Who is this choice for?

Home bakers who need to avoid sugar strictly

You want to choose the ingredients and sweetener in your taaitaai yourself. This takes extra preparation time, and you’ll also need to check the nutritional information for the ingredients you choose.

Families baking together for Sinterklaas

You’re mainly looking for an easy way to make taaitaai, perhaps using a mix and cutters. A sugar-free recipe isn’t essential for you.

Bakers who need to consider allergens too

As well as the sugar content, you need to check ingredients such as cereals, milk or egg, along with any warnings about traces. A gluten-free product isn’t automatically sugar-free.

What should you look for when choosing?

Ready-made taaitaai

A good choice if: you want to serve taaitaai alongside your pepernoten baking without making it yourself.

The trade-off: the regular products from Jumbo and PLUS list sources of sugar in their ingredients, so they aren’t suitable if you need a strictly sugar-free option.

Taaitaai baking mix

A good choice if: baking together with cutters and decorations matters more to you than having a sugar-free recipe.

The trade-off: the Homemade kit listed by Albert Heijn contains sources of sugar in the mix, as well as sugar in the decorations.

Baking your own with chosen ingredients

A good choice if: you want to choose the ingredients yourself to make your taaitaai sugar-free.

The trade-off: Fun and healthy food describes its recipe as containing no added sugars, but the author says the mixture was too runny to make traditional figures.

What to consider What to check before buying Who it matters to
Sugars in the product Read the ingredients for the taaitaai or baking mix, including any decorations, and compare ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g. If I want to make strictly sugar-free taaitaai, I need to know what goes into every component. Around 44% of consumers put this sugar-free requirement first.
Ease of baking and shape Check what the mix contains, what you need to add yourself and whether the dough is suitable for cutting out shapes. When baking together, I want to make recognisable figures without lots of preparation; around 33% of consumers prioritise convenience above all else.
Carbohydrates and allergens Check both carbohydrates and sugars per 100 g and per intended serving. Also read the allergen information and any warnings about traces. As well as sugar, I need to watch my carbohydrate intake or avoid certain ingredients. For around 23% of consumers, this is the most important consideration.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing gluten-free with sugar-free

    According to its product information, the gluten-free taaitaai from Maître Mathis listed by Albert Heijn contains 41 g of sugars per 100 g.

    Check the gluten-free claim and sugar content separately.

  • Forgetting to include the decorations in a baking mix

    The Homemade kit listed by Albert Heijn contains sources of sugar in the mix, as well as sugar in the decorations.

    Read the ingredients for every component before deciding which ones to use for baking.

  • Looking only at ‘of which sugars’

    A sugar-free claim doesn’t tell you how many carbohydrates a product contains. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre also highlights this distinction with sugar-free liquorice.

    For taaitaai, compare both carbohydrates and sugars on the same basis, for example per 100 g.

  • Treating a seasonal product page as a complete label

    A taaitaai listing doesn’t automatically tell you which ingredients, nutritional values or allergens appear on the current packaging.

    Check the packaging when you buy it, and make sure the product you want is available.

Brands to consider

Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn lists several types of taaitaai, as well as a Homemade baking kit.

  • The Homemade kit combines a baking mix with cutters and decorations, making it ideal for baking together.
  • The mix contains dextrose, fructose and sugar, among other ingredients. The gluten-free Maître Mathis taaitaai listed contains 41 g of sugars per 100 g.

Jumbo

Jumbo lists Sint Taai Taai Figuurtjes in a 500 g pack.

  • The product information lists ingredients and nutritional values, making it possible to compare products per 100 g.
  • According to Jumbo, this product contains 38,6 g of sugars per 100 g, and its ingredients include sugar and sugar syrup.

PLUS

PLUS lists products including Ambachtelijke taai taai koeken, in a 250 g bag.

  • The product information lets you check the ingredients and nutritional values.
  • For the 250 g version, PLUS lists 38,594 g of sugars per 100 g, so this taaitaai isn’t sugar-free.

ALDI

ALDI lists 500 g taai-taai as a seasonal product.

  • The product listing helps you recognise the packaging in store.
  • Check the packaging for sugar content and allergens before choosing the product.

Dirk

Dirk includes 1 de Beste Mini taai taai, 500 g, in its product overview.

  • The listing identifies the mini version and pack size.
  • If you’re limiting sugar, check the ingredients and nutritional information on the packaging.

Lidl

Lidl uses mini taai-taai as an ingredient in a Sinterklaas recipe.

  • The recipe shows how you can use taaitaai as part of a Sinterklaas baking session.
  • The recipe doesn’t tell you the ingredients or nutritional values of the taaitaai you buy. Check the product packaging for those details.

Related products on Joybuy

Related products will be available soon.

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose regular taaitaai if I want to bake strictly sugar-free?

Not if you’re choosing regular taaitaai from Jumbo or PLUS: both list sources of sugar in their ingredients. If you need to avoid sugar strictly, check the ingredients and nutritional information for the specific product or for every ingredient in your recipe.

Is taaitaai with no sugar automatically low in carbohydrates?

No. A low sugar content on its own doesn’t tell you how many carbohydrates a product contains. For taaitaai, compare the ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘of which sugars’ figures per 100 g and, if the serving size is known, per serving.

Is gluten-free taaitaai also sugar-free?

Not automatically. According to its product information, the gluten-free taaitaai from Maître Mathis listed by Albert Heijn contains 41 g of sugars per 100 g. So check the gluten-free claim and nutritional information separately.

What should I look for when baking taaitaai with a sweetener?

Check which sweetener the recipe uses, how much the packaging recommends and whether the dough is suitable for the shape you want to make. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, sweeteners are listed on the label of products that contain them. If you need to limit sugars or carbohydrates, check the other ingredients too.