Today, the national cuisines of different countries are of interest not only to professional chefs, but also to lovers of delicious and unusual dishes. In the traditions of different nations, you can find many recipes that are easy to repeat with your own hands. In this regard, Dutch cuisine is very advantageous over many exotic dishes, because all the necessary products can be found in domestic supermarkets and markets. Our article will tell you about the culinary traditions of the Netherlands, the most popular dishes, classic recipes and products.
Today, Dutch people prefer light and simple dishes that do not require much effort to prepare. At the same time, national dishes have sufficient, but not excessive calories.
To get the most complete picture of the cuisine of this country, let's try to cook a few simple dishes: first, second and dessert. And to emphasize the national flavor will help the traditional drink, beloved by the Dutch from time immemorial - beer. Be sure to serve it to the table if you are going to have a Dutch-style dinner or lunch.
The history of formation in the Middle Ages
Culinary historians believe that in the old days, Dutch cuisine was more diverse than in modern times. It was a favorable geographical position. The generous sea gave a rich catch, and the mild climate and good soil created all the conditions for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.
There is evidence that the Dutch began to prepare a variety of dishes from milk a long time ago. The cheeses that this country is famous for in our time were prepared by local residents in the early Middle Ages. Moreover, not only wealthy townspeople, but also ordinary rural people could afford this delicacy.
In the old days, various stews were common, which were prepared on the basis of milk, vegetable, meat and fish broths, cereal broths.
In the diet of the inhabitants, seafood was present in significant quantities: fish, oysters, crayfish, shrimps, mollusks. One of the most favorite dishes of the Dutch was and remains pickled and salted herring.
As today, the predominance of vegetables over the meat part was traditional for the national Dutch cuisine. grown beets, cabbage, carrots, beans. It was customary to serve wheat or rye bread to the table. And the unusual name "liquid bread" was used to refer to beer. In those days, both adults and children drank it, because the strength of the drink was relatively small, and it was prepared from the best products.
In 1514, the first Dutch cookbook known today was published.
The influence of the development of navigation
The expansion of trade had a huge impact on the national cuisines of many European countries. A variety of wines, nuts, sweets, coffee, tea, exotic fruits appeared in the diet of the Dutch. Game was present in abundance in the diet of the inhabitants of Holland. Dessert recipes began to become widespread and popular: waffles, pancakes, puffers - pastries that taste and look reminiscent of our pancakes (this dish is shown in the next photo).
Potato spread
This vegetable came to Holland in the 17th century from Spain, where it was brought from Peru. Potatoes quickly spread and took an important place in the diet of the inhabitants of this country. It was served boiled at the table for lunch, and the leftovers were pureed and left for dinner. Potato dishes are popular in Holland today. An example is patat - the Dutch version of french fries and our fried potatoes.
This is not to say that with the advent of potatoes, Dutch cuisine has acquired many recipes. Most often, the root crop was boiled, in a peeled form or in a peel, and served as a side dish for fish. This is what happens today.
"School of Home Economics"
Many traditional Dutch dishes, common in the old days, lost their former popularity at the beginning of the 20th century. In those days, the table of the poor was meager, and the rich could afford many excesses. In those days, the issue of rational nutrition was seriously raised in society for the first time. A network of so-called home economics schools was organized in the state, in which young housewives and cooks from rich houses were taught to cook healthy and simple food. At the same time, the taste and variety of dishes were given a secondary role.
In those days, traditions were formed that are characteristic of Dutch cuisine today. Most dishes are characterized by moderate use of spices, laconic design, and the use of simple ingredients. At the same time, the Dutch festive menu may include unusual dishes, the taste of which combines different shades. Examples include berry and ginger sauces for meat, honey marinade for fish, spicy and salty liquorice candies.
Main Products
Where to start for someone who has decided to master a few simple recipes for Dutch cuisine? Of course, from acquaintance with the main products.
In ancient times, herring was most often on the tables of ordinary people, today the Dutch also use cod, mackerel, and salmon in abundance.
Cheeses are loved in this country: these are gouda, maasdam, edamer.
An important place is given to sweets. Do you want to emphasize the mood of the feast? Serve with hot chocolate or Montpensier tea, waffles with caramel syrup, speculos, peanut butter. The last component, by the way, is added not only to desserts, but also to salty sauces and gravies.
