So recently my lovely friend Helen told us that she’s moving to the Netherlands! Although this kind of sucks in that we get to see her less, it’s already reaping foodie rewards in the form of delicious waffles and biscuits, and plans in the works to go visit this autumn!
One of the most curious things I’ve learnt from her about life in the Netherlands is what they eat for breakfast (and elevenses and lunch apparently too) – the fabulously named hagelslag. Hagelslag means hailstorm in dutch, which makes it officially the first and only dutch word that I have ever learned.
What this is – apart from the wish fulfillment of eight year olds worldwide – is a piece of buttered bread or toast, covered with chocolate or other flavoured sprinkles! Yes, the stuff that we would have on ice cream or a cake, is regularly consumed as part of a balanced (?) breakfast in the Netherlands. Is it a coincidence that the country regularly shows up as one of the happiest country’s in the world?
De Ruijter is one of the most popular sprinkle brands, and they say that 600 million hagerslag sandwiches are eaten every year – that’s about a months worth for everyone in the country. And it doesn’t just stop at chocolate – you can browse a whole aisle of hagerslag options, ranging from toffee, banana, aniseed, strawberry, and blue and pink coloured sprinkles for baby showers.
INTERESTINGLY (or at least to those of us who love sprinkles), Australia has a similar tradition: fairy bread. A favourite at children’s birthday parties, fairy bread (what an adorable name!) is white bread, buttered, with colourful sprinkles on top. I can see that kids would definitely love that and it’s so whimsical and goshdarned easy that I’m pretty sure I’d be on board if I were a parent.
Since I am lucky enough to have been given a box of hagerslag sprinkles, I decided to give it a go – in the name of science, of course! It’s easy to try at home even if you don’t have some genuine dutch sprinkles – just use whatever you have on hand (I love these pretty rainbow ones!). You can eat your hagerslag on toasted or untoasted bread, with butter (or even peanut butter – yum!).
It was delicious, tasting pretty similar to nutella on toast, although with an interesting contrast with the salted butter. BUT I can’t imagine eating it for breakfast every time – it’s so sugary (and I love sugar!). How do the dutch stay so lean – all that cycling? Although jam is pretty full of sugar too, so perhaps we can’t judge! And, if unicorns exist, this is definitely what they’d be eating for breakfast.
Did you know about hagelslag, or fairy bread? Do you eat it? Is it odd?
PS If you’re intruiged to know what other odd things the dutch are getting up to, check out this website – Stuff Dutch People Like
x Kerry
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Gotta love those sprinkles! Haja!
My little sister used to love fairy bread, they made it at rainbows, basically white bread covered in colourful sprinkles. Such a sweet idea for kids, though yours looks much more tempting haha.
Cloey x
Aw rainbows would be cute!
Hehe it’s not too different from our Fairy Bread but with more fun toppings! 😀
That is for sure one of the most glorious breakfasts I’ve ever seen!
I too have family in the Netherlands and never been served sprinkles for breakfast or at any other time for that matter. Better not let my kids see this or I won’t hear the end of it!
I’m from Australia and grew up having fairy bread at every birthday party as a child. We LOVED it…and I always have it here at my son’s birthday parties too, so he also grows up with this tradition even here in the UK.
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I have lived in Holland now for 25 years my children where really pleased when they got chocolate sprinkles on their bread. The things was they where allowed it for their butties for school but a bag of crisps and two slices of bread was not. It is one of my granddaughters favourite too now.
Carol xxx
I do like a naughty breakfast treat from time to time and if this doesn’t get you out of morning grump mode, I don’t know what else will! 🙂
Hahahaha, I had to smile when I saw this in my instagram feed this morning, it brought back memories of Bruges! I know it’s not the Netherlands but we found it so curious to have sprinkles on the (very expansive) hotel breakfast table! I soon learned that it was for toast! Definitely too sweet for me, and Mr VB was more into the jar of Speculoos butter!
Fairy bread is much cuter name than hailstorm toast!
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Intriguing! I better not show this to my children or they’d want it every day of the year!
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I have to say I feel like I’ve been deprived. My Uncle lived in the Netherlands for years at the helm of Shell and I used to go stay. They NEVER served this up for breakfast and on business trips to Amsterdam and Dan Hague in recent years I have only every been served up cheese or processed ham. I shall be speaking to my aunt about this terrible oversight 🙂