Happy World Nutella Day 2012: Or, What to Eat During the Super Bowl Halftime Show

In addition to being the Super Bowl (Patriots vs. Giants, by the way), this Sunday, Feb. 5, is the sixth annual World Nutella Day. OK, this is one of those holidays (Arbor Day, National Cream Puff Day) that may seem arbitrary and slightly ridiculous at first, when in fact it is a serious vindication for some of us.

In 2007, two American expat writers living in Italy, Sara Rosso and Michelle Fabio, made it official, declaring their love for the chocolate-hazelnut spread and the day a holiday. What to eat in the kitchen during the halftime show, if Madonna at 53 is not really your thing. Or read maybe, as Rosso and Fabio also have a book, The Unofficial Guide to Nutella, (history! stories! recipes!) out on Kindle.

To find Nutella, you can use Ferraro USA's handy store locator. But that doesn't provide much detail other than the address and phone number of your local Albertson's, and certainly nothing like the nuances between countries of origin. Because although Ferraro will tell you that all jars taste the same, they do not. Italian-made Nutella, which you can find in the crowded aisles at Bay Cities in Santa Monica, tastes different from the jars manufactured in North America. German-made Nutella (Alpine Village Bakery in Torrance) also tastes different, as does the Polish-made spread (Avakian's Grocery in Glendale). Many Nutella devotees knife the stuff onto slabs of bread, or onto pancakes or waffles or crepes. That is, when we're not just eating it out of the jar.

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