Waffles, chocolates, mayo-covered fries and punchy beers are synonymous with Belgium, but it's their lesser-known cone-shaped sweets that are creating a buzz.
Known as cuberdons, neuzekes or 'little noses', these vibrantly-coloured soft-centred candies are said to look like noses and originate from the town of Ghent. Mimicking the jelly bean, they have a hard, thin and crisp outer BUT they house a super-sweet, gooey and sticky centre.
Made out of fruit, Arabic gum, flowers, starch, glucose and sugar, these ingredients are boiled together before being set in a conical mould and baked in an oven for at least 12 hours before cooling. It takes five to seven days to make and is best eaten within three weeks (before the jelly centre crystallises) so that you can maximise the fun of biting the top off and sucking out the gooey centre within. But be warned- when you squish them or bite into them the sticky liquid centre will ooze out pretty quickly, so beware your clean clothes especially when handling the more traditional violet-hued variety.
The name is said to come from the fact that it looks like a nose, but others say the candy was first made in the 19th century by the clergy in Flanders near Bruges. As this story goes, it is said to resemble the - and either of the two stories seems to stick. The original recipe is said to have been created by accident back in when Ghent pharmacist De Vick discarded a medicinal syrup. He then returned to the syrup several days later only to find that its outer had solidified, while the centre remained soft and liquid. The cuberdon was born.
Source: SBS Food
Antoine Geldhof was given the recipe while working at De Vick’s factory in Ghent. Geldhof was taught the recipe by De Vick's grandson before opening in Eeklo northwest of Ghent in 1954. Since then it has produced over 400 tonnes of cubertons and is currently the market leader.
The cuberdon is quite the nostalgic and popular treat. So much so that they've inspired Belgian news headlines and a long-running feud between two local vendors who sell cuberdons next to each other on their very own battlefield that is Groentenmarkt.
On one corner, we have Carl Demeestere, and about 5 metres to the left of him, we have Sonny Breine - both of them have a deep desire to cuberdon. Demeestere was the first to sell the candy from inside his bakery and it is said that Breine opened his cuberdon cart on the footpath close to his shopfront. Demeestere wasn't impressed and so decided to open up a separate cart right next to that of Breine and, well, they've been inching their noses forward ever since and have become part of Ghent folklore.
On one corner, we have Carl Demeestere, and about 5 metres to the left of him, we have Sonny Breine - both of them have a deep desire to cuberdon. Source: SBS Food
In 2015, the ‘noses war’ escalated to the point both vendors ended up in a physical street fight, which ended in bloody cubertons and the mayor revoked each man's license to sell for two whole weeks. While their "war" is now all in jest, don't be surprised to hear the stallholders yell out, "buy the real and fresh nose right here!" and vie for your custom.
"This is the very famous nose of Ghent. A fresh nose is something you have to enjoy and you will not be able to taste anything quite like it," says Sonny Breine to SBS, one half of this sweet entanglement. "Yes, we have had a few public arguments, we want to sell the real thing and we both want to sell the best, but we were not expecting our arguments to have locals and tourists taking our picture [because of our fight]," Breine explains.
There are many more cuberdon flavours popping up - apple, lemon, Coca-Cola and even more savoury vegetable versions including carrot, potato and onion. Nowadays, you can also get cuberdon jams, biscuits and ice-cream. The original recipe is still regarded as one of Belgium's finest secrets, with only a few sweet artisans bringing it to life.
Don't worry, the Groentenmarkt battleground is safe once again and while their noses might be slightly out of joint, yours won't be once you've tasted them. I can vouch for both vendors and 8 - 10 pieces will set you back about €5 (AUD$7.50) so be sure to grab a piece of Ghent folklore on your fingertips.
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