A pepermuntje is a small white peppermint sweet, made from sugar flavoured with peppermint oil and bound with ingredients such as gelatine or gum arabic. The ratio of oil to sugar varies by maker, from mild to extra sterk. Pepermunt is sold everywhere — not least at the checkout — and well-known brands include KING, Wilhelmina, Faam, Van Slooten, Meenk and the international Mentos and Smint.
Wilhelmina
The Wilhelmina pepermunt is made by Fortuin, a confectioner in Dokkum, Friesland, whose history goes back to 1842. Fortuin introduced the mint in 1892 to mark the firm's fiftieth anniversary and as a tribute to the twelve-year-old Queen Wilhelmina, whose profile is still embossed on each round white tablet. The royal household was pleased with the gift, and Fortuin became a purveyor to the court in 1896.
KING
KING was launched in 1922 by Tonnema, a confectionery firm founded in Sneek in 1902. The mints were first sold loose by weight and from 1927 in wrapped rolls. The name is explained as an acronym of Kwaliteit In Niets Geëvenaard ("quality unequalled in anything"). Each roll still carries the portrait of the Amsterdam pharmacist and analyst P.F. van Hamel Roos, originally a guarantee of quality control, and between 1936 and 1996 wrappers could be saved up for the popular KING atlas. After passing through Van Nelle, Douwe Egberts and CSM, the brand has belonged to Cloetta since 2012.
In church and after dinner
Peppermints have a firm place in Dutch Protestant church life, where a kerkpepermuntje helped the congregation through a long sermon. Folklore even linked brands to denominations, with KING and Faam said to be favoured by different Reformed congregations. Outside church, a peppermint after a meal or with coffee is an ordinary courtesy: it freshens the breath and closes the meal, and it is common to be offered one with the coffee or the bill.
What are cough drops called in Dutch?
Cough drops are hoestsnoepjes or keelsnoepjes; the medicated, pharmacy kind are keelpastilles or zuigtabletten, and an older word is hoestbonbons. Strong mints and licorice sweets are often used the same way: the Dutch reach for an extra-strong pepermunt or a piece of muntdrop for a scratchy throat.