It is impossible to imagine a Dutch feast without meat and smoked meats. A very popular dish is croquettes, small deep-fried buns that can be stuffed with beef, pork or poultry. You can buy this delicacy almost everywhere.
Don't forget grains and vegetables. Today, a huge number of crops are grown in the Netherlands. The Dutch also appreciate delicious bread.
As you can see, most of the products are easy to find on sale. And what to cook from them, we will consider in the following sections.
Dutch soup with celery
The preparation of this traditional first course will take very little time. Grate a 100-gram piece of celery root and finely chop a small onion. Fry vegetables in butter. Add a tablespoon of flour, mix, salt.
Pour in half a liter of meat broth, bring to a boil. Before serving, beat the raw yolk, 50 ml of sour cream and a few drops of lemon juice. When serving, pour this sauce into the celery soup and garnish with chopped herbs. It is permissible to add boiled fish or meat to this dish.
Traditional second course - stewed cabbage with sausage
The history of this dish is rooted in hoary antiquity. Similar recipes are found in many cuisines of the world: in German, Danish, Polish, Russian. In Holland, it is customary to cook shredded cabbage with smoked sausage.
For the dish, you can use Brussels sprouts or white cabbage (fresh or sauerkraut). Often, Dutch housewives use a mixture of different types of cabbage, adding a small amount of kohlrabi to the dish.
Stew a piece of finely chopped bacon in a small amount of water. Add 0.5 kg of cabbage and simmer covered for 20 minutes, adding 5-7 juniper berries and a couple of peppercorns.
Sausage is added to the saucepan at the very end. You can cut it into thin strips or large portioned pieces. To infuse the dish with flavors, let it stand under the lid for a while before serving. Usually this treat is served with mashed potatoes seasoned with nutmeg.
Dessert with caramel
You can taste this delicacy in any cafe in the Netherlands. But many housewives prefer to cook waffle treats at home.
Pour a glass of sugar into a bowl, add 1/3 l. dry yeast and stir. Pour in 150 g of cold milk and add the zest and juice of one lemon. Chop 150 g of butter and add to the dough in parts.
Keep the dough in the refrigerator for 5 hours before you start making Dutch Caramel Cookies.
Roll out the layer, cut out circles with a glass and roll them in brown sugar. As it melts, it will provide the caramel flavor. You need to bake cookies in a preheated oven for a quarter of an hour.
The national cuisine of the Netherlands consists mainly of simple dishes that have a memorable and pleasant taste. When describing Dutch dishes, epithets are almost never used - “refined”, “refined”, “divine” ... Words such as hearty, fatty, rustic solid, uncomplicated are more suitable. After the Second World War, immigrants from Indonesia (a former colony of the Netherlands) brought many herbs and spices, which became part of the local cuisine. Traditionally, in the Netherlands they eat three times a day - a light breakfast, lunch (most often a snack on the go) and a more substantial dinner.
Where the Dutch excel is in the preparation of fish and seafood dishes. The most traditional and favorite is “haring” (special salted herring, with finely chopped onions and slices of pickled cucumber). They sell this Dutch delicacy right on street stalls. It is customary to eat as follows: the herring fillet is taken by the tip and, with its head thrown back, is completely lowered into the mouth. June is the height of the herring season, when the fish comes to the shores of the country. According to tradition, the first barrel of herring is sent to the Queen of the Netherlands, and only then to the places of sale. In addition, herring is eaten with potatoes, various cereals, peas and vegetable side dishes.
Also popular in Dutch cuisine , enjoy:
- fried herring fillet with onions,
- smoked eel with lemon and egg,
- stewed pike perch with vegetables,
- fried fish meatballs,
- fast food breaded in batter, made from pieces of sea cod("kibbeling").
A large number of dishes from river fish. And, for the consumption of mussels, oysters, squid and shrimp, the Netherlands ranks first in the world.
From the first courses, in the national cuisine, it is worth trying:
- "erten soup" - soup based on crushed peas, with smoked sausage;
- "consommé pot-a-feu" - broth with herbs, carrots and slices of ham;
- « celery soup";
- "tomato soup" ;
- "chicken soup" .
In addition, canned soups are common, which are as familiar to the Dutch as canned fish are to us.
