Nocciola Piemonte I.G.P.

This is the paste people mean when they say a gelateria takes hazelnut seriously. It is also the one most often used badly, because its virtues are the opposite of obvious.

What it is

A hazelnut paste made exclusively from hazelnuts certified by the Piedmont Hazelnut I.G.P. consortium — an origin designation covering a growing area recognised for the aromatic and structural properties of its nuts. Elenka toasts them gently and declares no added flavourings.

The roast scale, and where this sits

Within a single nut, roast level changes the finished gelato more than origin does. Elenka's hazelnut range runs from gentle to intense, and the two ends are genuinely different products rather than better and worse versions of one.

Piemonte I.G.P. sits at the gentle end: light in colour, floral, with aromatic notes that keep developing after the spoon has gone. Laurus sits at the intense end: dark, robust, and unmistakably hazelnut from the first contact.

This is the single most useful thing to know when changing supplier or product. A hazelnut gelato that "tastes different now" has almost always moved one step along the roast scale. Ask about roast level before you ask about price.

Why the dosage is higher

At 120 grams per litre of mix it is dosed half again as much as Laurus at 80. That is not a quality signal in either direction — it is the arithmetic of a deliberately restrained flavour. Dosage tracks intensity.

It does mean the cost comparison has to be run properly. Per kilogram of pail this is an expensive paste; per litre of finished gelato it is more expensive still, because you use more of it. That is the honest position, and it is defensible on a menu where the hazelnut is the reason people come.

The figure is quoted per litre of mix. At 120 grams the fat contribution is substantial — enough to soften the set noticeably — so recalculate your solids rather than dropping it into an existing recipe.

Where it works and where it does not

It works where nothing is competing with it: a plain hazelnut tub, a gianduia built around it, a semifreddo, a pastry cream. It is wasted under a chocolate coating, behind a crunch ripple, or in a tub that also carries a caramel variegate — all of which will simply talk over it, and any of which would be better served by an intensely roasted paste at two-thirds of the dosage.

Working with it

Stir the pail from the bottom before every use; oil separation is normal in a pure nut paste. Keep it sealed, cool and out of the light, and buy the pail size your turnover justifies rather than the one with the best price per kilogram.

What we do not publish

Ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage conditions are absent from this page because no Elenka specification sheet is held for the Australian range. Absent means the data is not held, never that the answer is no. Hazelnut is a declarable tree nut in Australia and the obligation falls on the business serving the customer.