(; ) is a traditional Dutch bread topping. While customary on bread, they are traditionally eaten on ''beschuit'', or

rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a w ...

. Muisjes is a registered trademark of Koninklijke De Ruijter BV. ''Muisjes'' are made of

aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

s with a sugared and colored outer layer. They are currently only produced by the Dutch

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industr ...

company De Ruijter, a brand acquired by

Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

in 2001.

Etymology

It's uncertain why the name "little mice" was chosen. It may have been that the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushr ...

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. In Belgium it refers to droppings of the mice.

''Beschuit met muisjes''

In the Netherlands, it is customary at the birth of a baby to eat muisjes on top of

—''beschuit met muisjes'' (''met'' meaning "with"); the

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

in the ''muisjes'' symbolized

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Ferti ...

and was thought to stimulate

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The pr ...

and to restore the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...

to its former size. Beschuit with ''muisjes'' is 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 away ''muisjes'' is unknown, but likely stems from traditions dating back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. 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 sugary

white bread White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour. This milling p ...

until beschuit became cheaper. When pink ''muisjes'' were introduced in 1860, they became the standard with births of female babies while the original white ''muisjes'' remained in use with male ones. With the introduction of blue ''muisjes'' in 1994, blue has become the standard with boys instead. De Ruijter is currently the largest brand in production of ''muisjes'' and has been producing them since 1860. The company managed to repopularize the dish when in 1938 the

Dutch royal family The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...

was given a large can of orange ''muisjes'' (orange is the color of the Dutch royal family, the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau ( Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherland ...

) in celebration of the birth of princess

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

. Orange ''muisjes'' were again sold for only one week in December 2003, in honour of the birth of future crown princess Catharina-Amalia.

''Gestampte muisjes''

''Gestampte muisjes'' ("crushed muisjes") are ''muisjes'' crushed to powder, which are sprinkled onto a slice of bread or a Dutch rusk over butter, a customary breakfast food for Dutch children.

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Muisjes'' Dutch confectionery Dutch cuisine Dutch words and phrases Sandwiches Anise

Etymology

''Beschuit met muisjes''

''Gestampte muisjes''

See also

References