Some of the mouth-watering treats produced in Belgium are quite popular around the world. Of course, they are exclusive chocolates and pralines as well as the beer of the highest quality. Yet, there are many other tasty Belgian products you should bring from Brussels. Our article will provide you with all the necessary information on the topic as well as the tips on the places where you can purchase these delectable foods.
The cuberdon
Needless to say, the chocolate and pralines produced in Belgium are regarded to be of the highest quality by the chocolatiers from the entire world. Still, not everyone is aware of other unique sugary products made exclusively in Belgium. One of the most notable of them is the cuberdon. Other names for this sweet treat are neus which is a Dutch nose, neuzeke (a Dutch “little nose”) and chapeau-de-prêtre which is a French expression used for a priest’s hat.
Traditionally, a cuberdon which is a cone-shaped candy has a raspberry flavour and thus, the typical colour of cuberdons is purple. The traditional size of this candy has the width of approximately 2.5 cm, whereas its weight can vary from 10 to 18 grams. The outside of cuberdons is rather hard and have crackly texture whereas the inside of these sweets is gelatinous.
Since one of the most essential ingredients of cuberdons is gum Arabic which was rather scarce after The Second World War, the production of cuberdons was stopped for a long period of time. Fortunately, with time the Belgian chefs made their best in order to recreate this traditional sweet. Furthermore, today the variety of cuberdons is rather rich. All in all, there are twenty five tastes of these sweets which are now available in absolutely different colours.
If you want to purchase a package of cuberdons as a present from Brussels, it will be better to wait until the end of your stay and then buy the sweets. It is recommended to plan your shopping in such a way since cuberdons crystallise easily and within three weeks after production they will change their texture. As you can imagine, this feature of cuberdons makes the product not the best choice for export, so you can hardly find it outside Belgium.
The best places to look for cuberdons are local markets rather than shops and supermarkets. Some tearooms, for example, A.M. Sweet offer cuberdons for a moderate price of 2.80 euros per bag. Here, you will also find the sweets in their original raspberry flavour. A.M.Sweet is located at 4, Rue des Chartreux.
Belgian Owl Whiskey and other liquors
Even though Belgium doesn’t have a long tradition of whiskey production, it happened that one of the best single malt whiskeys in the entire world are produced in Belgium.
Nearly eleven years ago, Etienne Bouillon who is the owner of Belgian Owl Whiskey set an extremely high goal for his product which was reaching the level of that quality which will let him to compete with the finest whiskey brands of the world. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the help of a local farmer who is doing his best to produce barley of an extremely high quality.
The first great achievement of the company took place in 2014 when Belgian Owl Whiskey received a 95,5 percent score by Whiskey Bible which is a reference guide. Etienne Bouillon is planning to improve the quality of his product even more so as Owl Whiskey will get even more rewards and recognition. Undeniably, this means that Owl Whiskey is one of the greatest products available in Belgium.
We especially recommend you to purchase a bottle of Belgian Owl Whiskey while you are in Brussels since so far, the rate of production of this liquor is rather limited which makes the product really exclusive. All in all, there are 25 000 bottles of Owl Whiskey are produced annually. For that reason, finding the whiskey in stores might be rather challenging. For example, you can try to visit Mig’s World Wine located at 43, Chaussée de Charleroi.
Should it happen that there is no whiskey currently available, you can wait for a fresh delivery or try one of the local Belgian liquors with unique tastes. Of course, on of them is a genuine liquor with the taste of the Belgian chocolate known as Noire d’Ivoire and sold for the p[rice 17,80 euros for 70 cl. Another interesting one is even more specific which is B de Biercée available for the price of 24 euros for 70 cl. B de Biercée is an eau de vie (a type of a fruit brandy) with a beer flavour.
Moka Royal Bourbon
Is one of your friends or relatives a real devotee of coffee? Then, you will find a great gidft for this person at Corica located at 49, Marché aux Poulets.
Corica is a small family establishment specialising in coffee and offering an abundance of various coffee types and coffee blends. Of course, you can purchase any type of coffee you find attractive, yet, if you want to buy some really exclusive Belgian product, you should pay your attention to Moka Royal Bourbon which is an amazing blend of Arabica available for 5.70 per package. Moka Royal Bourbon was created by Pierre Romeyer, a Brussels chef running the Michelin restaurant.
Corica also offers a variety of teas, biscuits, chocolates and even espresso machines.