Belgium is famous for its chocolate, but if you're East Flanders to visit Ghent, you might want to…read morelook into getting some of Ghent nose candies.
Gentse neus, also known as Ghent noses or cuberdons, is (according to our tour guide) a popular local delicacy. The recipe was said to have been first made in the 19th century with arabic gum and sugar, and flavored by fruit and flowers. A member of our group recommended biting off the top of the cone's dry, harder, and gummy tip and sucking out the gooey, jelly center before eating the rest. It takes 5 to 7 days and lasts for about three weeks before the jelly in the center crystalizes. Because of that, you don't really see them sold outside of this part of Europe and is unique to this as an official regional product in this Flemish area. However and because of that, they can be flown back into the US and make great souvenirs and gifts. When we were in Ghent, we saw little bags and boxes of them sold in local souvenir shops in a variety of flavors including raspberry, apple, strawberry, mangoes, licorice, etc. However, we were told those "neuzekes" might not necessarily have the arabic gum.
In Groentenmarkt Square, there is De Echte Gentse Neuzen, or The Real Ghent Noses, a cart marketing their "authentic" Ghent noses. It was originally run by Sonny Breine and one of the two carts that were a part of the Neuzekesoorlog, or "little nose war", feud where he and Carl Demeestere competed side by side. Both claimed to sell the real "authentic" recipe and the fight went on for YEARs. The conflict included poaching customers, pointedly getting similar carts, a physical fight, and the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce stepping in with a two-week cart ban and fine for anymore badmouthing respectively. It was hilarious and apparently made national news. XD
Sonny isn't the one running the cart anymore, but you can still get the candy! I didn't see the other cart or stand. For a few euros, you can buy a small bag of your chosen flavors (whether you want all of them to be one flavor or a mix), or even get it in a small gift box. The day we went, they had apple, raspberry, and strawberry flavors, and we ended up getting a little of everything. On that day, we didn't see Demeestere's cart/stand? I don't know if it was just the day we went or if something changed, but De Echte Gentse Neuzen was the cart selling "authentic" Ghent Nose to our tour group.
So yeah, if you're in the area and looking for a particularly unique experience, gift, or souvenir, I recommend visiting De Echte Gentse Neuzen to try some of this candy. The candy itself admittedly isn't to my personal taste, but I'm glad I tried out all the available flavors. It was fun and really easy to transport back home as it doesn't damage easily. XD
