Have we talked about the best licorice ever?
Tulips, windmills and licorice: that’s the Dutch trinity. As a nation, we chew our way through 32 million kilos of the stuff every year. No wonder the best licorice ever comes from our country, right?
They’re modest brown bags, with something decidedly immodest written on them: ‘The Best Licorice Ever.’ Well, well, those are quite some claims. Take a taste and you’ll know: it might just be true. Tasty little pieces of licorice, just one more, one more, a bag on the desk during work and before you know it, it’s all gone. Yep, addicted.
Father and son
Is this really the best licorice ever? According to the makers, it is. Those makers are father and son Klepper. Senior Klepper has been running a large candy stall at the market in Alkmaar since 1990, and little Klepper, born in 1991, naturally grew up surrounded by all those treats. When Klepper has been at the market for 25 years, he wants to celebrate with an anniversary licorice. He knows exactly how it should taste: a little soft, a little spicy, a little salty licorice. The Kleppers tinker around with a licorice factory and eventually make more than a thousand bags of licorice to give away to loyal customers. They’re gone in no time.
Bags at the stall
That anniversary licorice was a one-off, Klepper has to tell customers more and more often. Because everyone loves them so much, people regularly ask at his stall whether he has another bag for sale. Junior Klepper smells money: if people love that licorice so much, why not sell it? Smart boy, and before long the bags are sitting at the stall. Junior Klepper sees a market for The Best Licorice Ever—because yes, that’s what they call it—and travels far and wide to get the licorice into the range of specialty shops. And the men keep coming up with new kinds of licorice: they also make a salty variety, a honey licorice and one with bay leaf. All incredibly tasty, so there’s no stopping them now. And good news for vegans: apart from the honey licorice, they’re all vegan.
True enthusiasts
You wouldn’t ask a teetotaler to publish a wine guide, so really, you should ask true licorice lovers what they think of those brown bags of licorice. Difficult, because usually their jaws are busy and they’re eating licorice. Often, it’s Klepper & Klepper. They hide empty brown bags all over the house and in the car, and coincidentally know exactly where to buy those highly coveted pieces of licorice (for €2.95 a bag). They act casual about it—yes, you too, Sharon—but want to know what they really think of this licorice? Try eating the last piece from one of those bags.
And what about abroad? Because The Best Licorice Ever certainly has international appeal. Not yet, we read on the website. But the idea that only Dutch people like licorice and people from other countries don’t may turn out to be a myth. They simply haven’t tasted that Best Licorice Ever yet.
Read also:
- Did you know licorice can be so dangerous?
- Licorice? Ice cream? Who says you can’t have both
- Moment of truth: which English licorice has to go
