Why Nutella Doesn't Taste Like It Used To

Whether you prefer slathering it on morning toast or using it in a dessert to impress sweet-toothed friends, Nutella is a staple in any kitchen pantry (because it should never be stored in the fridge). A rich, lip-smacking spread made from a combination of hazelnuts and chocolate, Nutella has a legacy of delighting customers as a topping on French toast, a garnish on ice cream, and an addition to several other creative concoctions. If you've picked up one of those jars today and wondered why that mouthwatering Nutella from childhood is starting to look a little different, you're not imagining things.

Nutella doesn't look or taste like it used to because the parent company that produces the spread, Ferrero, altered the recipe back in 2017. What many fans dubbed "#NutellaGate" began with the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre, a Germany-based organization, noticing that the color of Nutella was beginning to look lighter than older jars. Upon checking the ingredients, the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre speculated that the lighter color was due to Ferrero secretly modifying the beloved Nutella recipe. This speculation was confirmed by Ferrero, Nutella's parent company, which verified that the Nutella recipe underwent "a small fine-tuning" (Today).

According to research from the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre, older jars of Nutella were created with 7.5% milk powder (or skimmed milk powder), but the new recipe sees that number jump up to 8.7% milk powder. This could explain the color change, with the higher quantity of milk powder now overpowering the cocoa powder. Ferrero did admit that there was an alteration to the milk powder quantity, claiming that the original whey powder was substituted with milk powder and that the quantity increased from "6.6% to 8.7%." Although the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre found that the sugar content of Nutella increased from 55.9% to 56.3%, Ferrero claimed that the "amount of total sugar has not increased" (TODAY).

Another strange change to the Nutella recipe was the fat content. During #NutellaGate, Ferrero claimed that "the nutritional values [of Nutella] remain[ed] practically unchanged" (Time). Yet, the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre noted that the fat content of Nutella dropped from 31.8% to 30.9%, another possible outcome attributed to the use of more milk powder and less cocoa powder. Ferrero denied any changes to cocoa powder levels. Although Nutella will never taste exactly the way it did when you were young and used to sneak a spoonful before dinner, it still makes a delicious addition to flavored cream cheese or crumbly coffee cake!