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Typical Dutch

Sour candy

Three months ago, I received a big jar full of Dutch candy from Resource, a reward for my article published in the Typical Dutch section. I was so happy at the time, particularly when I saw manydifferent types and colours of candy.

I assumed that Dutch candy was sweet with different flavours, like the candy in my country, Indonesia. The flavour of red candy would be strawberry, the green candy would be apple, yellow would be orange or lemon flavour, white would be milky, and so on. Because I am a fan of strawberry, I tried the red one first. But the taste really gave me a shock. I grimaced when I was eating it. It was very, very sour so I threw it away immediately. I then tried the green one, but unfortunately, this one was sour too. Worried that all other candies would be equally sour, I stopped trying the others.

A few days later, my Dutch friends visited my room and when they saw the jar of so-called sweets, they grabbed some. Amazingly, they ate them with a happy face. My Dutch friends explained that ‘sour’ is the normal taste for Dutch candy. As I understand it, the idea of candy is to make kids happy, and to make them to stop crying. I can’t see how sour candy can do that. But my Dutch friends pointed out to me that the jar also contained some sweet candies. Since then, I have only eaten these candies. And, surprisingly, after three months the jar is almost empty. Reonaldus Reonaldus, PhD Candidate Public Administration and Policy Group

Do you have a nice anecdote about your experience of going Dutch? Send it in! Describe an encounter with Dutch culture in detail and comment on it briefly. 300 words max. Send it to resource@wur.nl and earn fifty euro and Dutch candy.

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