My New Peanut Butter

There is nothing novel about Nutella. Giada De Laurentiis, for instance, uses it a lot on her cooking show Everyday Italian (seen on Lifestyle Network, ch. 52 on SkyCable). Nutella, for those not in the know, is a hazelnut and cocoa (with skimmed milk) spread, somewhat akin to the likes of peanut butter. Only richer. And creamier. And chocolatier. And oh-so-very-good. Nutella is love. Nutella is godsend. Nutella is my new peanut butter. It actually tastes rather similarly to Ferrero Rocher chocolate; as well they should since Ferrero, as it turns out, had a hand in its development.

As you may, or may not, have already guessed, I’ve only recently given Nutella a try. I’ve seen it countless times on supermarket shelves, but never actually bought even one bottle. I always just walked away. So imagine my delight when I actually decided to give it a shot and found how much I love the stuff. One bite of my plain Nutella sammich and I swear I was orgasming in my mouth. It’s that good.

But as much as I love Nutella, I wouldn’t recommend you have it all the time, lest you’re okay with becoming a fatty. Nutella is chocolate, sugar, dessert. You getting my point here? Unless of course you don’t just lie around the comforts of your bed with its stinky, unwashed sheets everyday, procrastinating going to the gym (’sayang naman yung membership mo!’), and considering what prospects the outside world will bring you for the day, like I do every single day. Then by all means, go right on ahead. After all, even I was not immune to the addictive powers of Nutella.

A small bottle of Nutella costs Php 133.00 at Landmark Supermarket. Yes, I know that’s a bit of a splurge for a small bottle of sammich spread. But fret not, fellow bourgeois, for there’s a perfect alternative available in supermarkets (located right beside the Nutellas, actually): Finetti, whose label dubs it as a ”hazelnut spread with cocoa”. I’ve tried both, and it really is just as good, perfect for Nutella lovers. Well, okay so admittedly Nutella is the one of better quality; a well-trained tongue would be able to tell by its texture and consistency, as well as in the fullness and body of its flavor. And Finetti is relatively sweeter than its original counterpart. But seriously, unless you’re that finicky about your taste pallette, trust me when I say you wouldn’t mind having Finetti instead. A small dipping-cup of Finetti costs around 45 bucks, which is a about a third of what you would have to pay for Nutella.