Tastes like jagermeister
May 25, 2015 6:11 AM   Subscribe

Americans try Dutch sweets. Some are received very well, others ... not so much. Some commentary at 24 Oranges.
posted by MartinWisse (60 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
They missed the pure marzipan piggies and fruit they eat at Christmas.

(Also, after 6 months of living in NL, stroopwafels were permanently banned for the rest of my 17 years. I gained 5 pounds in cookies alone.)
posted by frumiousb at 6:29 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Hopjes are what I miss from when I worked in the Hague.
posted by three blind mice at 6:47 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


Reminds my of how I brought Dutch liquorice when I visited an SF meetup during my US trip.
I was quite impressed by how many of the US mefites liked them!

Btw if you're interested in liquorice I wouldn't recommend Haribo. Look for Venco, Redband or Klene instead. They use better ingredients.
posted by jouke at 6:49 AM on May 25, 2015 [5 favorites]


Damnit now I want Stroopwafel and the specialty grocer is like ten whole blocks away
posted by The Whelk at 6:51 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Don't Americans have liquorice? I thought everyone has liquorice.
posted by distorte at 7:02 AM on May 25, 2015


jouke, my wife and I visited Holland, Michigan two days ago and went in a candy store. My wife, who is a huge fan of licorice, was in heaven. We were both absolutely dumbstruck by the vast number of licorice varieties they sold, both packaged and in bulk, and including types we'd never seen (e.g., the white-coated tubes called "chalk"). There had to have been at least thirty different types of licorice in this store. My wife experimented with a salted hard licorice that she found way too salty for her taste, but was very pleased with the others she tried. A remarkable day of discovery!
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 7:06 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


We have liquorice. It does not, however, stretch.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:08 AM on May 25, 2015


Yeah the ammonia flavored stuff. Amniak I think? I actually kinda like it but it is super fun to watch people try it for the first time. That look of "what. the. everloving. fuck." That spreads over their face is priceless. What you don't like ammonia and salt?
posted by ian1977 at 7:13 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Ha, jiminlogansquare, that's awesome. If only because Holland Michigan has the best website on Sinterklaas that I know.
The chalk tubes are actually one of the better types of liquorice.

Distorte there's liquorice and then there is liquorice. From a Dutch perspective the liquorice that one finds in other countries (except scandinavia) is bland. Especially when it comes to salty liquorice (contains ammonium chloride aka salmiak) most americans blanch.
posted by jouke at 7:15 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


> Reminds my of how I brought Dutch liquorice when I visited an SF meetup during my US trip.

I remember this and they were excellent! Very weird and completely excellent.
posted by rtha at 7:19 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Haribo Super Piratos is where it’s at. Just the right amount of liquorice and ammonium chloride. Whoever got the strange notion that candy should be sweet?
posted by bouvin at 7:28 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


Yeah, the Dutch liquorice is super astringent. I don't like it either! I was just confused by the response of the people in the video, who never mentioned "liquorice" or "salty liquorice", but behaved like they were looking at something from another planet.
posted by distorte at 7:34 AM on May 25, 2015


Heads up liquorice lovers: a little goes a long way. /killjoy
posted by datawrangler at 7:37 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


say what you will about buzzfeed, all of the food videos i watched were great. they also had some where a couple guys have an foreign uber driver/cabbie takes them to their favorite restaurant that has food from their home country.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:39 AM on May 25, 2015


One of my mother's favorite pranks to play on my childhood friends was to offer them dubbel zoute licorice with a forewarning that they might not be able to handle the candy. Motivated either by politeness or a desire to appear strong, my friends wouldn't spit it out until after their face started changing color, my mother had started not-quite-cackling at them, and certain promises were made... If they were polite, she assured them that lots of people had a hard time eating it; if they were macho she assured them she wouldn't be insulted. Such a joker she was.

