| Place of origin | Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Aniseed,sugar |
Muisjes (Dutch:[ˈmœyɕəs]ⓘ;lit. 'little mice') are aniseedcomfits and are a traditionalDutch bread topping. While customary on bread, they are traditionally eaten onbeschuit, orrusk. Muisjes is a registered trademark of Koninklijke De Ruijter BV.Muisjes are made ofaniseeds with asugared and colored outer layer. They are currently only produced by the Dutchfood processing companyDe Ruijter, a brand acquired byHeinz in 2001.
It's uncertain why the name "little mice" was chosen. It may have been that thestem of the seed reminded people of a mouse's tail, or it may have been that the mouse's fast reproductive cycle was further used as symbolism for healthy childbirth.[1] In Belgium they are commonly calledmuizenstrontjes (mouse droppings).[2]
In the Netherlands, it is customary to celebrate the birth of a baby by eating muisjes on top ofrusk—beschuit met muisjes[3] — with family and colleagues.[4] In the 17th century, aniseed was thought to aidlactation and help thewomb contract.[5][6][1]Beschuit met muisjes are typically brought by older siblings to share with classmates at school or by parents to share with colleagues at work.
The exact origin of giving awaymuisjes is unknown, but likely stems from traditions dating back to theMiddle Ages. Because childbirth used to be very dangerous for women, births without complications were celebrated extensively. A treat—usually something sweet—was given to visitors as a supposed "gift" from the newborn child.Muisjes started being produced in the Netherlands in the 18th century, and replaced sugar as the favourite topping used on beschuit to symbolise successful childbirth. However, beschuit was quite expensive at the time and mostly reserved for festivities organised by the wealthy, so most people instead ate sugarywhite bread until beschuit became cheaper. When pinkmuisjes were introduced in 1860, they became the standard with births of female babies while the original whitemuisjes remained in use with male ones. With the introduction of bluemuisjes in 1994, blue has become the standard with boys instead.[1]
De Ruijter is currently the largest brand in production ofmuisjes and has been producing them since 1860.King Willem III made the brand a supplier of the royal court in 1883.[2] The company managed to repopularize the dish when in 1938 theDutch royal family was given a large can of orangemuisjes (orange is the color of the Dutch royal family, theHouse of Orange-Nassau) in celebration of the birth of princessBeatrix.[5][1] Orangemuisjes were again sold for only one week in December 2003, in honour of the birth of future crown princessCatharina-Amalia.
Gestampte muisjes ("crushed muisjes") aremuisjes crushed to powder, which are sprinkled onto a slice of bread or a Dutch rusk over butter, a customary breakfast food for Dutch children. According to De Ruijter, some elderly women with bad teeth at the end of the 19th century were the origin ofgestampte muisjes. They had difficulty eating the hard aniseed balls and decided to grind them in a mortar.[5]
