Meanings
- uncountableSmall, oblong, sweet-tasting chocolate granules, which are sprinkled on slices of buttered bread or rusks.
There are also many types of sweet spreads. Dutch children are especially fond of hagelslag, small strands of milk or plain chocolate that are scattered onto white bread and butter.
1993, Christopher Hunt, “Food and drink”, in Focus on Holland, new edition, London: Evans Brothers Limited, →ISBN, page 12, columns 1–22 more examples
When Karina Hof left her native New Amsterdam in 2003, she thought it would be just for a year. Two master’s degrees, two half-marathons, and too many boxes of hagelslag later, she’s still covering the Lowlands.
2011, “About Our Writers”, in Niels Carels, Karina Hof, Steve Korver, Steven McCarron, Ann Maher, Tim Skelton, Amsterdam & the Netherlands, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Fodor’s Travel Publications, →ISBN, →ISSN, column 1This is not a recipe, but an exercise in true happiness. Toast your bread and butter generously whilst it is still hot. Sprinkle with a thick layer of hagelslag (the De Ruijter brand is the best) and eat immediately.
2016, Michael Zee, “Ontbijt: A Dutch Breakfast”, in SymmetryBreakfast: Cook, Love, Share, London: Bantam Press, →ISBN, section 11 (Not Quite Continental: Norway, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark), page 203
Origin
- Dutchhagelslag
- Englishhagelslag
From Dutch hagelslag.
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hagelslag. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagelslag
“hagelslag.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagelslag. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hagelslag,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagelslag.
Source: hagelslag on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.