Breakfast in the Netherlands is very straightforward; there are no large spreads with piles of food. It often consists of some bread, with either a sweet topping like peanut butter (pindakaas) or hagelslag (broodje hagelslag) or a savoury topping such as cheese (broodje kaas). But the one that is synonymous with a traditional Dutch breakfast is Broodje Hagelslag.

A woman preparing a slice of Broodje Hagelslag

Broodje Hagelslag is a staple breakfast food in many Dutch households, “I feel like 90% of Dutch people will always have a box of hagelslag in their cupboard” remarked Anne Boer, a tour guide with Hungry Birds, an Amsterdam based food tour company. It is “very practical, it doesn’t take too much time or too much money to prepare”, she outlined. Practicality and efficiency are things that are very important to Dutch people, explained Anne. A 2017 survey conducted by Friesland Campina found that 48.8% of Dutch adults (20-65 year olds) spent less than five minutes preparing their breakfast during the week. Even at weekends, only 12.8% of people spent more than 15 minutes preparing breakfast, with the majority (46.1%) of people spending five to 15 minutes on breakfast preparation.

The History of Hagelslag

Hagelslag was first created by B.E. Dieperink, the director of Venco, a liquorice company, in 1919. The story goes that he came up with the idea while it was hailing outside, hence he named this product Hagelslag, hagel means hail in Dutch. Initially, hagelslag was aniseed flavoured, but within a matter of years, there were multiple variations available on the market, including chocolate, lemon, raspberry and forest fruit flavoured. Chocolate is by far the most popular flavour, but it is still possible to buy aniseed flavoured hagelslag, which are now sold as pink and blue coloured sprinkles.

Some of the various flavours of Hagelslag that are available in the supermarket.

What about nutrition?

According to Anne, there has been a slight change in the type of breakfasts that are consumed. There has been an increase in the popularity of healthier breakfast options, “such as smoothies and yoghurt bowls,” explained Anne. A 2019 survey found that 14% of people eat yoghurt/Quark for breakfast. This change has coincided with the changing landscape of the Dutch work life, with more people working in office jobs; these people “don’t need something as filling” as bread with cheese or hagelslag, she explained. Despite this shift towards healthier alternatives, 49% of Dutch people surveyed eat bread for breakfast more than six or more times per week, published by Nederlands Bakkerij Centrum (Dutch Bakery Centre).
In a world where nutrition is the word on everybody’s lips, how can a nutritionally lacking meal like “Broodje Hagelslag” still manage to prevail? Approximately 14 million kilograms of Hagelslag are consumed annually.

The Dutch people realise that chocolate sprinkles on bread does not have a high nutritional value, but “we are neutral on this topic”. “Broodje hagelslag is not seen as the most healthy, but it is also not seen as indulging”, revealed Anne.  Cycling culture is huge in the Netherlands. People cycle everywhere, to work, to school, to the shop, this is why they don’t think twice about eating chocolate for breakfast, they know that they will burn off the calories while cycling.

Breakfast in the Netherlands is a simple affair that requires little time and effort, “people have been eating Broodje Hagelslag for generations” noted Anne. To some, this might seem strange, but not for the Dutch; this is how it has always been, and it will likely stay.