Friday, February 1

Month theme : " When People Think of My City They Think of..."


Haagsche Hopjes!!!!!!

This candy exists for......215 years, and is still The Hague's very own sweet! Haagsche Hopjes are hard coffee flavored candies with the taste of coffee, packed in the original Rademaker's tin cans.

The hopje was named after the baron Hendrik Hop, whose doctor advised him not to drink coffee. He ordered his baker Theodorus van Haaren to invent a sweet with coffee flavouring. After some experimenting, van Haaren created a sweet made of coffee, caramel, cream and butter. The enthusiastic baron Hop was keen to let his guests try his 'Hopjes', which quickly gained popularity. A typical characteristic of the hopje is that it does not stick and that it does not go soft over time. The Hague has a museum called "Museum voor het Haagsche Hopje", which is dedicated to the hopje and its history.

Besides being a local speciality it has become a Dutch national candy.

Buy it here!!!!!!

There are 133 cities participating in this month's theme, so do spend some time visiting some of the following cities:
Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't realise that these existed. How dumb am I living here for 2 years already and not knowing about the local sweet.

Thanks for this post Lezard, I'll be trying these and sending them home to Australia as well.

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

Oh my! I still have some of those in a candy bowl!!! >8D

Have a nice theme day, Lezard!

Sally said...

Lovely to learn more about The Hague, which to me.....means the International Court and prosecutions of war criminals and the like.

Ann (MobayDP) said...

Oh how I wish I had tried that candy when I was there a couple of years ago. I didn't because I, like Hendrik Hop, cannot drink coffee or have anything with caffeine. But mayhap I should have had just one :) It does sound delightful!

R&R said...

Great choice! We have a bowl of them too!

Unknown said...

Nice post of something sweet, I was expecting a photo of the court!


Port Angeles Daily Photo

Anonymous said...

To me The Hague is associated the European institutions. We're learning so much today !I'd never heard of this candy -very nice photo for this yummy treat!

Ham said...

I'd forgotten about those - thanks for reminding me!

Kunal Bhatia said...

This is so very different from what people would probably think of Mumbai; but then again, each city is so unique and has its own charm. Nice shot.
- Mindless Mumbai

Bergson said...

I did not know candies

Gordon said...

A very nice photo of the Haagsche Hopjes; I like the look of the packaging and I am sure I would like candy's taste.

Southern Heart said...

I would love to try these! I'll bet that they're delicious.

Neva said...

I had no idea....very good post...thanks for sharing....

Annie said...

What a sweet way to be famous! I love the photo and the story.

Lezard said...

Thanks all for the comments. I hope you all try those sweets, they are delicious!

Joy said...

Candies! Lovely. Would buy some, but I need to lose weight.

joy
A Pinay In England
The Goddess In You
Norwich Daily Photo

Livio Bonino said...

I'm hungry, just looking at the photo!

Ken Acland said...

About 50 years ago I bought a tin of these in Cambridge, England and liked them so much that I went back twice to buy more, but was unable to find them after that apart from a colleague buying a tin on a business trip. What I liked about them was that however many you ate they never made your mouth sore. It was great to get more supplies on a visit to Amsterdam a few weeks ago. Thanks for the background information.