Dutch Licorice or “drop” is a popular snack item in the Netherlands. If you’ve ever heard the phrase; Never trust a Dutch person offering you a Dutch “candy”, you have been warned.
The Dutch “drop” are sold in many shapes, sizes and varieties. Ranging from soft, sweet and salty to just plain awful (like the dubbel zout). The Dutch “drop” is no-way similar to the American red licorice and we made the mistake of buying some assuming it was black licorice gummy bears and fed them to our children. Jaf and Lou Lou could not bear the taste and spat them right out, saying they taste like “skunk”.
Every grocery store isle in the Netherlands is filled top to bottom with different kinds of Dutch licorice. HARIBO is the main brand taking up most of the space, so it’s no wonder why the Dutch consume over 2500 grams of licorice per year, more than any other country in the world.
Since we figured out which ones NOT to buy, we bought the “kid-friendly” types and ate them like crazy. We prefer the gummies in the Netherlands as they are better quality than the ones in the US (in our opinion), so stock up when you’re visiting.
Honestly, watching the facial expressions of kids when they first eat Dutch licorice was priceless.
Something we suggest every parent does… just for laughs!