For the second, the national cuisine of the Netherlands will offer you:
- “hutspot” - beef stew with vegetable puree, which includes potatoes, carrots, onions;
- "stumppot" - mashed potatoes, with the addition of grated vegetables, there is a variant of "stumppot" from fresh cabbage, with the addition of smoked sausage;
- " gyutspot" - a stew of stew, carrots, potatoes and onions;
- "cantes" - boiled beans with cracklings;
- "Rijstafel" - a dish of rice, vegetables and meat;
- Rausschmeiser - a three-layer hot sandwich with scrambled eggs, ham and bacon;
- Kipsate - small chicken skewers with hot peanut sauce;
- "poffertjes" - small pancakes with butter and powdered sugar.
No less tasty are stewed pork legs, vorstiye sausages, deep-fried meat croquettes, thick panakuk pancakes, with various fillings (cheese, meat, bacon, ham, apples, raisins).
Special pride, the national cuisine of the Netherlands , is an excellent Dutch cheese. It is served as a separate appetizer - " cheese slice" (cubes of different varieties of hard cheese with fruits, vegetables, meat products). Most Dutch salads require the presence of cheese in them. The variety of Dutch cheeses is amazing - hard varieties, soft, tender, sharp, creamy, with spices, goat cheese, sheep ... Such varieties as " Edam", "Leiden", "Dutch", "Edamer", "Gouda" and others, have long become popular not only in the Netherlands, but throughout the world.
From soft drinks, in the Netherlands, they prefer coffee, coffee with milk (the locals call it " wrong coffee"), black tea, aniseed milk, quast (warm lemonade), hot chocolate. Dutch beer is especially popular. The most famous varieties are Heineken, Grolsch, Amstel" and others. Stronger drinks - Advocaat liqueur, Enever juniper gin, Orange Bitter orange brandy.
Welcome to the hospitable Kingdom of the Netherlands and bon appetit to all!
Very often I am asked: what do the Dutch eat? What is their national dish? That's a hard question to answer, because the first thing that comes to mind is cheese and uh... french fries.
The Dutch, frankly, are not gourmets. For them, eating food is a physiological process necessary to maintain life. Well, in second place: yes, it would be nice if this food is also tasty.
The Dutch eat a lot of bread and for lunch they usually have some kind of sandwich (as well as for breakfast and often for dinner, and you can do without a second one. A joke with a share of a joke) Although, according to tradition, they have dinner in the family circle at a clearly set time .
However, they have their own traditional cuisine. And the first thing that comes to mind is pea cream soup with several types of sausages. It is difficult to judge how often they eat it, but it does not appear on the menu of restaurants so often. And about the rest of the favorite food of the Dutch will be discussed below.
Friets. The Dutch are very fond of french fries with mayonnaise. On average, a typical Dutchman eats about 140 kg of potatoes per year. French fries are usually served in a paper bag, generously sprinkled with mayonnaise.
Kroket – a cylindrical or round culinary dish of minced meat or vegetables, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried. In the Netherlands, this type of fast food is sold almost everywhere and is very cheap. The largest chain that prepares this type of dish is FEBO.
Haring- lightly salted herring cooked in a special way. Usually served with a slice of pickled cucumber or finely chopped onion on a white bread roll. The tradition of eating haring dates back 1000 years. How much do the Dutch love this dish? This question is easy to answer - about 12,000,000 kg of herring are eaten per year in the Netherlands. By the way, herring appeared in Russia thanks to Peter I, who brought it from Holland.
Poffertjes – Dutch pancakes are an integral part of national holidays and festivals. During the Christmas and New Year holidays, they can be found in every market. They are baked in a special frying pan with small indentations. Poffertjes have historically been made with buckwheat flour, water, and yeast. Such food was considered the food of the poor due to the fact that buckwheat grew in disadvantaged, arid areas. Nowadays, they are baked from wheat or buckwheat flour and served with powdered sugar and a piece of butter.
Hagelslag- topping for toast, consisting of small pieces of chocolate. It is usually sprinkled on buttered toast. There are many varieties of hagelslag: milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate mix.
stroopwafel- round wafers made from two thin layers of dough, baked with a filling of caramel syrup. They were first made in the 18th century in Gouda in the Netherlands. Now they can be bought everywhere - from supermarkets to mobile stalls at fairs, festivals, in open museums.
Dropjes. The Dutch love liquorice. Black sweets with a spicy taste of anise are both a delicacy and medicine from licorice. Hundreds of varieties of liquorice sweets that are produced in various sizes and shapes with the addition of different flavors. Their use is almost a national trait.
