A few years ago, I did a tour of Europe, following the history of chocolate from the Basque country, through Spain, France, Netherlands, and Belgium. One of the stops I was most excited about, and that I just recently realised I hadn’t shared with you yet, was Torino.
While tourists flock to Rome, Venice and Florence, Torino, or Turin in English should be just as high up on your list, if not higher. Turin was the first capital of Italy and its tree-lined avenues filled with beautiful monuments and squares and long arcaded streets are friendly and inviting. I felt like a local as soon as I start walking and within a few moments had even picked out a number of buildings I would happily move into and stay for a long while. As soon as I realised how much amazing food is also here, in addition to the chocolates, I called Rich to tell him to pack everything up and get ready to move (it didn’t happen, sadly he didn’t answer his phone…I forgot about the time difference).
Turin has a long history with chocolate which I’ll tell you a bit about over the next few posts. I wanted to get straight into the tasting through before I did anymore learning so my first stop after landing was Guido Gobino Chocolate. This family run business was founded in 1946. You can visit their historic headquarters in Via Cagliari to see their entire supply chain. I chose to visit their small shop on Via Lagrange in the historic centre of Turin which has an equally small outdoor terrace. Instead of groups of tourists, there were swarms of secondary students from different regions of Italy visiting, weaving in and out of old buildings and museums, grabbing ice-creams called Pinguinos that are sold a block away and visibly enjoying the freedom of a school trip away from home.
They have four hot chocolates on offer at Guido Gobino. Their classic is described as “thick, delicious, traditional”. They have two dark chocolate offerings made without milk, one plain and one flavoured with Sicilian oranges. The last, the one I ordered, is the gianduja made with PGI Piedmont hazelnuts. The prices range from 6 to 8.50 euros.
At this point I should probably explain to you what is so special about chocolate in this region, or at least one of the reasons. It is the hazelnuts. PGI Piedmont Hazelnuts from this region are considered the best in the worlds, grown following strict rules imposed by the growers’ consortium. Since 1997, Guido Gobina have been buying the entire annual hazelnut harvest from five farms. All of their ingredients, apart from their cocoa beans, are local. The whole milk they use comes from Piedmontese Alpine Regions (Turin, Asti and Cuneo) and the sugar is 100% Italian beetroot sugar. Their cocoa beans come from a bit further afar, from Venezuela, Ecuador, Sao Tome and Mexico. You can find out more about their ingredients and the way they operate through their sustainability report (which I found quite interesting).
Apart from their hot chocolates, the main show here is actually their chocolates. Let me introduce the family to you. First, there is the Giandujotti. Gianjujotto (the singular form, Giandujotti is plural) is considered to be the first ever wrapped chocolate in history, first wrapped up in Turin in 1865. The classic version is shaped a bit like an upside down boat made with cocoa, PGI Piedmont Hazelnut and milk and weights 10 grams. They also sell a 5-gram version of the Giandujotti called Tourinot. Next, the Cialdine are small wrapped disks of single origin dark chocolate. Last but not least, the Cremini, another traditional chocolate from Turin, is a small square shaped chocolate consisting of three layers, of which the top and bottom ones are made of Gianduja chocolate and the middle changes depending on the maker. Guido Gobino is famous for their version with extra Virgin Olive Oil from Liguria and sea salt. When I was there, many ladies were coming in to buy their weekly (daily?) jars of Gianduja Chocolate Spread made of 45% hazelnuts. That’s me….in a few years…
The hot chocolate is thick, very thick, so thick in fact that you don’t drink it, you eat it. I happily ate the whole thing. While the chocolate tastes like pudding without any particularly noticeable flavour notes, the hazelnuts came through bright and fresh in a way I hadn’t tasted before. The “drink” is served with a shot of sparkling water on the side I’m assuming to help rinse it all down but I had it first; I want this hazel-nutty feeling to linger just a bit longer.
You can also buy their hot chocolates in powdered form to make at home. They have a classic and a dark option as well as an interesting third option made from cocoa produced in the Chontalpa region in Tabasco, Mexico in collaboration with the Slow Food Presidium. For all of these they recommend using 35-40g of powder, adding 100ml of milk into a saucepan and stirring over low heat until it is lightly boiling. In their shop they also sold cocoa beauty products including creams.
Verdict: They also have some stores in Milan if you can’t get to Turin…but you really should. For more on Turin, be sure to subscribe to sips.ultimatehotchocolate.com
Guido Gobino, Via Lagrange 1/A, 10123 Turin, Italy.
