Since bread is such a staple food in the Netherlands, it’s no surprise that there’s a wide variety of toppings to choose from. Here, sprinkles are not just for cupcakes and ice cream.
According to bread decorators, De Ruijter, the average Dutch person eats one kilo of chocolate bread toppings every year, with more than 600 million chocolate sprinkle sandwiches consumed nationwide per annum.
Hagelslag
The name of these sandwich sprinkles means ‘hailstorm’ in English. Dark, extra dark, milk or white chocolate sprinkles are available, or a mixture. Non-chocolate options include fruity sprinkles, forest fruit, strawberry and raspberry, and aniseed flavours. These are more powdery than the chocolate variety. Extra-large sized hagelslag can be found on the shelves too. Be sure to use butter on the bread before sprinkling, or very few of the morsels will make it to your mouth.
Vlokken
These chocolate flakes are larger than hagelslag, more like shavings. Also available in dark, extra dark, milk, white chocolate or a combination. There are plenty of themed boxes that appeal to the kids in a variety of colours, like the jungle range by Venz, for example.
Muisjes
Not actually baby mice, as the translation suggests, but sugar coated anise seeds. The stem of the seed resembles a tail, making them look like tiny mice, hence the name. Traditionally served by new parents to visitors after the birth of a child on beschuit, a sort of rusk. Thus you can buy a blue and white box, or a pink and white box, but they taste the same. You can also buy gestampte muisjes, which are the same thing crushed into a powder, and a little easier on your teeth.
Appelstroop
Don’t be fooled by the fact that there’s fruit in the name of this product, there’s plenty of sugar in it too. Originally produced as a way of preserving apples, this dark sticky spread is syrup made from concentrated apple juice and sugar. According to tests carried out by consumer association, De Consumentenbond, the typical apple content is around 30%. It’s said to be a good source of iron, and tastes pretty good with cheese in a sandwich. It’s often put on pancakes, and used in stews and meat sauces too.
Speculoospasta
A spread that tastes like the typical Dutch speculaas cookies, flavoured with the same spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom and pepper. Crunchy and smooth versions are available. It was rebranded for the US and UK markets as Biscoff Spread, and dubbed ‘crack in a jar’ in British media in 2014 when sales rocketed. This calorie bomb is very rich and sweet. It’s not unheard of to put the biscuits themselves on bread, too.
Pindakaas
‘Peanut cheese’ is what most of us know as peanut butter, but since the term butter is protected here, the word cheese was used instead. Whilst it’s not exclusive to the Netherlands, its popularity means that the variety available is pretty wide: crunchy, smooth, creamy, light, cashew, spicy, honey, hazelnut and cocoa. Plus, any Dutchie will tell you that it’s different here: more peanutty, less buttery and far superior. The leading Dutch brand is Calvé, and from 1948-2008 it was produced at a factory right here in Delft. You may be spoiled for choice, but don’t think you have to stick to one of these sweet treats, combining them on a slice is perfectly acceptable.
This is an updated version of a previous Survival Guide article.
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