VLA – it is a thick and sweet pudding, much like custard. Pudding varies in taste: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, almond.
Bitterballen – one of my favorite snacks in Holland. They are prepared in the form of small balls and are served as a snack before lunch or dinner. They are traditionally made with beef, but can also be made with chicken, veal with mushrooms, or even vegetarian.
Kaas i.e. cheese. The product is famous all over the world for its balance of spicy and sweet taste. Most cheeses are named after the cities in which they are produced, such as Gouda, Edam, Limburger and Mazdamer. Goat cheese varieties are also popular. Cheese festivals and other events take place throughout the country, medieval-style cheese markets and auctions are still open to the delight of tourists in Alkmaar, Hoorn and Edam, and modern cheese markets are located in Woerden and Gouda. And on Saturday and Friday markets, you can always find a couple of cheese shops where you can try and buy your favorite piece of cheese.
Oliebolen- traditional Dutch "patties" from yeast dough, deep-fried. They can be either without filling or with apple filling. They are usually served with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar or whipped cream. You can try oliebolen at pre-Christmas fairs and in crowded places on the eve of Christmas.
Here's a little variety. By the way, what else would you like to say about the Dutch food culture: they never arrange large feasts, as is customary with us. And, even if you come to visit at the appointed time or a little earlier, and the family is sitting at the table and having dinner, most likely you will not be invited to the table. They may offer a glass of water, a cup of coffee or tea, and kindly ask you to sit on the couch while they finish their meal.
And all because the Dutch always cook, as they themselves say netjes - which means clearly, for each family member, no more and no less. Yes, they are very economical and a little mercantile in everything.
But more on that next time...
Dutch cuisine, national and local: what to cook and where to eat. Recipes, cooking methods, appetizers, desserts, hot dishes and drinks from the Netherlands.
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No Russian grandmother would tolerate traditional Dutch cuisine in her home. Hot food is eaten here only at dinner, and even then not always. And all the breakfasts and lunches at the locals are held under the flag of sandwiches and dry food. No rich soups for you, no rich donuts for you.
Everyday dishes here are considered fresh fish products - herring, eel, bondage, halibut, oysters. They are cooked in every possible way, salted, processed into canned food and served on the table most often with boiled potatoes. The most popular fish is the herring.
Almost in all cafes and restaurants in Holland you can find menus in three languages: English (for tourists), Dutch and Flemish.
Dutch herring
Most often, the Dutch eat it "on the go": in the form of a sandwich or swallowing it "alive". Namely: they raise it above their heads and, with their heads up, bite off a piece - the traditional Dutch way.
The traditional Amsterdam way is eating herring cut on a paper plate with small onion crumble and chopped pickles. All this pleasure is eaten with a sort of double toothpick.
Finally, herring in a soft white bun is also common - something like a fish hot dog. It is also sometimes served with onions, but more often just bread and herring. When eating herring, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. All tents, painted in the traditional colors of the Dutch flag, where they sell herring - herring - are equipped with a washstand with soap, or wet wipes are given to each visitor.
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Snacks
Almost the entire country eats snacks for breakfast and lunch - all kinds of sandwiches and sandwiches of all sizes and colors. Another common snack is uitsmijter (something like a sandwich). It is prepared in an elementary way - a piece of bread is covered with a slice of ham, then cheese, and on top - fried eggs. It will not be difficult to find sandwiches on the street: it will be more difficult to find hot food before 5 pm, when the kitchens in restaurants open, than a piece or two of rich bread with ham.
Despite the fact that Belarusians have the proud title of potato lovers, one gets the feeling that it is Holland that breaks all records for eating this root crop per capita. In almost every city in the country, you can easily find a tent where they sell "French fries" - french fries in a paper bag, filled with ketchup or mayonnaise, and sometimes also flavored with onions - the delicacy is simply incredibly popular with the local population. In addition, french fries will most likely accompany you when ordering a hot dish - this side dish is found in 99% of 100 here.
Holland is also famous for its high quality cheeses. Their assortment is so great that we will only talk about the world-famous and popular ones: Edam, Dutch and Leiden. You should definitely try sheep or goat cheese, as well as look at one of the country's cheese factories. Here you can taste many cheeses (with pesto, pepper, dairy, diet, and so on) with traditional mustard. And, of course, buy a head or two. The cost is low - for high-quality cheese weighing about 0.5-1 km, they will not ask for more than 8-12 EUR here.
