Introduction
Stroopwafels have been the topic of much conversation during the past decades. With the onset of the age of globalization, the phenomenon has taken on a life by itself, redefining Dutch identity in an perhaps ambiguous manner. As the stroopwafel has slowly been making advances into the USA based market, the unavoidable question arises concerning impact of this phenomeon on public health issues, social-cultural neo-colonialism, economic equality, and ecological justice. For example, the so called "Kanjers" have been accused of being "big met roomboter," and ranges of health damaging substances (mostly fat) indicate "100", "7,5 oz.", "8 pc", "250 gr.", and even "230 gr". And not even to mention the market developments currently pointing towards an oligarchy of interested parties, mostly ruled by "Stroopie stroopwafels",  "Stroopwafels in Blue/White tin", "Van Der Breggen", "Verweij (roomboter)", and last but not least the multinational "Albert Heijn."

The consequences of the Stroopwafel introduction are as of yet unexplored, and some alarming initial tendencies suggest a need for careful investigation. Most distrubing is the fact that the recipe has been and still is closely guarded. "Stroopwafels" are produced by only a select group of specialty bakers. You won't find this recipe in your cookbook! Why NOT??? Anthropology is poised to take on this question. Its position among the social and natural sciences make it the ideal candidate to investigate power relationships underlying the fragmentation of the market, the reproduction of repressive identities, and the technological imperialism associated with the "stroopwafel phenomenon". This site is set up to help create awareness of the stroopwafel developments. Remarks and additions are urgent and important. Please email the author.
 

What is a stroopwafel?
Stroopwafels as they have been named by the Dutch, go under the name of "Caramel Cookie Waffles" in the USA. The stroopwafel combines a strong yearning for ichly filled chewy centers with yummy belgium waffle like outer crust. Historical research indicate that they are one of Holland's true specialties. The development of a stroopwafel suggest that a vanilla and cinnamon cookie dough is pressed between flame heated waffle irons, split, and filled with fresh homemade caramel. The origins of this process have been traced back to the 1800s geographically situated in the Dutch province of North Holland close to Gouda (think cheese). While it might be very true that the stroopwafel has been around much longer, no archaeological evidence have been found to substantiate this claim.
 

Stroopwafel perceptions today
Humans categorize their world in perceptually conservative variables. To make sense of their environment, elements gain symbolic value, and based on these values identities are formed and decision making processes are made. Often these processes are constraint, leading to the image of the human as a "cognitive cripple" (Ter Beek and Van der Windt, 1999), incapable of making rational decisions to the benefit of mankind. The danger is thus that human perceptions become part of an essentially unadaptive evolutionary network which due to the power relationships dependent on it are kept in place. In Anthropological literature much has been written about the existence of "decision making spaces." It is in these spaces that identities are negotiated and power relationships maintained. This brief theoretical introduction naturally begs the question how "stroopwafels" are conceived in this network of perceptions and ideologies.

A first example may do. On http://www.culinary.net/consumer/forums/coffee/messages/291.htm, the following messages was posted by a "Dorothy" on April 05, 1999 at 22:12:34 in reply to "Re: Stroop Wafels" posted by a "Suzanne" on April 05, 1999 at 13:32:38.
 

: : : I received a box of Stroop Wafels from Holland at Christmas. : : : You place the wafer (little more than 1/4-inch thick) : : : over a steaming cup of coffee, give it a few seconds, : : : and enjoy... (They make winter storms reside...) : : : The only problem is that they are almost 95% sugar and fat (88 carb calories out of 150 cal total) which is definitely tabu for the sugar-challenged. : : : If I could find a recipe, (if just for super-thin wafers), I could devise a tasty version for diabetics. : : : Can anyone help? : : : Thanks, Dorothy : : : PS: I'm a coffee freak who became addicted to real cofffee beans during my salad days when a Spanish professor used to serve the best coffee in the world during his tertulias. : : Yummy, Dorothy. I've had the stroop wafels and they're great. For a lower calorie version, try : : the Sacramento Cookie Factory. Call (916) 482-4822. They have several versions with less calories. Tell them I send ya! : : Look for another cookie article coming soon in the CyberCup Cafe that talks about these cookies and more... : : Tell us more about your favorite coffees to go with your wafers. : : - Suzanne : P.S. /That's "sent", not "send". My fingers have gotten chunky from the high calorie cookie versions.

