According to various news outlets, Italian chemist Francesco Rivera, best known as the inventor of Nutella, passed away on Valentine's Day. He was 97 years old.
Called Nutella's “father” by Italian media, Rivera helped create the world's most famous hazelnut spread.
Rivera began working for Ferrero, an Italian chocolate and confectionery company. In 1952, news agency Jam Press reported decades before Nutella was introduced to the world.
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He was 25 years old and was refreshing from completing his degree in bramatology chemistry in Turin.
Rivera worked in Ferrero's “chemistry room.” Here, some of the brand's most iconic pieces were born.
Francesco Rivera, considered Nutella's “father,” has passed away. He was 97 years old. (Hendrik Schmidt/Picture Alliance via Getty Images; Jam Press)
He was part of the Ferrero team, responsible for studying the raw materials to develop new products by blending, refine and tasting the ingredients in order to pursue the perfect flavor.
Throughout his long career at Ferrero, Rivera eventually became the senior manager of a company founded in 1946 by Pietro Ferrero of the same name.
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According to Jam Press, Rivera worked closely with Ferrero's son, Michele Ferrero.
The first iteration of what would become Nutella was originally derived from Jiandouja (a confectionery made with chocolate and hazelnuts) and was called Jandouja, which was sold in 1946.
Early versions of Nutella came from confectionery made with chocolate and hazelnuts. (istock)
“The sweet paste in the first recipe was shaped into bread that can be sliced and spread into bread, named after a local carnival character,” according to the Nutella website.
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By 1951, the paste had “converted into a creamy new product that was easy to spread,” the Nutella website said. It was called a super crema.
It took more than a decade for the recipe to improve, and in 1964 the first jar of hazelnuts and cocoa cream was created, the website says.
Ferrero introduced Nutella to the world in 1964. (istock)
In his book “Mondo Nutella (Nutella World), Italian journalist Gigi Padovani said that Rivera and Michel Ferrero traveled the world to buy “to make the sweets better, not copy them.” It reminded me of.
Nutella is made with seven ingredients, according to websites such as sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, lecithin and vanillin.
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Founded in 2007, World Nutella Day was celebrated on February 5th.
After retirement, Rivera focused on fruit agriculture and the traditional Italian sports of Parapuguno, Jam Press reported.
World Nutella Day was celebrated earlier this month. (istock)
Rivera is survived by three sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren. Michele Ferrero passed away on February 14th, 2015, in 10 years until the day before Rivera's death.
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Rivera's funeral was scheduled for Monday in Alba. I lived in Alba after retirement. Reports say he will be placed to rest at Barbalesco.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Ferrero for further comment.