Hot dishes
The national dish of Dutch cuisine is hutspot (or "hot pot", "hot pot") - sliced boiled or stewed beef, which is served on a dish with a side dish of vegetable puree made from boiled carrots, onions and potatoes. This vegetable puree - stamppot - is the second most popular traditional dish of the country. The most common kale stamppot with smoked sausage (boerenkool met rookworst) or meat balls (something like our cutlet).
Also popular is the gyutzpot dish, a Dutch meat stew that includes stew, boiled potatoes, carrots and onions.
Beverages
Coffee and tea (traditional colonial goods from the "Indies") are very popular. "Coffee time" (koffietijd) - between 10 am and 11 am or 7 pm and 8 pm. In every cafe, for any cup of coffee, one small cookie or muffin is sure to be served. Coffee with milk is called "wrong coffee" (koffie verkeerd), but very popular. Also worth trying are hot chocolate, aniseed milk and warm lemonade (quast).
Beer is very common in the Netherlands, especially lager: Heineken, Amstel, Grolsch. Beer is usually served in very small glasses (~0.2) to drink it before it heats up and loses its amazing taste. More serious people, quickly overturning a glass of beer, immediately afterward wash it down with gin, calling this mixture “kopstoot” (“head crusher”).
"Enever" - the most popular strong drink in Holland - the ancestor of the English gin, invented by a Dutch doctor. Jenever comes in "oud" (old and good tasting) or "jong" (young and tangy), and sometimes lemon or blackberry flavors as well.
The local liqueur Advocaat is also known - a kind of liquid cream made from beaten eggs and cognac. Which is just as delicious with ice cream.
Dutch Cuisine The Dutch national cuisine, also known as the Dutch cuisine, represents the dishes of the north of Europe, which are distinguished by a peculiar local flavor. It uses traditional agricultural products, including cheeses, which have become a gastronomic hallmark of Holland, and fisheries. The only condition that the Dutch have always tried to comply with is that the food should be hearty, restoring strength after hard work.
Hearty and tasty - the motto of Dutch cuisine
Traditional Dutch cuisine recipes are varied, but all of them are high in calories and have a pleasant spicy taste.
First courses are rarely used in the daily menu. Preference is given to soups in broth with boiled meat, for example, snert - vegetable or pea soup with meat, lard or sausages, or stew with potatoes, vegetables and meat.
The usual lunch or dinner of a Dutch family is the main dishes of fish or meat, which undergo various heat treatments: boiled, stewed, fried. Dutch cuisine is served with vegetable or mashed potatoes, sometimes mixed options are prepared, for example, potatoes with cabbage. As a seasoning, sauce is necessarily used. For dinner, when hot food is served, gruzpot is most often prepared - a local version of meat stew.
Fish is the staple of Dutch cuisine.
Despite the presence of a large number of meat dishes in the diet of the Dutch, they have a special relationship with fish. It is used almost every day in a wide variety of forms. Halibut, flounder, eel are fried, boiled, salted, dried: one of the most delicious dishes is eel fried in molasses - gebaken paling met sling. Eat fish as an appetizer (sandwich with fish and vegetables) or as a main course with a side dish.
The variety of fish dishes did not stop the Dutch from choosing herring. It can rightly be called a national dish, and haring is a culinary brand of the country. Lightly salted herring with onions and pickled cucumbers is one of the most popular in the Netherlands.
Another popular cooking option for herring is frying. For a person unaccustomed to such cuisine, the aroma of panharing will seem more than strange, but gourmets say that its incomparable taste makes you forget about the unpleasant moments associated with the smell during cooking.
Desserts - what is cuisine without them
It is difficult to imagine a full-fledged cuisine without sweet dishes, and Dutch cuisine is no exception. The local climate is not conducive to the widespread cultivation of fruits, so in the Netherlands they prefer good pastries and chocolate, which is prepared here according to a special recipe.
If the delicacy of imported cocoa beans is more related to industrial production, then stroopwafels, poffertjes (pancakes), as well as the local version of pancakes and apple pies are a must on the Dutch menu. They are easy to prepare, like all local dishes, but very nutritious and tasty.
If you want to diversify your home menu with interesting dishes of Dutch cuisine, we offer unusual recipes that are prepared in this country, and we attach detailed recommendations for their preparation. Take advantage of our offers, and your loved ones will appreciate your efforts.
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