The content of this discourse initially suggest some the initial extent of fundamental public health threats of stroopwafels. First of all, Dorothy seems to be in a dependency relationship with the stroopwafel, to the extent that boxes have been ordered from Holland at Christmas. However, the sugar and fat content are judged to be too high, posing an obvious tension to Dorothy. Considering the link to coffee drinking--a highly addictive substance--one could suggest that Dorothy has no control over the stroopwafel anymore. Even more troubling are the desperate attempts and struggles involved in the renegotiation of her identity, in which a cry to the relative disempowered sugar-challenging diabetes movement is made. Dorothy seems involved in hiding her fear by claiming continuation with an imaginary older addictive identities "I'm a coffee freak who became addicted to real coffee beans during my salad days". Beyond these observations regarding the dependency relationship, a relationship also exists with the capitalist commodification of the senses. Indeed, Christmas--in its dangerous and out of control American appropriated capitalist form--not only motivates the continuation of the dependency relationship, but also induces the practice itself. Capitalism as the domination of man over nature takes clear shape in the following: "They make winter storms reside.." These as associations suggests mythical ritual, not uncommon to many victims ("consumers") of the capitalist Christmas cult. As a response to Dorothy's cry for liberation, Suzanne, who seems to equally dependent on the stroopwafel--"Yummy, Dorothy. I've had the stroop wafels and they're great,"--insist on the mentioning of the so called "Sacramento Cookie Factory". What is this place? it seems pertinent that more investigation needs to be done to answer this question, as the question of Suzanne's relationship to this place. Has Dorothy been there? Have Dorothy and Suzanne met in Sacramento? And what is the link to the so called "CyberCup Cafe that talks about these cookies and more..." The unsettling implication of a "talking cafe" suggest the technoscientific context in which the stroopwafel phenomenon is taking shape. Have we lost control? Is there a link between the capitalist cult of Christmas and the mysterious Sacramento talking cafe? Perhaps the answer is hidden between the lines.....
 

Addendum 1: Notes from the field. October, 2001
A year later. Have we come any closer to the stroopwafel secret? Are there things to be learnt from growing gray? Allow me to at least share the following form an anynomous tip giver from Montana:

"I visited holland this year, Van Breggen in Tilburg,
well..., everything top secret. I was not able to come close
to the newest technology....
.....Top Secret....
I visited yet another large bakery where 3 giant machines were
at work producing each 11000 Stroopwafels an hour.
I was allowed in, but no pictures, no questions asked....
I got to wear a white lab coat plus hair restraint...A conspicuous
yellow line drawn on the painted concrete meant " Sorry but no closer "
The machines large and mostly hidden behind large stainless steel walls.

One has to understand that a lot of money has gone into developing this
new technology. The secrecy comes at no surprise.

Many of the small dutch producers have sold out or closed, they were not
able to compete..

It is pretty interesting that recipes are hard to come by.
They are not mentioned in most Dutch Cookbooks.
Also stroopwafels are not made by people at home...
It is somewhat time consuming. The dough often times "temperamental".
Conditions have to be just right to have a fluent operation.
Different bakers have different tricks and secrets based on their
unique setup ( production line).

Than there is the taste.....
Tasting stroopwafels is like tasting beer or wine.  Many taste and texture
variations . And there is the aging factor. Fresh of the griddle or a little aged.
Aged, chewyer with more blended flavor, or fresh and hot and crispy with  a softer
filling.
The microwaved Aged waffle gives yet another taste experience. The slightly "mushy"
experience. Liked by many people..."
 
 
 

Addendum 2: Notes From the Field, March 2001

> >
> > Hi;
> >     I have been trying to find a source to purchase the irons used to
> > bake the stroop waffle, and have been unsuccessful. Do you know of a
> > source?  Thanks for any help which you can provide.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Charlie
> >

Danny, greetings on this finest of days;
    There is a suitable product called the: "Villaware 3850 Quattro Pizelle
Baker". This is an iron which I find can produce a stroop waffle. The best
price is at Amazon.com (kitchen store) and is $39.99. Also a coupon may be
available at a site called; "fightdivx.com". Which is a very useful site. If
you are interested, I may be able to come up with a recipe for the stroop
waffle filling.
    May good things happen in our lives.

Regards,
Charlie