This month’s Universal Yums was a lovely trip to the Netherlands! Universal Yums is a monthly international snack subscription box. Every month you’ll take a trip to a new country and munch on brand new snacks. Yum Yum! There are two sizes of box, the Yum ($13) and the Yum Yum ($25). This is the Yum Yum box, and this subscription is a really solid subscription that shines each and every month. It’s definitely a whole-family favorite, but this month’s box is likely to be severely depleted by the time it gets tot the kids.
The Dutch have a cocoa-process named after them, so you know they must have some great sweets.
I love the tissue paper set up to look like the country of the month’s flag. It’s a simple touch that makes the box even more fun to dig in to.
The intro card shares some trivia about the host country, plus a few cultural insights so you snack like a local!
The information card has descriptions of all the snacks. It has a handy ingredient/potential allergen breakdown on it, and the snack descriptions have gotten to be quite detailed.
One of the great things about Universal Yums, particularly the Yum Yum box, is the experience of uncovering layer after layer of goodies.
All the Yums in the October Yum Yum box.
Napoleon Raspberry Wineballs: A bit sour and very sweet, the acidity balance makes these raspberry candies taste exceptionally “juicy.” A pocket of sour powder hides in the middle, accentuating the effect.
Napoleon Black and White Licorice Balls: These are pretty intense! Northern Europeans like their licorice salty, but this one is in an entirely different league. The hard candy is sweet and salty, with a moderately assertive licorice flavor. The middle, however, contains a BIG pocket of dissolved salt, providing a huge and lengthy blast of salt flavor. Quite good if you appreciate salted licorice.
Wilhelmina Pepermunts: Each “munt” is imprinted with the profile of former Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. They are big (the size of 4 stacked quarters) and have a great peppermint flavor. They have a slightly silky and powdery fell to them and crunch easily.
King Pepermunts: Very similar to an Altoid in texture, these small mints come in a roll. They have a strong, but not curiously strong, mint flavor.
Van Melle Advocaat Chews: These chewy little treats are slightly softer than a Starburst and have a really wonderful eggnog flavor meant to emulate the flavor of the traditional Dutch drink of the same name!
Rademaker Coffee Hopjes: These 18th century treats don’t get sticky, unlike most hard candy. They are primarily evaporated, sweetened coffee, and have a great coffee flavor.
Dutch Bakery Windmill Cookies: These spiced speculoos cookies are like rich butter cookies with a mild gingersnap type flavor.
Meller Caramels: Chewy caramel exteriors covers a sweet core of soft milk chocolate.
Kanjers Stroopwafel: Stroopwafels are a truly unique treat that have become very popular in the U.S. lately. The crisp waffled cookie sandwiches a sweet caramel filling. They are crisp and chewy, but they also become bendy and gooey with the addition of a little heat, either from a few seconds in the microwave, or from perching atop a hot cup of coffee or cocoa.
De Ruijter Bread Sprinkles: These are not sprinkles of bread, they are shavings of luxurious chocolate to sprinkle on warm toast. This is a common breakfast food in the Netherlands — you provide your toast of choice, and the card provides information to use it with the included toast!
Droste Milk Chocolate XXL Pastille: This is incredible. Little bits of butter cookie add a nice crunch to each bite, but it is the chocolate which is truly outstanding. It is creamy and smooth, with a wonderful milk chocolate flavor that melt in your mouth.
The company shares the name of the Droste Effect – the recursive picture in picture proto-meme. Droste is located in Haarlem, the city for which Harlem, NY (formerly New Amsterdam), is named.
Bolletje Kaas Domino: Yay! Gouda Wafers!!! The wafer is the same as you would find in a vanilla or chocolate wafer cookie (perhaps not similarly sweetened), but the filling is creamy and salty gouda. Very delicious, original, and surprising.
van der Meulen Original Holland Toaste: packed in a tube of a baker’s dozen, these crisp toasts (or “rusks”) are airy, light and super crunchy. They are perfect for building little open-faced sandwiches (or giant toast point sandwiches). I love the tagline: “full of taste.”
Croky Paprika Chips: Paprika flavored chips are big throughout Europe — they resemble a BBQ potato chip, but with a much purer flavor. These had a sweet and unsmoked paprika, imparting a very light flavor.
The Netherlands gave us some absolutely yummy things to eat. Where to next month? I am hoping for some Bibimbap chips!
Visit Universal Yums to subscribe or find out more.
The Description: Each month, you’ll receive a box of unique, delicious snacks from a different country delivered right to your door. No repeats! 0% Yuck, 100% Yum.
The Price: Cost: $13 (Yum Box) $25 (Yum Yum Box) per month.
The Categories: International Food Subscription Boxes, Snack Subscription Boxes. International Theme Subscription Boxes.
The Reviews: See all our Universal Yums Reviews.
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