That said, I love the stuff because it's a candy I won't binge eat. However it is a bit of an acquired taste.
posted by elsp at 8:40 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


omg salmiak! I have about a pound left from the massive load I brought back from semester abroad in Helsinki. I was the only taker, yes most people (Americans) that try it can't understand the love I feel!
On second glance I believe its the Piratos, although I bought them out of the bulk bin from Stockman's...
posted by bird internet at 8:42 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


This 100% missed the boat by not having them eat Tyrkisk Peber, which is my FAVORITE and sadly super hard to find in the US.
posted by bibliogrrl at 9:17 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Man, I hate videos like these. I want to be one of the taste testers, and I promise NOT to spit anything out. For reals.
posted by Samizdata at 9:32 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Oh yeah, definitely big ups on the candy store in Holland, Michigan. I grew up there and Holland Peanut was (and still is) the best candy store I've ever seen in the U.S.

They have everything from double-salted licorice to classic Brach's pick-a-mix to those crazy candy cigarettes and bubble-gum cigars you can't find anymore, plus the best store-roasted peanuts and hand-dipped chocolate everything.

If you're on the west side of Michigan anytime, definitely worth a look in... It's been in the Fabiano family for at least 75-80 years...

And one comment on the video itself -- stroopwafels are even better when you let them rest on the rim of your coffee or tea mug so they soften and goo-ify in the heat. Dunking is also encouraged.
posted by saintjoe at 9:46 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


I love real licorice to the point that it's on my "weird reasons I might end up in a hospital" list. Also, thanks for the stroopwafel dunking tip.
posted by pernoctalian at 9:50 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Don't Americans have liquorice? I thought everyone has licorice.

Yeah, but it's one of those things like "I'm scared of clowns" or "I hate the word 'moist'" as something Americans believe for no real reason.

posted by sideshow at 10:03 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Don't Americans have liquorice? I thought everyone has liquorice.

I thought the same about the liqueur chocolates.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 10:19 AM on May 25, 2015


Finding a candy shop in Amsterdam when I was so high as to be nearly blind. Loading up, somehow finding a park bench. Then the monomyth began.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:33 AM on May 25, 2015


This 100% missed the boat by not having them eat Tyrkisk Peber, which is my FAVORITE and sadly super hard to find in the US.

Ah, but that's Danish, not Dutch. No boat-missing here.
posted by Sourisnoire at 10:37 AM on May 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Don't Americans have liquorice? I thought everyone has liquorice.
It may be a regional/generational thing but some people in the U.S. call red extruded licorice-shaped mystery berry/fruit flavored confections "licorice" too, and in some places (movie theaters come to mind) the red stuff is all you can get.
posted by usonian at 11:14 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, up here in Canada, "liquorice" is red (other colours too, but that's the main one); black liquorice is called "black liquorice." However, if something is "liquorice-flavoured," that means it tastes like black liquorice (or, you know, actual liquorice). The red stuff doesn't taste like much of anything.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:26 AM on May 25, 2015


Yeah, the Dutch liquorice is super astringent.
Nope, there are plenty of types that are sweet and mild, such as honingdrop (honey liquorice). The world doesn't end with double salt.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:37 AM on May 25, 2015


samizdata if I send you some dubbelzoute licquorice will you make a youtube video tasting them and not spit them out?
Just let me know because I will send some Dutch liquorice to you.
posted by jouke at 11:43 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


The red stuff doesn't taste like much of anything.

Propylene glycol and artificial cherries. But mostly propylene glycol.
posted by bonehead at 11:57 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


saintjoe: Dunking is also encouraged.
Not by me, it's not. Stroopwafels turn into a goopy mess and fall apart if you dunk them. Much better to let them warm up on top of your hot beverage of choice. But don't overdo it or they'll melt, and fall in and ruin said hot beverage.

Stroopwafels! I'll have you know I know my stroopwafels.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:01 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


I think liquorice is a generational thing. I'm 60ish and I think of it as something my grandmother liked. I remember eating in Germany, as a kid though. And Gummi Bears, before they had them in the US.
posted by Bee'sWing at 12:11 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


There's plenty of liquorice around today, it's in every supermarket I go to, what makes you think it's generational?
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:14 PM on May 25, 2015


Why are they all confused by alcohol-filled chocolates? What kind of warning did they expect? Rum-filled chocolate seems very clear. (Also delicious.)

