Venchi - Nougatine Bonbons - July 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Venchi
Nougatine Bonbons 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .388 oz. (11 g.) for 2 pieces (1.94 oz. (5.5 g. each))
Calories: 58 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces -- 539 cals. in 100 g.
Cost: $1.90 for 2 pieces
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, part of online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Italian Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Nougatine Bonbons were from Venchi (Torino (Turin), Italy).

Nougatine is an historic specialty for Venchi. The recipe for today's confection is said to date back to 1878. First, sugar is caramelized in a copper cooking pot and then bits of special, local (IGP) hazelnuts are incorporated. Then the nougat center is covered with chocolate.

The 56% dark chocolate coating around these capsule-shaped bonbons covered a hard, crunchy center of toffee-like caramelized bits of Italian IGP hazelnuts. These special hazelnuts from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy had a special sweet, creamy roasted nutty flavor that lingered into the finish. 

Because of the capsule shape of these shiny, individually-wrapped chocolates, I was tempted to write a prescription to myself: take two of these each morning; to be taken daily, for the rest of 2020.

Ingredients: Hazelnut Piedmont i.G.P. caramelized (sugar, Piedmont hazelnut 48%) 66.2% cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, coating agent: gum Arabic, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor. (Venchi chocolates are "naturally gluten free;" however, (this nougatine) may contain traces of other nuts, milk, fruits.)