**TINS of TASTE MUSEUM** within the NationalBreadMuseum.org
BELGIUM
A country with some fairy-tale towns, a bread museum, military history connected with the U.S. where the WWII gunning artillery is still along side the beach road, chocolate, lace, tins, old churches, canals, brick & cobblestone walkways, a range of many different kinds of museums, gorgeous old world architecture . . . the list just goes on! Brugge (or Bruges) is #1 for me, at the top of my list, then Brussels, Ghent, etc. I figure I just can't show you tins & walk away! If you've never had a chance to see some of this country, let's get a glimpse of a few places first. (The year - 2010, but it was the same street atmosphere of 1967 & the 1982-91 visits.)
Let's begin with chocolate!
The windmill above is generally figured to be a spekulatius mold which is a Dutch gingerbread-spiced cookie with slivered almonds pressed into the back.
The rolling pin is for the German springerle cookie, traditionally anise (licorice) flavored..
This guy was in a bakery window, braced up against the red cardstock backing. He was made from one of the large molds such as in the photo on the right. The dough is pressed into the mold; the excess is cut off with a wire or --->
sharp knife run along the back of the mold; then the dough figure is released from the wooden "cake board" onto a baking sheet. It was probably around 2' tall.
The molds above were a display in the window. When we left, there was a street flea market just around the corner. Let's take a look . . .
The "Biscuits Brun" metal sign above is of a French company . . . very interesting background regarding a grain trader who built a factory & baked "war bread" or the "soldier's biscuit" during WWI. When he died in 1923, the info says there were 1,500 employees baking 40 tons of "biscuits - cookies" a day. That's 80,000 pounds! . . . a day!!! The family kept it going, but don't know if it still exists today . . . couldn't find info. Seems as if it ended in the late 1980s.
Wha-da-ya do when traveling by plane & a suitcase & you come across a shop like this? Just take photos!
It never dawned on me to create an additional luggage "check-on" in order to take some of these (& those waffle irons!) home. Live & learn!
The tour is now finished. It's time to see some of the Belgian tins in the Tins of Taste Museum.
One of Belgium's 100s of tin houses!
DANDOY - since 1829 - almost 2 centuries
Belgium - - Jules Destrooper - - tins filled with Butter Crisps & Almond Biscuits (i.e. cookies); bought in the U.S.
