Dutch Delights: Hagelslag

Hagelslag

What:

Hagelslag – small confectionery sprinkles, often made of chocolate.

Why:

According to Wikipedia, “Dutch hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) was first invented in 1936 by Gerard de Vries for Venz, a Dutch company made popular by said treat.

Several letters to Venz from a five-year-old boy, H. Bakker, asking for a chocolate bread topping, inspired and prompted de Vries’ development of sprinkles. After much research and venture, de Vries and Venz created the first machine to produce the tiny cylindrical treats. They were named “Hagelslag” after their resemblance to a weather phenomenon prominent in the Netherlands, hail.”

Where:

Hagelslag is found in the supermarket, usually in a medium-sized box.  Small “sample” boxes are also available.

When:

You can really eat hagelslag whenever you like but a real Dutch tradition is to eat it on toast or bread in the morning.  To prevent the sprinkles from falling off the bread, you can add a thin layer of butter before sprinkling them on.  You can also use them on top of ice cream, sandwiched between two pieces of bread, in some warm milk and no doubt in a zillion other ways.

Varieties:

There are quite a few varieties when it comes to Hagelslag.  The most common are the differences in the type of chocolate, everything from dark chocolate to white chocolate can be found.  You can also find fruit flavoured hagelslag.

How Much [Should I Eat]:

If you like chocolate then you are bound to like hagelslag.  If you are a kid who likes chocolate, then you will no doubt be in love with the stuff as what could be better than chocolate for breakfast?  I personally am not a fan of hagelslag but then I am also not a big fan of chocolate.

Pas Op! (Watch Out!):

Only hagelslag with a cacao percentage of more than 35% can bear the name “chocolate hagelslag”. If the percentage is under the 35% mark, it has to be called cacao fantasy hagelslag.