And now I want both that and stroopwafels, which I haven't had in years.
posted by jeather at 12:25 PM on May 25, 2015


Finding a candy shop in Amsterdam when I was so high as to be nearly blind.

In future, visit Puccini *before* the coffeeshop.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:33 PM on May 25, 2015


The world doesn't end with double salt.

No, but it is the best.
posted by nubs at 12:42 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


This got posted while I was in transit from the airport to my hotel in Amsterdam. So, uh, where might a girl go to get some sweets, then? (I don't like licorice, but stroopwafels are fantastic and I am intrigued by this butter cake..) Is Puccini going to work for me if one of the first words I learned in Danish was "lakrids" so I could avoid being taken in unsuspectingly?
posted by nat at 12:46 PM on May 25, 2015


Puccini does fancy chocolates, not everyday sweets or buttercake. Supermarkets will sell boterkoek and stroopwafels and sugary things. Avoid anything that has the word 'drop' in the name, as that is Dutch for liquorice, and you'll be fine!
If you can find a store named Jamin, that is good too. And bakeries also have boterkoek.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:52 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Does nobody call them "Droppies"?? That's what we call them 'round here.
posted by beau jackson at 1:31 PM on May 25, 2015


When I was in Holland a few weeks ago, I and my co-workers got the stuff for the folks at home at a supermarket: speculaas, stroopwafels, liquorice (salt and no salt), wine gums and so on. Very easy.
posted by bonehead at 1:32 PM on May 25, 2015


Everyone needs to stop what they're doing right now and read the wine jellies chapter of "Gravity's Rainbow".
posted by hwestiii at 1:40 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Where are the Hollandse Drops? My stepfather was a traveling salesman, and every now and then, he'd bring home a tin of those. The brown ones were best, but all of them were delicious.
posted by mumimor at 1:43 PM on May 25, 2015


All real Drop is Hollandse Drop. :-P
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:47 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


This got posted while I was in transit from the airport to my hotel in Amsterdam. So, uh, where might a girl go to get some sweets, then?

Depends on where you are, I would recommend taking a stroll down the Albert Cuyp street market for some amazing stroopwafels and much, much more . . .
posted by jeremias at 1:54 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


I love Dutch liquorice, so salty and good. The Dutch make some ace shit. There's a Dutch shop down the road from where I live, I will have to go and get one of those butter cakes.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:18 PM on May 25, 2015


For my fellow Americans: a reminder that Trader Joe's sells mini stroopwafels (among many other places but TJs is probably not as dangerous to visit as the international candy shop). One of my best memories of Brussels was discovering stroopwafels there.
posted by librarylis at 4:28 PM on May 25, 2015


Don't Americans have liquorice? I thought everyone has licorice.

Yes, we have licorice, but not the nasty ammonia flavored kind they have in the Netherlands. The reason it's ammonia flavored is that it's actually 'salted' with ammonium chloride.

I got back at my Dutch colleague for feeding me 'salted' licorice by feeding him Wasabi Peas. They were too hot for him rather mild Dutch palate and he had to spit them out and rinse out his mouth.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 4:42 PM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


These type of videos and the office workers/actors in them annoy the shit out of me.

I like the Kids Taste Coffee one though
posted by growabrain at 4:48 PM on May 25, 2015


Stroopwafels are everywhere. They sell them at Wawa in Delaware. Right next to the butterscotch krimpets.
posted by interplanetjanet at 5:23 PM on May 25, 2015


Ah, but that's Danish, not Dutch. No boat-missing here.

