As indicated in the famous painting by Vincent van Gogh (the aardappeleters, meaning "potato eaters"), the main ingredient in old-fashioned Dutch dinners is potatoes, usually accompanied by meat and boiled vegetables. The Dutch traditionally don't use very sharp spices and are very fond of pouring gravy onto everything. The Dutch have however always been internationally orientated and nowadays you can expect to find meals varying from Italy to the Orient and from China to Afrika on Dutch dinnertables, especially amongst younger people. The consumption of dairy produkts is extremely high, which, according to some scientists, accounts for the high average height of Dutch men and women.

We usually start off the day with bread and coffee or tea, eat some more bread (with cheese?) in the afternoon and end the day with a hot meal. Traditionally the hot meal is served at 18.00h. but dinnertime is shifting more towards 19.00h nowadays, a bit later if you eat out. By the way it is very common to invite guests to dinner at your house, especially among students.

Below is listed some typical Dutch food which you should certainly experience during your visit in Holland. Most of the listed food is available at any supermarket.

Vla: a thick, fluid, sweet pudding made mainly from milk and offered in a variety of tastes ranging from vanilla and chocolate to strawberry. Certainly try hopjes-vla and bitterkoekjes-vla which have very typical and also unexplainable tastes.

Karnemelk: literally 'churned milk'. It has a thin substance and is rather sour. It is supposed to be quite healthy, but admittedly you must acquire a taste for it.

Poffertjes: these resemble very small pancakes and are traditionally served warm with lots of powdered sugar sprinkled on top. You can make them at home if you have a special pan, but it might be easier to go to a poffertjeskraam (kraam is literally a market stall, but also indicates larger eating-houses) and get them ready made, for example at the Neude square.Hagelslag: traditionally lots of chocolate-snippers which the Dutch spread on their bread. Nowadays it comes in quite a number of (chocolate-) varieties.

Muisjes: literally meaning 'mice', it falls in the same category as hagelslag and is also used as bread-spread. Of course the ingredients do not consist of an actual mouse, although the pink & white muisjes do resemble very small mice crawling around on your slice of bread. Traditionally the pink & white muisjes are served on beschuit (a kind of thick, round and very crispy cracker) to celebrate the birth of a child. Although now available in different varieties (like gestampte muisjes or 'crushed mice') it is essentially made from anise with a sugar coating. The first picture shows the muisjes and the second the hagelslag.

Drop: a sweet (liquorice) that comes in a very large number of different forms and tastes, from salt and hard to soft and sweet. It is very popular among the entire Dutch population and is claimed to have something of an addictive-effect if eaten regularly in very large quantities.

Stamppot: a very down-to-earth meal consisting of mashed potatoes with varying ingredients like carrot (wortel stamppot) or endive (andijvie stamppot) and usually served with rookworst, a juicy sausage. Or like on the picture you got boerenkool.

Patat: patat or 'french fries' may not be an exclusively Dutch food, but the thickness of the french fry itself and the fact that it is very often eaten with mayonaise (patat met is french fries with mayonaise) does make some foreigners stare. Even more extreme is a patatje oorlog - literally meaning "french fries war" - indicating french fries with mayonaise, ketchup and saté-sauce sprinkled with raw onions. Patat in all its varieties can be obtained in any snackbar.

 

Kroket and frikandel: both are fried, roll-formed snacks containing (some kind of) meat. Available at any snackbar or you can get it out of the wall at the snackbar. On the first picture you see a kroket, the way it's staying in the wall.

Haring: a typical Dutch delicacy is eating a raw herring (fish) with raw onions. You pick the fish up by the tail and let it slide into your mouth gradually. Of course the head is removed and the fish has been cleaned. The first catch of the season is called Hollandse nieuwe ('Dutch new') and is considered a special treat.

Vlaai: this a pastry or a sweet pie typical of the southern regions of the Netherlands (Limburg and Brabant) but available all through the country. It comes in many different varieties and usually contains some kind of fruit filling.

