Dutch Food- Netherlands
After spending a month in the Netherlands, I'm still not really sure exactly what constitutes Dutch cuisine. Here are some relatively unique foods we tried and enjoyed during our time there:
Patat (French fries) and other fried things: Thick-cut french fries have their own fast food restaurants here. They are fresh cut right there before your eyes, then fried. The classic way to eat it is with special Dutch mayonnaise squirted on top of a cone of fries, with a little fork for spearing the gooey fries. French fries are one of Landon's favorite foods, and so we ate them more often than I'm willing to admit. First time, I ordered them plain because we were getting on a train, and the 2nd time with ketchup and both were delicious. Along with french fries, most of the fry stands also sell other fried things like fried sausages, chicken, etc. You can make a totally unhealthy fried meal out of a visit to a french fry place!
Pannenkoeken: Although we did not take advantage of the pancake boat tour (trip advisor advised that the pancakes and the tour were subpar), we did eat some pancakes while we were in the Netherlands. They could have sweet or savory toppings, and be thick or thin. There was a different name for the thick ones, however. If they were thin like crepes, they were medium or large pizza-sized on a giant plate. A typical pancake would come with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, with syrup that tasted just terrible that you could also put on it. It was sugar syrup, not maple like Americans are used to. Other common toppings were fruit, cheese, and ham. We tried many different varieties!
Stroopwafels: These crispy, syrupy waffles are a great snack and incredibly yummy. They kind of remind me of pizzelles from Italy, but better because they taste like syrup.
Appeltaart: This sky-high apple pie called to me from every cafe and eatery we entered. The filling is a typical apple pie filling with raisins, and the top can either be streusel or lattice pie crust. Landon and I were caught sharing a few slices here or there on our adventures around Holland.
Tostis and Broodjes: The Dutch are really big into sandwiches. Anything can be made into a sandwich here. I had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (called tostis- absolutely delicious and cheap!), pesto and tomato sandwiches, and all sorts of meat sandwiches were available. There were even sandwich meats and cheeses at the breakfast buffet at our hotel!
Kaas: There are many dairies and cheese-making ventures in Holland. We did not have time to visit them, but gouda cheese is named after a city here, so there you go. We did have a chance to stop by a cheese store and Austin enjoyed a regular wheel of cheese as well as a pesto wheel of cheese in his last weeks in the Netherlands/first weeks in the US. Landon enjoyed eating all of the samples in the store while we were there.
Hagelslag: At breakfast every morning, and taking up a prominent place on store shelves, were boxes of sprinkles or hagelslag. Chocolate sprinkles, vanilla sprinkles, multi-colored sprinkled- I always wondered what they were for. One day at breakfast, I saw some kids butter toast and pour a whole box of sprinkles on top. They are the perfect crunchy, sweet topping to toast instead of jam!
Indonesian food: Perhaps this would have been more appealing if we had not just come back from three months of eating nothing but Indonesian food, but there were many Indonesian influences in the cuisine. From peanut sauces for french fries to Chicken satay at basically every restaurant, it was interesting to note that the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia, had taken Indonesian cuisine back to the motherland.
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| Some day I will take pictures of my own food, but until that day arrives, photo cred here |
Pannenkoeken: Although we did not take advantage of the pancake boat tour (trip advisor advised that the pancakes and the tour were subpar), we did eat some pancakes while we were in the Netherlands. They could have sweet or savory toppings, and be thick or thin. There was a different name for the thick ones, however. If they were thin like crepes, they were medium or large pizza-sized on a giant plate. A typical pancake would come with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, with syrup that tasted just terrible that you could also put on it. It was sugar syrup, not maple like Americans are used to. Other common toppings were fruit, cheese, and ham. We tried many different varieties!
Stroopwafels: These crispy, syrupy waffles are a great snack and incredibly yummy. They kind of remind me of pizzelles from Italy, but better because they taste like syrup.
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| How can you say no to this? Photo credit |
Appeltaart: This sky-high apple pie called to me from every cafe and eatery we entered. The filling is a typical apple pie filling with raisins, and the top can either be streusel or lattice pie crust. Landon and I were caught sharing a few slices here or there on our adventures around Holland.
Tostis and Broodjes: The Dutch are really big into sandwiches. Anything can be made into a sandwich here. I had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (called tostis- absolutely delicious and cheap!), pesto and tomato sandwiches, and all sorts of meat sandwiches were available. There were even sandwich meats and cheeses at the breakfast buffet at our hotel!
Kaas: There are many dairies and cheese-making ventures in Holland. We did not have time to visit them, but gouda cheese is named after a city here, so there you go. We did have a chance to stop by a cheese store and Austin enjoyed a regular wheel of cheese as well as a pesto wheel of cheese in his last weeks in the Netherlands/first weeks in the US. Landon enjoyed eating all of the samples in the store while we were there.
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| Dutch cheese shop |
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| HAGELSLAG is such an ugly name for such a pretty thing Photo credit |
Indonesian food: Perhaps this would have been more appealing if we had not just come back from three months of eating nothing but Indonesian food, but there were many Indonesian influences in the cuisine. From peanut sauces for french fries to Chicken satay at basically every restaurant, it was interesting to note that the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia, had taken Indonesian cuisine back to the motherland.
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