When we returned to Holland in 1948 after living in Sweden for two years, we realized that food and goods were still rationed in the Netherlands. You could not just buy the amount you needed or wanted if you did not have the right ration coupons or enough of them. We were then a family of six—my parents and four children. My parents managed to provide us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, but sometimes there were extra treats. I remember playing in our yard with the children who lived next door and my mom came outside with a small box of raisins. She treated us with a little handful of them. We loved it.
On special days when we were all together, we had hot chocolate. It was a complete ceremony before the beverage was ready to drink. We would all be in the kitchen and mom would put four cups on the counter. Then she would give us each a spoon. She would take the box of cocoa and the sugar bowl from the cupboard. We would each put one spoonful of cocoa and two spoonfuls of sugar in our cups. We would mix the two ingredients and then add water while stirring. My older brother would start tasting the mixture. By looking at his face, we could tell it was delicious and would follow his example. Mmm, so good. We would take some more spoonfuls.
When mom came to add the hot milk, there was not enough left of the mixture in our cups to pour the milk on. Mom used to smile and let us make the chocolate, sugar, and water mixture all over again, but she did say, “niet meer snoepen” (no more snacking). We were good and mom poured the hot milk while we kept on stirring the cocoa mixture. We all ended up with a special treat. The same process was repeated many times on special days. We often got some cookies to go with the hot drink.
I remember when the package of cocoa was put on the counter. I loved to look at the picture of the nurse on the box. I wanted to look just like her—and I tried, with a towel, to put a nurse’s cap on my head. When somebody in the family was ill, I wanted to bring them hot chocolate and covered my head with a towel. For many years, I dreamt about becoming a nurse and looking just as beautiful as the picture on the box.
A special treat. Courtesy of Louise Lawrence-Israëls
Now, in 2022, we are still looking for special treats while we are indoors. It is winter and we are living in the time of coronavirus, a dangerous pandemic. The box of Droste cocoa still looks exactly like it did 72 years ago and the warme chocola still tastes the same—delicious.
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