Barbero
The Estate
The history of Davide Barbero goes back seven generations to 1838, when Filippo Barbero became the baker of a church in Asti. At the time, being a baker required not only the ability to produce bread and pastries, but torrone candies called noasetti. Today, the Barbero brand is considered one of the finest brands of torrone in all of Italy.
Emphasizing prime, local ingredients where possible, Barbero holds true to traditional recipes. Depending on the flavor variety, you'll find Pizzute almonds, lemon honey from Sorrento, Bronte pistachios, orange honey from Etna, and real Madagascar vanilla. They are naturally gluten free.
Since 7 generations, Barbero products are done following the traditional recipes. The Piedmont factory is focused on two main products: torrone and chocolate, using the best available ingredients.
The Products
The torrone: a traditional Italian sweet from Piedmont, made of nougat and nuts. It comes in soft and hard versions, and is very popular during Christmas, but can be enjoyed any time of the year.
“We watched in awe as giant vats of candy swirled to combine the egg whites, sugar, and honey. D. Barbero makes both soft and hard torrone and his products are still made according to the original recipe from 1833. The temperature of the mixture is what determines the hardness of the candy. They also roast local Piedmont hazelnuts on site, then add the hand-selected golden nuts to the mixture to gently combine before being shaped into bars. What’s special about D. Barbero torrone is that it has a high ratio of nuts to nougat, so that when you cut into the torrone the hazelnuts are uniformly distributed throughout the torrone.”
The chocolate: the typical chocolate in Piedmont is a special one, called Gianduja, a smooth chocolate with hazelnut paste. The hazelnuts give each ingot an irresistibly nutty flavour.
Ca' dei Bianchi
Piedmont hazelnuts, which received the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), IGP in Italian, with the denomination “Nocciola Piemonte”, are a very high quality products. This hazelnut grows in the hills and in the mountain area, between 250 and 600-700 above sea level.
“Tonde” (round) for their size and the sinuosity of their shapes and “gentile” (gentle) for the quantity of natural oil that contains, the Ca ‘dei bianchi hazelnuts embody the Piedmontese spirit with some reviews to enhance its flavor and qualities.