Tested: these are the tastiest (and nastiest!) supermarket stroopwafels
Nothing beats the smell of stroopwafels—except eating freshly made stroopwafels with syrup that is still slightly warm. A must when wandering through the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam. Less fresh but often just as delicious, you can buy them at the supermarket, where the stroopwafel shelf is remarkably diverse. We were curious about the own-brand options and bought five. Which is the tastiest, and which belongs in the bin after one bite?
In our test, we included five supermarkets: Lidl, Dirk, Albert Heijn, Coop and Jumbo. All the stroopwafels were tasted on the same day they were bought.
Blind tested
The panel tasted all the stroopwafels blind, meaning that only the note-taker knew where each stroopwafel had been bought. All the stroopwafels purchased were plain, with no added flavor listed on the label, and they all had the same checked waffle pattern.
Too much caramel flavor
Number 1 comes from Lidl. Jeffrey: ‘A good cookie with a good filling.’ But not everyone is a fan of that filling. Robbert: ‘I find the filling too caramel-heavy. A stroopwafel should be syrupy, not taste like caramel.’ Sharon: ‘I find this really very sweet. After a small piece, I no longer feel like eating the rest of the cookie.’ Bo: ‘I don’t like the aftertaste very much.’ Lauretta: ‘I don’t find the filling particularly tasty, but the cookie is fine—slightly hard, but I think this is okay.’ Robbert: ‘I find the cookie too hard.’
Striking: vanilla
Number 2 comes from Dirk. Lauretta: ‘This tastes like vanilla.’ Sharon: ‘A completely different flavor, less sweet and indeed: vanilla.’ Jeffrey: ‘The previous stroopwafel I tasted was more compressed; there is more air between the cookie and the syrup here.’ Bo: ‘I find it sticks more.’
Lovely and chewy
The third cookie is noticeably pale. This one comes from Jumbo. Robbert: ‘The syrup is a little softer than the rest, and when you squeeze it, you can also see that it contains more syrup. Well balanced.’ Bo: ‘A tasty cookie too. Chewy, mmm.’ Jeffrey: ‘I would also buy this as a cookie on its own.’
Generously filled
The fourth stroopwafel in the test comes from Albert Heijn. Jeffrey: ‘This is a truly classic stroopwafel.’ Robbert: ‘The flavor of the waffle is very good—a stroopwafel-from-the-market feeling. Nice crunch too, and generously filled.’ Jeffrey and Lauretta agree. Lauretta: ‘This is exactly what you want when you buy a stroopwafel.’
Far too buttery
The last stroopwafel is dry and too sweet. Robbert: ‘A boterbabbelaar [buttery Dutch candy]; this makes me feel sick very quickly.’ Lauretta: ‘The toffee flavor completely overwhelms everything.’ Bo: ‘A real buttery aftertaste too, too much.’ Jeffrey: ‘This is very heavy, and the butter dominates.’ Sorry, Coop—back to the drawing board.
The winner
That is number 4, except for Bo, who was most charmed by number 3. The loser comes from Coop. This is too much of everything. Less once again proves to be more.
