Sprinkles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sprinkles

Rainbow sprinkles
Alternative names	Hundreds and thousands (most common), jimmies, vermicelli, Dutch hagelslag, Indonesian meises
Type	Confectionery
Variations	Sanding sugar, crystal sugar, nonpareils, confetti, dragées

Sprinkles are tiny, colorful candies used to make desserts look amazing and taste even better! You'll often see them on cupcakes, doughnuts, ice cream, and brownies. These small candies come in many colors and shapes, making them a fun topping for all sorts of sweet treats.

What Are Sprinkles Called?

Sprinkles have many different names around the world!

Names in English-Speaking Countries

• In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, people often call them hundreds and thousands. This name refers to both sprinkles and a similar candy called nonpareils.
• Sometimes, especially for chocolate sprinkles, people in the UK might call them vermicelli. This word is also used in Egyptian Arabic as faːrmasil.

Names in the United States

• In places like Philadelphia, Boston, and New England, chocolate sprinkles are often called jimmies.
• The word jimmies was first written down in 1930. The Just Born Candy Company once said they invented jimmies and named them after one of their workers.
• Another story about the name jimmies involves a charity called The Jimmy Fund. This fund helps children with cancer. An ice cream shop called Brigham's used to charge an extra penny for chocolate sprinkles, and that money went to the fund. However, the fund started in 1948, much later than the first use of the word jimmies.
• In Connecticut and other parts of the U.S., sprinkles are sometimes called shots.

The History of Sprinkles

Sprinkles have been around for a long time, making desserts more fun!

Early Decorations

• Candies similar to sprinkles, called Nonpareils, were used as decorations as far back as the late 1700s. They made fancy desserts look even better.

Dutch Hagelslag

• In the Netherlands, chocolate sprinkles are called hagelslag. They were invented in 1913 by Erven H. de Jong.
• Another Dutch company, Venz, helped make hagelslag very popular.
• In the Netherlands, hagelslag is often eaten on bread, usually with butter so the sprinkles stick.
• The name hagelslag comes from the Dutch word for hail, because the sprinkles look like tiny hailstones.
• For sprinkles to be called chocoladehagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), they must have more than 32% cocoa. If they have less, they are called cacaofantasie (cocoa fantasy sprinkles).

American Sprinkles

• The American candy company Just Born says its founder, Sam Born, invented "jimmies" (chocolate sprinkles) in Brooklyn, New York.
• However, advertisements for chocolate sprinkles were found in the United States as early as 1921, which was two years before Just Born started.
• Another type of sprinkle, called sanding sugar, has been sold for many years. It now comes in many colors, including sparkly "glitter" types.

Different Kinds of Sprinkles

There are many types of sprinkles, even though people often use the same word for all of them.

A pink cupcake with colored sprinkles

Colored sprinkles, chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top of ice cream.

Common Types of Sprinkles

• What most people call "sprinkles" are small candy decorations that are scattered over food.
• Other types include Nonpareils (tiny round spheres), confetti (flat shapes), and dragées (shiny silver, gold, or pearl balls).
• Newer types are "sugar shapes" or "sequins." These come in many fun shapes like Halloween witches, pumpkins, flowers, or dinosaurs. Some even have flavors, like peppermint candy canes or gingerbread men.

Sugar Sprinkles

• Sanding sugar is a clear, crystal sugar with larger pieces than regular sugar.
• Crystal sugar has even bigger, clear crystals than sanding sugar.
• Pearl sugar is made of large, white, round sugar pieces.
• Both crystal and pearl sugars are often sprinkled on sweet breads, pastries, and cookies in many countries.

Elongated Sprinkles

• In British English, the long, thin sprinkles are called sugar strands or hundreds-and-thousands.
• In the Northeastern United States, these long sprinkles are often called jimmies. People usually think of "jimmies" as an ice cream topping, while "sprinkles" are for baked goods, but the terms can be used for both.

Round Sprinkles

• The tiny, round, opaque sprinkles are called nonpareils in French. They used to be only white but now come in many colors.
• A type of dragée is like a large nonpareil with a metallic coating, such as silver, gold, or bronze. Some dragées also look like pearls.

How Sprinkles Are Used

Sprinkles need something sticky, like frosting or ice cream, to stay on food.

In the Netherlands black chocolate sprinkles (called chocoladehagelslag) are commonly used as a sandwich topping.

Red, white and blue sprinkles (New England: jimmies) on an ice cream cone

• You'll most often find sprinkles on smaller treats like cupcakes or frosted sugar cookies. These treats usually have more frosting and are smaller than big cakes.

Sprinkles on Sandwiches

• In the Netherlands, chocoladehagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) is a popular sandwich topping. This is also common in Belgium and countries that used to be Dutch colonies, like Suriname and Indonesia.
• These countries also use vruchtenhagel (fruit-flavored sprinkles) and anijshagel (anise-flavored sprinkles) on sandwiches, especially for breakfast.
• In Indonesia, chocolate sprinkles are known as meses or meises.

Fairy Bread

• Fairy bread is a fun treat for kids in Australia and New Zealand. It's simply white bread with butter and sprinkles (or nonpareils) on top. It's often served at children's parties.

Confetti Cake

• A dessert called confetti cake has sprinkles mixed right into the cake batter. As the cake bakes, the sprinkles slowly melt, leaving colorful spots that look like confetti.
• Confetti cakes are very popular for children's birthdays in the United States. The Pillsbury Company even sells its own "Funfetti" cake mix, which includes sprinkle-like pieces.