Nutella vs Jif Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads

 In case you don't see the note below, this post has been updated here.

You knew it had to happen eventually right? If you've read this blog in any sort of meaningful way, you know of my love for Nutella. Although I still never know if I should be capitalizing the "n" or not.

Anyway, I found it interesting when I noticed a store brand chocolate hazelnut spread maybe a year or so ago. A few weeks ago, I noticed that Jif came out with their own chocolate hazelnut spreads.

I was a bit startled at first. Was Jif really going after Nutella like that? But then I noticed the mocha cappuccino flavor and was a bit intrigued. Hmmm. This could be kind of good.

So I bought some and tried it on some wheat toast. It was pleasant enough. How bad could a chocolate hazelnut spread possibly be? Not really bad at all, I'd say.

Maybe if I had never had Nutella, it would have been mind blowing. It would have been new. But I have had Nutella. It's a staple in my house now. Like flour and salt. Pepper and oregano. Basil and balsamic. You get the drift. Olive oil and lemon! : )

I feel a little anxious when I'm running low on any of these things. Including Nutella. I wouldn't want World Nutella Day to sneak up on me and be unprepared to bake!

Maybe because I grew up in a Skippy household and not a Jif one, I have remnants of a childhood bias against Jif? I don't know. My mom was choosy, but she didn't choose it.

So I decided that I needed to do a plain side by side comparison of the two. I got two spoons and tried a spoonful of each. Maybe the healthy wheat toast was interfering with things.

The texture of Nutella was gooier. Richer. Fuller. Jif felt drier. Firmer. More solid. Also, the coffee flavor was okay, but it seemed out of place. To me Nutella wins.

Maybe the market for Jif chocolate hazelnut spreads is for people who grew up with Jif peanut butter and have some nostalgia for the brand, but have never tried Nutella. My peanut butter nostalgia is for Skippy. And now I usually just buy the store brand.

It's probably a sizeable demographic. But I'm not in it.

I've read several other comparisons out there between the two. What about you? Would you trade in Nutella?

*3/15/2013* An update to this post has been written based on an anonymous comment below. Please take a look here.

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