• 3 Tbs, butter
• 3 Tbs, flour
• 3/4 cup stock

• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped, cooked meat (roast beef or veal, ham, chicken or shrimp)
• 1 Tbs, parsley, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Chill mixture and shape into balls inch in diameter.

Roll balls in:

• Fine craker crumbs

Then dip them in a mixture of:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbs, water

• 150 gram butter (± 0,33 pound)

• 125 gram soft brown sugar (± 0,28 pound)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 gram "speculaas"spice, mixed spices (± 0,02 pound)
• 200 gram self raising flour (± 0,44 pound)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 50 gram sliced almonds (± 0,11 pound)

• 3quart-water,
• 3-potatoes (peeled & diced),
• 2 stalks-celery (diced),
• 1lb-ham hocks,
• 2 cups-split peas,
• 3-onions (diced),
• 1-carrot (diced),
• Add salt & pepper to taste

Add water, meat and vegetables. Cook until done. Remove Ham hocks and clean meat from bone. For a smokey taste add metworst.

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Saucijzenbroodjes (pig-in-the-blankets)

• 2&3/4 to 3 pounds of sausage
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup milk

• 2/3 ounces of shelled almonds (minced)
• 1 ounce of butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp. of brown sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon of water
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/2 Tablespoon of cinnamon

This is especially a recept for newyearseve, but also at a fair it's eaten. You should not eat too much of it, but if you just take a couple… they are delicious.

You need:

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 2 packages of dry yeast
• 4 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 8 cups or 2 litres of oil
• icing sucre

For Oliebollen
¼ cup or currants or raisins OR ½ cup of chopped/peeled apples OPTIONAL
For Appelflappen
Peeled and cored apples cut into thick slices.

Preparation:

1. In a narrow glass bowl or measuring cup, stir 1 tsp. of sugar into ½ cup of lukewarm water. Sprinkle dry yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes. (The yeast should begin to foam or bubble if active.) Stir.
2. Place flour in a large bowl and create a hole or well in the middle of the flour. Add eggs, sugar and yeast mixture. Heat milk in a small pan until lukewarm, add ½ of milk to well in flour and fold in wet ingredients until the flour is damp. Add the rest of the warm milk and blend until smooth.
3. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm area to rise for 45 minutes to an hour. The mix should about double in that time.
4. Heat oil in a deep fryer or a deep pan to 375 degrees. For best results, always use fresh oil. While oil is heating, prepare some flat containers with layers of paper towels for Oliebollen or Appelflappen, to be placed in after cooking.
5. For Oliebollen: After mixture has doubled, stir in salt and currants, raisins or apples if desired. Once oil is heated sufficiently, take two tablespoons to use for forming the Oliebollen. Take one tablespoon in each hand. Dip each spoon into the hot oil quickly. With one tablespoon, scoop one spoonful from the bowl. With the other spoon, scrap or slide the oliebollen mix off the first spoon into the pan of oil. Depending on the diameter of your pan, you should be able to do 6 to 8 Oliebollen at a time. The Oliebollen should sink down to the bottom and pop back up. Once the bottom of the Oliebollen is golden brown, flip over to cook the top. As long as your pan is not too crowded, you should find that the Oliebollen will begin to flip by themselves. If your spoon becomes covered with Oliebollen mix so that the mix does not slide off easily, use a new spoon. Remove from oil and place on tray or flat container that has been covered with paper towels. When cooled enough to touch, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. ALTERNATIVELY, serve with individual servings of icing sugar for dipping.
6. For Appelflappen, After mixture has doubled, stir in salt. Peel and core apples and slice thickly into rounds. Dip each apple slice into the oliebollen mix so that it is well-covered and careful place in oil. Depending on the diameter of your pan, you should be able to do 4 to 5 apple slices at a time. When the bottom becomes golden brown, flip over to cook the top. Remove from oil and place on tray or flat container covered with paper towels. When cooled enough to touch, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.