Finnish, surely?
posted by acb at 5:50 PM on May 25, 2015


Damnit now I want Stroopwafel and The Whelk's specialty grocer is like 700 miles away
posted by double block and bleed at 7:46 PM on May 25, 2015


The only thing they didn't like (and not all of them) was the black licorice. I hated black licorice as a kid, but like it a lot now. Everything else might be novel to Americans but not exactly exotic.
posted by zardoz at 8:41 PM on May 25, 2015


I was in Europe recently (Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany), and I noticed a lot of coffee shops in all three places that had liquorice lattes. They were great. Like a normal latte but with a little shot of salty-sweet liquorice syrup, and then liquorice powder sprinkled on top.
posted by lollusc at 10:18 PM on May 25, 2015


I like chewy black licorice. The salty licorice that it mentions here is a whole different thing. Don't be fooled.
posted by demiurge at 10:27 PM on May 25, 2015


Ah, but that's Danish, not Dutch. No boat-missing here.

Finnish, surely?


Tyrkisk Peber is originally Danish. But it's produced in Finland nowadays after a takeover, so there's that.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:35 PM on May 25, 2015


" So, uh, where might a girl go to get some sweets, then?"

I would advise you to visit a shop called Jamin. It's a candy store. Unfortunately their website is Dutch only but they have a few stores in the inner city of Amsterdam.

http://www.jamin.nl/

Also, if you like your candy old-school, try the drugstore (apotheek). They often sell original style candy.

(And if you're into the whole stroopwafel thing, there's a variety not mentioned here, called stroopkoek, which uses a slightly different type of dough. Supermarkets like Albert Heijn sell them as well.)
posted by stthspl at 11:45 PM on May 25, 2015


It's my theory that many people don't appreciate the sweets and desserts of other cultures because their preferences were acquired in childhood. It's the last bastion of ethnocentrism.
posted by bad grammar at 3:54 AM on May 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


I was going to mention Jamin, too, but as stthspl says, the even better candies are found in an old-school apotheek. The best ones are found in older buildings with a the bust of a yawning jester type character in white-face (a 'gaper' [pronounced 'gaaa pr'], which translates to 'yawner' ) over the door. These places oft still have their traditional Dutch sweets in glass jugs and weigh them for you.

As for this thread, it has played with my hopes: first getting them up, for I have had the secret dream for decades now of starting a stroopwafel empire in the US, and then dashing them slightly as it seems that others have already started building theirs, albeit in a minor way so far.
posted by MacD at 9:42 AM on May 26, 2015


ArgentCorvid: say what you will about buzzfeed, all of the food videos i watched were great. they also had some where a couple guys have an foreign uber driver/cabbie takes them to their favorite restaurant that has food from their home country.

Here's the video in question. It is a pretty good one. I'm hoping Buzzfeed's politics subreddit section gets into making videos, as their videos have millions of views each, so they'd really get some traction there. But they could also keep making videos of Americans trying foreign foods and weird products, it's not mutually exclusive.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:23 PM on May 26, 2015


Yeah, up here in Canada, "liquorice" is red

When I was growing up it was green and thin like a shoelace, or extra wide and flat, but black licorice existed too as licorice babies, or Licorice Allsorts and, I'm sure there was also black twizzlers alongside the other twizzlers and nibs. There used to also be these incredible hard candies with a anise seed in the centre that I used to carefully suck to melt away the layers of sugar ... back when corner stores had bulk candy bins and you could buy it by the piece.

I've never dared to try the salted licorice at the local Dutch grocer, but had mint nopjes, they have some Dutch candy in bulk maybe I'll see if they have it next time I'm there then chase it with a bunch of hopjes.
posted by redindiaink at 9:39 PM on May 26, 2015


Sadly my stay in Amsterdam was too brief to actually get out to the specific places you all recommended. But I did get some stroopwaffels up in Groningen, and some sweets at Tabak's Notenbar.

I also got to try an after-dinner lolly-- a salmiak lolly. My colleague described it roughly as "it starts out a bit salty, but as you continue eventually you reach a salt singularity in the middle." It's not an inaccurate description, I think..
posted by nat at 4:52 AM on June 1, 2015


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