Dutch Chocolate

Although wholeheartedly agreeing with Bruce Hamby’s conclusion (March 24) that duty-free shops are a hoax, I must disagree, however, that the chocolates at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport are a bargain. Those products are tuned to uneducated palates and the taste preferences of tourists and consist for the most part of sugar, vanillin, lecithin, an assortment of emulsifiers, vegetable oils, ground-up roofing tile (a color agent) and very, very little cocoa.

The best and true Dutch chocolates are the house/store brands available at Dutch supermarkets and for less money than the ersatz items at the Schiphol Tax-Free Candy Stores.

JOHAN van LEER

Santa Monica