Van Delft makes most expensive peppernut

Locally produced with ingredients of international allure. Those are the exclusive Van Delft Peppernuts , celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Harderwijk-based company. The limited edition gold and dark variety is both precious and exclusive. The 400 handmade Peppernuts cost 100 euros per box (ten pieces).

The recipe is a co-production of Van Delft and Rik Jansma, chef of Harderwijk's star restaurant Basiliek. ,,As the market leader in Peppernuts we wanted to honor our name with a special peppercorn. In our anniversary year we also go for the most expensive pepernoot. We work with the best and rarest ingredients, something from almost every continent, made by one of the better Michelin star chefs in the Netherlands. In short, the best of everything," said Oscar de Lange, director at Van Delft.

King among spices
Jansma had quite a challenge not only to look for the best ingredients, but also to have them on time. ,,For example, the white truffle from Umbria (Italy) is only available in November and December. Dekopon citrus is a sweet mandarin from Japan, red saffron comes from the Middle East and is the king among spices: hand-picked stems of the crocus flower. Vanilla from Madagascar is also a precious spice."
The exclusive peppercorn is wrapped in wafer-thin edible gold leaf.

The dark variety contains Kopi Loewak (the civet-cat coffee bean) from Bali, which with its intense flavor is known as the most expensive coffee in the world. Handmade pure cloves from Sri Lanka, black truffle from Umbria and organic pineapple flown in from the Ivory Coast also make the peppercorn a taste sensation. ''For the optimal taste experience of these fresh ingredients, it's best to eat them right away,'' Jansma laughs.

De Lange calls the end result "super cool. ,,This handmade pepper nut with a totally different taste experience gives us new inspiration again to develop it further next year and make it accessible to a wider audience."

The Peppernuts are available in deluxe gift packs. Twenty jars of each flavor containing ten pieces are available. De Lange sees them as collectors' items. A number of Dutch celebrities have already caught on. ,,We have already pre-sold ten boxes and will bring them to the BN'ers personally."