Dutch Delights: Chocolate Letters

What:  Chocolate Letters – chocolate shaped into different letters of the alphabet.


Why:  The custom of edible letters goes back to Germanic times when new-born children were given a runic letter made of bread as a symbol of good fortune.  Bread letters were also used in convent schools during the Middle Ages to teach the alphabet.  Once a letter was mastered, the children were allowed to eat it.  However, it was the 19th century when letters became associated with Sinterklaas.  St Nicholas presents were covered with a sheet and a bread letter placed on top to show where each child’s gifts were located.  The production of chocolate letters began around 1900 but weren’t readily available until the 1950s.


Where:  Chocolate letters can be found almost everywhere – bakeries, sweet shops, grocery stores, department stores – all keep a stock in supply.


When:  The chocolate letters are available in the Netherlands from around October 1st until December 5th.  Traditionally, once December 5th has passed any remaining letters (which is usually not many) are returned to the factory.  However, it is now possible to find some of the stores selling the left-overs and broken letters at a discount.


Varieties:  Chocolate letters come in all weights, sizes and flavours.  Milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate and chocolate with hazelnuts are the most popular, however others can be found.  The letters also vary in decoration style, from just a plain letter to letters covered in piped chocolate, nuts, fruit and even Zwarte Pieten decorations.


How Much [Should I Eat]:  If you are a chocolate fan then you should stock up in the first couple of days and attempt to eat as many letters as you can consume in the short period of time that they are available.  If you are not a chocolate fan, you may find that you are given more chocolate letters than you ever wanted.


Pas Op! (Watch Out!):  While you should purchase a letter that matches the first letter of your name, rumour had it that the larger letters in the alphabet, e.g. W and M, contained more chocolate and these letters often sold out first.  The chocolate letter companies stated that all letters are created equal and contain the same amount of chocolate.  However, many Marthas and Williams are left choosing another letter after the first few days of sales.  If this happens to you, you can always pick a different letter and justify it as you wish – “Oh, I have an S for Sinterklaas.”, “No, no, I picked C for Cool because that’s what I am!” or “There was only one letter left and I had to hop over three people and karate chop a fourth to get it!  Who cares that it is an L!”