A popular and tasty Dutch treat has made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. The stroopwafel, two small crisp waffles held together or separated (your choice) by a caramel syrup, is among this year’s official new words in the prestigious reference work.
The official definition—“sweet snack consisting of two small, very thin, circular waffles sandwiched together with a syrup or caramel filling”—is accompanied by an editors’ commentary that it “is best warmed atop a hot tea or coffee. It originated in the Netherlands but is now popular in many other parts of the world too (including, it must be said, the OED offices).”
While stroopwafels first appeared in the Dutch city of Gouda around 1800, they took a long time to travel; the first American reference the dictionary makers could find was a newspaper ad in Ohio in 1995. They gained a huge popularity and new audiences after 2016, when United Airlines began serving them as an inflight snack.
Photo: de40plusvrouw via Pixabay
