Dark chocolate hagelslag sprinkles on buttered bread

Hagelslag (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦaːɣəlˌslɑx]) are small, oblong, sweet-tasting chocolate granules, which are sprinkled on slices of buttered bread or rusks. The name refers to hail, hagel meaning hail and neerslag meaning precipitation.

Hagelslag is traditionally eaten by the Dutch for breakfast or lunch.[1] Hagelslag is mostly not available in other countries with the exception of Suriname, Brazil, Belgium, the former Netherlands Antilles and Indonesia (all of which were former Dutch colonies), where one can buy Hagelslag in stores.[1][2] In those regions, customers generally use Hagelslag to decorate desserts and cakes. Hagelslag is also available in the ethnically Dutch communities of New Zealand, such as Foxton in the Manawatū, where it is widely available.[3][4]

Another variant is hagelslag vlokken ("Hagelslag flakes"), chocolate flakes to sprinkle on sandwiches. There are other flavors of Hagelslag, such as chocoladehagelslag (chocolate) and vruchtenhagel (fruit), and even milkchocoladehagelslag.[1]

History

According to historical records from the Amsterdam City Archives, Hagelslag was originally invented by B.E. Dieperink, the director of the liquorice sweet company VENCO, in 1919. VENCO obtained a patent for the name, which meant that other companies, such as De Ruijter, were not permitted to use the term to describe their own products. Consequently, De Ruijter opted to name their sprinkles based on their flavors, using the term hagel after the flavor (such as in vruchtenhagel).[1] De Ruijter introduced competition to VENCO with their assortment of flavors, including lemon, raspberry, orange, and aniseed. According to some sources, the tradition of Dutch sprinkles can be traced back to 1919, when a licorice factory in Amsterdam developed sprinkles with an aniseed flavor.[5]

Similar products

In other countries, a whole range of products similar to Hagelslag are used as confectionery sprinkles to decorate cakes, cookies, desserts, and ice cream. Sprinkles are available worldwide, and are used to create fairy bread, a kids' birthday dessert from Australia, consisting of buttered bread with sprinkles on top. There are a lot of varieties when it comes to shape (novelty-shaped sprinkles are called confetti candy, but the majority of sprinkles are rod-shaped. Nonpareils (also known as hundreds and thousands in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and South Africa) are similar to sprinkles (and those names are often used interchangeably), but round instead of rod-shaped. The Dutch, apart from Hagelslag, also eat muisjes ("little mice"), which are anise seeds covered in sugary shell.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wedia. "A brief history of Dutch sprinkles a.k.a. hagelslag". IamExpat. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  2. ^ "SchoolTV: Eigenwijzer - Aardrijkskunde - Speculaas en hagelslag". 2010-10-29. Archived from the original on 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  3. ^ "Hollandse molen in Nieuw Zeeland - Reisverslag uit Foxton, Nieuw Zeeland van Familie Helder - WaarBenJij.nu". famhelder.waarbenjij.nu. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  4. ^ "De Molen (windmill) Foxton, 96a Main Street, Phone +64 6 363 5601, page 2". nz.oceaniabiz.com. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  5. ^ a b Food, Science Meets (2016-11-23). "Giving Thanks For Hagelslag |". Science Meets Food. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
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