It is also known as flessenlikker (“bottle licker” in Dutch). The flessenschraper is a typical Dutch bottle scraper. The Dutch response was then to create a kitchen utensil perfectly suited to address this problem: the bottle scraper or flessenschraper. However, the shape of the container made it difficult to extract the vla with spoons, spatulas or other cooking utensils. It was delivered in bottles similar to the standard long bottles with tapered neck used around the world. In the past, vla was sold in long glass bottles. Indeed, the versions with vanilla and caramel were not launched until 1978. It should be noted that the chocolate dessert cream version appeared before the other variants in France. Although the most common version in the Netherlands is that of the vanilla vla, it is the chocolate dessert cream ( Danette au chocolat), which became the most popular in France. Indeed, 10 000 tons of the cream were sold in France in 1974. The chocolate dessert cream was a great success from its launch in France. When he returned from his trip, Carasso set out to improve the recipe for the Dutch custard and created a creamier and richer recipe than the original vla recipe. Thus, the Danette dessert cream brand was born from his trip to the Netherlands, during his visit to a vla manufacturing facility. He launched a dessert cream that was all the rage at the time in the French market. In France, a visionary entrepreneur and founder of Danone, Daniel Carasso, was inspired by it in the 1970s. Vla first appeared in the Netherlands in the 1950s before being exported to other European countries. However, vla is a staple of traditional cuisine in the region of Limburg, one of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. No one can say for sure the origin of this vanilla dessert cream that is so popular in Belgium and the Netherlands. However, the most common dessert creams remain vanilla vla or chocolate vla. The other variants can have a caramel, banana, orange or apple flavor. The chocolate vla is nicknamed “chocolate yogurt” in the Netherlands. The second most popular variant of vla is the chocolate one. Thus, it is not uncommon to find the vla with different aromas. However, over the years, new variants of vla have emerged. In the Netherlands, it is the vanilla flavor that is the most popular because it is the flavor that is used in the traditional original recipe. The traditional vanilla-flavored version is called vanille vla in Dutch and Flemish. However, nowadays, some industrial producers use cornstarch rather than eggs to thicken the cream. Traditionally, the original vla recipe mentioned the presence of eggs. For example, Dutch grandmothers’ cakes are often covered with a thin layer of this cream as a topping. Some pastry recipes use vla as a coating for cakes. The locals sometimes serve it with whipped cream. Nicknamed “Dutch custard”, vla is generally eaten cold. Its texture is thicker than that of custard but less than pastry cream (crème pâtissière). Vla is a pudding-type dessert cream very popular in Belgium and the Netherlands, which consists of eggs, milk, sugar and an aroma, usually vanilla. For 50 years, it has been one of the best-selling desserts in the Netherlands. The Dutch are fond of it and are often nostalgic of this creamy dessert which takes them straight back to their childhood. The vla is halfway between a custard and a pudding. It is prepared with dairy products, more precisely cow’s milk, as well as fresh eggs. Vla is a very popular dessert cream in Belgium and the Netherlands.

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