Food and Drink in the Netherlands

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Food and Drink in the Netherlands

Dutch Cooking

Traditional Dutch cuisine is fairly simple and the few dishes described as "typically Dutch" are seldom also described as "elaborate" or "sophisticated". The main ingredient in a traditional Dutch meal is potatoes (aardappel), usually accompanied by meat and boiled vegetables. Dairy products are also very common.

The Netherlands now has an internationally oriented cuisine with the ingredients for (and restaurants serving) foods originating from Africa, France, Italy, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, America and the Far East. In the big cities, some very good Thai food restaurants (in Amsterdam on the "Nieuwmarkt" for example) can be found, as well as good authentic Chinese food in the Chinese quarters. 

After World War II Indonesia became independent and many Indonesian Dutch returned (or moved) to the Netherlands bringing the spicy cuisine with its exotic ingredients. 

Typical Dutch Meals

A typical Dutch breakfast consists of several types of bread, slices of Dutch cheese, butter, jam or honey, sometimes eggs, sausages or prepared meats. Coffee, tea, chocolate and fruit juice are drunk at breakfast.

Another traditional Dutch breakfast is an uitsmijter, which is the name given to a substantial meal of eggs (usually three), bread, cheese and/or ham and bacon.

In the cities, working people usually have a rather light lunch and eat more substantial dishes for dinner. The lunch might consist of sandwiches (broodjes), served in a sandwich bar; or a koffietafel with various cold cuts, cheese, bread and conserves, a side dish with a cottage pie, salad or an omelette; or filled pancakes; or lightly salted green herrings, bought from a street stall. 

Rural families on the other hand are more likely to have their main meal at midday, and have an early dinner consisting of bread, cold cuts, cheese and salad.

Some Typical Dutch Dishes

Main courses

• Erwtensoep is a thick pea soup, full of fresh vegetables, served with smoked sausage, cubes of bacon, pig's knuckle and bread
• Groentensoep is a clear consommé with vegetables, meatballs and vermicelli
• Stamppot is a simple dish consisting of mashed potatoes with different ingredients, such as carrots (wortel stamppot), kale (boerenkook stamppot) or endive (andijvie stamppot). It is generally served together with rookworst, a juicy smoked sausage
• Patat is like French fries although usually thicker in the Netherlands and served with mayonnaise, or with mayonnaise and saté-sauce (patatje oorlog) or with mayonnaise, ketchup and raw onions (patat speciaal). Patats can be bought from any snackbar or stall
• Kroket and Frikandel are roll-shaped snacks containing some kind of meat. Both are usually available from snackbars or outside stalls
• Haring Raw herring with onions is a typical Dutch delicacy: the fish are held by the tail and allowed to gradually slide into the mouth (the head is removed and the fish has been cleaned). The first catch of the season, the Hollandse Nieuwe, meaning Dutch New, is considered a special treat
• Seafood dishes are often very good, especially in cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and include fried sole (gebakken zeetong), fried whiting (lekkerbekjes), shrimps, oysters, mussels, lobster, royal imperial oysters and eel (smoked, filleted and served stewed or fried or on toast)

Desserts

Favourite Dutch desserts include:

• pannekoeken - eaten with all kinds of fillings: syrup, cheese or fruit
• wafels met slagroom - waffles with whipped cream
• offertje  are small dough balls fried and dusted with sugar
• spekkoek is a cake made with layers of buttered sponge and Indonesian spices
• Poffertjes are like small pancakes, served warm with a lot of powdered sugar sprinkled on top. They can be bought from market stalls (poffertjeskraam)
• Stroopwafel is a kind of cookie made with two thin waffle-type wafers and a special caramel filling. The waffle is cooked at high temperature on a waffle iron and syrup is spread on the two halves before they are put together
• Vla is a thick sweet pudding made from milk and offered in various flavours (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry). It is fairly similar to English custard
• Hopjes-vla and bitterkoekjes-vla have very typical tastes and should be tried
• Vlaai is a sweet pie or pastry typical of the southern part of the Netherlands such as Brabant and Limburg although it may also be found in other places. It comes in different varieties and usually has some kind of fruit filling
• Drop - this liquorice is widely eaten in the Netherlands and comes in different forms and tastes; it may be sweet or extremely salty

Cheese in Holland

The Netherlands is famous for its cheese and cheese markets. Dutch cheese is exported throughout the world and the most well known are Edam, Gouda and Leiden cheese. Every region in the country produces cheese, anything from mild to extra mature, seasonal to mass produced varieties. Certain cheeses are flavoured with cumin, chives, garlic or cloves and sheep's and goat's cheese are also produced.

The best known cheese markets are in the Towns Edam, Gouda, Woerden and Alkmaar.

Drinks

Dutch coffee is usually strong. To order coffee with milk, ask for koffie verkeerd, this is a lighter version (more like the French café au lait).

Dutch tea is usually quite watery and served without milk. 

In winter, it is very common to have a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.

Alcoholic Drinks

There are no licensing laws in the Netherlands and drinks can be bought all day. Bars open later and stay open until the early hours of the morning during weekends.

Dutch specialities include:

• Dutch beer (bier), which is a light gassy beer, served chilled, generally in small glasses (slightly under half a pint). There are also many beers, from white beer to dark beer with some being brewed traditionally at the monasteries (some of which are open to visitors) 
• In winter, alcoholic bitters are quite popular and every town has its own version: Beerenburg in Amsterdam, Schrobbelear in Tilburg. Bitters are obtained by distilling various herbs, spices and seeds in wine brandy
• Jenever, the local spirit made with juniper berries and sometimes called Dutch gin, is normally taken straight and chilled as a chaser with a glass of beer, but it is sometimes drunk with cola or vermouth. It is also used in "tall" drinks and it comes in many varieties, depending on the spices used
• Brandewijn (a brandy-like spirit), is one of the oldest spirits and is still popular in some areas of the Netherlands. It is also used to make the liqueur advocaat and other fruit liqueurs (cherry, plum, etc)
• Advocaat is a thick drink, made with brandewijn, egg, sugar and vanilla. It is so thick that it usually takes a spoon to drink it. Usually between 15° and 18° proof, the lightest versions are often exported to England
• Other Dutch liqueurs include Curaçao, Triple Sec (similar to Cointreau), Parfait d'Amour, and Dutch-made versions of anisette, apricot brandy and crème de menthe