They look like close relatives: same hazelnut, same colour, both eaten off a spoon. They do two different jobs, and choosing between them is easier than it looks.
In one line
The paste is an ingredient. The spread is a finished product.
It isn’t a hierarchy: it’s a different trade. One is dosed inside something, the other is spread and that’s it.
What’s inside
| 100% Pure Paste | Noccioro 45 Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | 100% Irpinian hazelnuts, roasted and ground | Sugar, 100% Irpinian hazelnut paste (45%), skimmed milk powder, low-fat cocoa powder, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin |
| Hazelnut | 100% | 45% |
| Added sugars | None | Yes |
| Allergens | Tree nuts | Tree nuts, milk |
| How it’s used | Dosed into a recipe | Spread |
| Off the spoon | Yes, but it isn’t sweet | Yes |
| Oil rises to the top | Yes, that’s normal: no emulsifier | No: the lecithin holds it |
Why a spread can’t be 100%
Because 100% already exists, and it’s called pure paste.
The moment you want it sweet, spreadable straight from the fridge and stable once opened, in come sugar, milk and an emulsifier. Those choices are what make it a spread.
We’ll say it with the label in hand: on our 45, sugar comes before hazelnut, because ingredients are listed by descending weight and 45% is still less than everything else added together. We’d rather write it ourselves than let you discover it turning the jar around: 45% is a high percentage for a spread, and it stands up precisely because it can be checked.
It isn’t “less good”: it’s a different thing
The spread does things pure paste can’t. It stays soft in the fridge, spreads on a slice without tearing it, has a deliberate sweetness and a balance with cocoa that makes it recognisable. It’s made for one precise gesture.
Pure paste does things the spread can’t. It goes into a recipe without carrying in sugars somebody else decided, it has no lactose among its ingredients, and it concentrates hazelnut aroma like no other format.
What happens if you swap them
- You spread the pure paste on bread. You can, and it’s good. But it isn’t sweet and it’s dense: anyone expecting a spread is caught off guard. A veil of honey or jam changes everything.
- You use the spread instead of the paste in a recipe. You bring in sugar, milk and cocoa the recipe never planned for: the dessert comes out sweeter, and the hazelnut is tasted less, because there’s less of it.
Which one do I buy
| What you want to do | What to buy |
|---|---|
| Breakfast, bread, crispbread, crêpes | 45 spread |
| Filling a cake or a tart that’s already balanced | 45 spread |
| A gift that’s understood at first taste | 45 spread |
| Home-made gelato or semifreddo | Pure paste |
| Flavouring a pastry cream, a ganache, a mousse | Pure paste |
| A spoonful in coffee or hot chocolate | Pure paste |
| A dessert with no added sugars | Pure paste |
| Cooking for someone avoiding lactose | Pure paste, or the Dark spread (see below) |
Our four spreads differ in character. Their labels are not identical, and it’s worth knowing that first:
| Spread | Hazelnut | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | 45% | Milk and cocoa. Contains milk |
| Dark | 45% | Cocoa only, more assertive. No milk among the ingredients |
| White | 45% | No cocoa, with extra virgin olive oil. Contains milk |
| Havana | 32.5% | Special edition with cocoa and real rum: contains alcohol, not for minors. Contains sunflower oil |
The pure paste for the kitchen is the 170 g jar.
How to read two jars on the same shelf
Three things, and they apply to any brand, ours included.
- The hazelnut percentage. If hazelnut is in the product name, the percentage must be declared. It’s the first number to look for, and the one that moves most.
- The order of the ingredients. Descending by weight: it tells you what there’s most of, with no further arithmetic.
- The fats. If vegetable oils appear beyond the one that comes from the hazelnut, they were added. That applies to us too: White contains extra virgin olive oil as a matter of taste, Havana contains sunflower oil. Classic and Dark have no added oil at all.
There’s no need to distrust anyone: there’s a need to hold everyone to the same measure.
Quick questions
Which is healthier? Wrong question. Pure paste is hazelnut and nothing else, with no added sugars. The spread is a sweet, and should be treated as one. They play two different roles in a day.
Is pure paste bitter? No. It isn’t sweet, which is a different thing. Anyone tasting it expecting a spread reads that absence as bitterness; by the second spoonful it stops happening.
Why does the oil rise in the paste and not in the spread? Because the paste contains no emulsifiers: the hazelnut oil separates naturally, and that’s correct behaviour. Just stir before use. The spread contains sunflower lecithin, which keeps it bound.
Can I make a spread starting from pure paste? Yes, and it’s the most direct way to decide the sweetness yourself. Icing sugar and, if you like, some cocoa: the texture differs from an industrial spread, the control is entirely yours.
Is pure paste suitable for someone avoiding lactose? Hazelnut is the only ingredient, and the same goes for the Dark spread. But the full picture matters: milk is also handled in our plant, on a separate line, and pistachio is handled in our plant as well. Anyone with a diagnosed allergy should weigh that. Classic and White contain milk powder.
Do the spreads contain palm oil? No. No palm oil, no artificial flavourings, no preservatives.
If you work in a laboratory
This page is about the home formats. For gelato and pastry, pure paste comes in 1, 5 and 10 kg tubs with three roasting grades: the technical data is on the pure paste data sheet, and the comparison with already-sweetened semi-finished products is on this page.