Dutch Meals & Food
Dutch and cuisine are not terms frequently used together. While there are a number of food items that were introduced first in the Netherlands, dishes tend to be simple and indistinct from many other northern European countries.
Core foods for most Dutch people include cheese, potatoes, sausage, beef, fish, bread, chocolate and dairy products. Coffee is a favorite beverage as are fruit juices, milk and beer.
DUTCH BREAKFAST (‘ONTBIJT’)
The Dutch often start their day with a light breakfast such as a slice of bread (brood) or a roll (broodjes) topped with butter (boter), jam (fruitbeleg) or chocolate spread. Yoghurt with fresh fruit is also common. Children typically eat cereal (graan) or buttered bread topped with chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag).
Breakfast on the weekend may be more substantial with eggs, cheese, breakfast meats and pastries.
Two items popular with children for breakfast or lunch are:
- Pannenkoeken – A cross between a crepe and a pancake, eaten with all kinds of fillings and toppings: syrup, fruits, cheese, powdered sugar.
- Wafels – Thick waffles can be plain, sugar-coated or partially covered with chocolate icing. As a dessert, they are often topped with whip cream (slagroom) or in summer with fresh strawberries (aardbei).
DUTCH LUNCH
A cheese sandwich (broodjes) is a very common lunch item in the Netherlands, accompanied by a glass of milk. If workers venture out for lunch, they may opt for deep fried fish (kibbeling), a cone of french fries (patat) topped with a mayonnaise-like dressing (fritessaus), salted herring (Hollandse Nieuwe haring) or a salad (sla) with sliced meats. Kwark is a popular dairy product similar in taste to cottage cheese but with a smooth texture more like yogurt.
DUTCH SUPPER (‘AVONDMAAL’)/DINNER (‘DINER’)
In Holland, supper time is a firm 6:00 pm; it is rare for parents not to be home from work and children not to be home from school by that time so they can eat together. Common Dutch supper dishes include:
- Stamppot consists of mashed potatoes with a sausage on top. A second vegetable is commonly mixed in with the potatoes such as carrots (wortel stamppot), spinach (spinaziestamppot), beets (bietenstamppot), kale (stamppot boerenkool), endive (andijviestamppot) or red cabbage (stamppot rodekool).
- Erwtensoep is a thick pea soup with cubes of ham, bacon or sausage.
- Frikandel and Krokets are tube-shaped snacks containing a mix of meats. Krokets are breaded, Frikhandel are not.
- Bitterballen are deep-fried breaded balls filled with a mix of meat in a croquette sauce.
DUTCH CHEESE
The Netherlands is one of the largest cheese (kaas‘) producing countries and Dutch people have one of the highest per capita consumption of cheese. Types of cheese are typically named for the city or region where they originated; some well-known cheeses include Amsterdamse, Gouda, Edam, Leyden and Limburger. Neighborhood shopping centers almost always have at least one cheese shop (boerenkaaswinkel or kaasspecialist).
Cheese can be purchased in rounds, chunks or in slices. The taste varies based on the length of time cured; young cheese (jong kaas) is milder while old cheese (oud kaas) is stronger.
DUTCH DESSERTS
Expats living in Holland who like sweets will have no problem finding a wide range of baked goods and candy in their local supermarket. Popular items include:
- Stroopwafels – A soft cookie made of 2 thin wafers bonded with a caramel syrup. Best eaten warm.
- Spekkoek – A layer cake with thin layers of butter sponge cake separated by layers of filling made from Indonesian spices and sugar.
- Poffertjes – Small round flaky pastries filled with whipped cream, served warm with powdered sugar on top.
- Vla – A pudding offered in a wide variety of flavors such as raspberry (framboos), caramel, banana and apple-cinnamon (appel-kaneel). It is similar in taste and consistency to English custard.
- Vlaai – A flat pie with fruit or cream filling. A popular variety is topped with a lattice crust.
- Oliebollen – A ball of deep fried dough (sometimes with raisins) eaten warm and topped with powdered sugar. It is a popular treat from early November through the New Year.
DUTCH CANDY
The Dutch love their chocolate, both domestically produced and imported. Top chocolate makers in Holland include Tony’s Chocolonely, Droste and Verkade.
Candy more unique to Holland include:
- Drop – A very strong tasting licorice candy that comes in a variety of flavors.
- Hopjes – A coffee and caramel-flavored hard candy that was first produced in The Hague under the brand Haagsche Hopjes.
- Pepermunt – Peppermint was introduced to the world by the Dutch company ‘Fortuin’ in 1842. To celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1892, the company created a disc peppermint embossed like a coin with the likeness of young Queen Wilhelmina, who was 12 years old at the time. Today the company is the largest peppermint producer in the Netherlands and its ‘Wilhelmina’ peppermints are sold throughout the world.
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