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Dutch cuisine has been influenced for centuries by the flavours of the ancient colonies: spices and smells that have no comparison in Europe . Queen of Dutch cuisine is the Herring, that can be eaten both smoked and uncooked, marinated in various sauces and with various other rich seafood dishes. Dutch cuisine is quite simple. The Dutch eat one course dinners in the evening and rich breakfasts.
Midday is dedicated to a light meal, principally based on bread and of course fruit, always present at every meal with a vast selection of Dutch cheeses.
Breakfast, as we have said, is quite rich, with coffee (or milk) served with bread baked with butter and served with marmalade or chocolate.
During the day, a few light meals are eaten to help get through to dinner. Usually these consist of tea with a piece of bread with honey (Koek) or with traditional biscuits.
The tea is usually light and is served without lemon, while coffee (like in lots of Northern European countries) is usually served long with milk or cream.
The evening meal is made up of soup (soep) and a main meal (meat or fish) accompanied by numerous vegetables. Some meals also include an entreé. The most popular soup is erwtensoep or pea soup. Other soups include aspeigesoep, asparagus soup from Brabante, groentesoep, vegetable soup, and tomatensoep, tomato soup. The most common meat dish is the steak (biefstuk), usually cooked rare with a spicy sauce (if you prefer it a little more well done, request a doorbakken biefstuk).
Rice dishes and white meats are also popular, and they come served very spicy. The main dish is naturally fish, which are always very fresh, and seafood (in particolar oysters) that come from Zelanda. The most common fish is Herring; fresh Herring is also eaten raw. Eels, octopi and other seafood are also popular. Cheese plays an important role in the Dutch economy. The most common are Edammerkaas, a round cheese with a yellow hue, sold at the famous Alkmaar market and Goudsehaas, that comes flat or cylindrical. Sweets are another Dutch speciality, in particular chocolate, which is available in numerous varieties. Most well known is the “pastiglie” of Haarlem , while there is also the less well known chocoladehgelslag. Desserts are quite often fruit based. Limburgsevlaaien is the famous fruit cake of Limburg, while in Zelanda they produce bolussen, profetenbrood and babbelaars, numerous varieties of sweet breads (the most famous being Groninger koek and Deventer koek) and biscuits. The most common beverages in Holland are coffee (Italian-style espresso is served in many restaurants), tea and beer. Jenever (best served when it is at least ten years old) is a special type of gin, with added lemon or currants, that is drunk straight or diluted with water. Another traditional liquor is advokaat, made with eggs. |
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Koninginnedag, The Queen's Day
