inimitable flavor is one that just about everyone can recognize and bow down to, there are a number of things you most likely never know about the wildly famous hazelnut spread from heaven (and from Italy).
1. Nutella is exponentially more popular than you are on Facebook.
As if we didn’t already know that people are bonkers for Nutella, trailing right behind Oreos, Nutella is the second most liked food brand on Facebook with over 30 million likes.
2. You can’t name your baby Nutella in France.
After a couple in France tried to name their newborn baby after their favorite toast-topper, Nutella was officially banned as a baby name in the country. Fortunately, it appears as though all other non-French countries are still in the clear.
3. You’re probably pronouncing it wrong.
Many make the argument that our favorite spread contains hazel-nuts, not hazel-newts, thus making the pronunciation, “nuh-tell-uh.”
However Nutella laid it down—and pretty much rocked the world—on their F.A.Q. page when they stated that the correct pronunciation is in fact, “new-tell-uh.”
4. Nutella and Tic Tacs have more in common than you might think.
Ferrero, the Italian parent company of Nutella, also invented Tic Tacs among other beloved sweet treats like Kinder chocolates and of course, Ferrero Rocher.
5. Napoleon (probably) sparked the world’s obsession with Nutella.
In the early 1800s, Napoleon decreed an embargo against the British that caused the cost of producing chocolate to skyrocket. As a result, the savviest Italian chocolatiers began to add hazelnuts to their chocolate recipes to stretch their cocoa supply as far as they could.
Although they didn’t call it Nutella back then, those 19th century Italians were probably chowing down on a spread that isn’t so different from the Nutella we know and love today.
6. There’s a whole day dedicated to the holy stuff.
February 5th is the official World Nutella Day. Even if you didn’t celebrate this year, just know that there are a number of devout Nutella-fans out there that bathed in the spread and drank it after on that special day.
7. A fourth of the world’s hazelnut supply is used to produce Nutella.
25% of the earth’s hazelnuts are made into the spread that you put on literally everything you eat. I think it’s a great allocation of the resource.
8. Nutella has European and American alter-egos.
Okay, maybe not quite alter-egos, but European Nutella uses vegetable oil, while the American version uses palm oil instead. This causes a slight difference in taste and consistency. But hey, all Nutella is A-OK in our books.
9. There’s an entire dessert bar devoted to serving it.
Eataly, Mario Bataly’s Italian marketplace comprised of restaurants, bakeries and a food market, has made the Nutella-fanatic’s dream a reailty. Eataly hosts a full-fledged Nutella bar in its New York and Chicago stores, whipping up crêpes, waffles, gelato, and pastries that prominently feature the hazelnut spread.
10. You could build Big Ben 22,000 times with the amount of Nutella consumed each year.
You could also circle the world 1.4 times with the amount of Nutella produced annually.
11. Nutella used to be free for kids in Italy.
For years, shops all over Italy would give children a complimentary smear of Nutella if they brought their own bread.