Dutch cuisine
Food serves not only nutritional functions for the body, providing calories and minerals, but also serves social purposes. In every country, a lot happens around the table: people celebrate together, argue, and reconcile. Families develop close relationships, and lovers eat dinner by candlelight. Taking advantage of the opportunity to go to the Netherlands, it is worth trying Dutch specialties, although these dishes can hardly be called particularly exquisite. The most important thing, however, is that the dish should be enjoyed by the eater – and sometimes a simple dish gives us more joy than a complicated meal. So, are you curious about what to eat in the Netherlands?
Cheeses
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is famous for the production of… cheese! Edam and Gouda are not random names invented by the marketing department of the cheese company. These cheeses are named after the Dutch cities of their production. And it is in these cities (and several others) that cheese festivals take place. These events refer to the tradition of cheese-making, sometimes taking the form of a presentation depicting old traditions at fairs. The sellers are dressed in an antique fashion and you can take a picture with them. Obviously – each such market is full of delicious cheeses, definitely tastier than “cheese-like” products available on market shelves. Worth a try! And staying on the topic, while in the Netherlands, we also recommend trying the cheese soup, it is really to die for!
Herrings
Herrings are firmly established in Dutch tradition and are liked by many people. In the Netherlands, it could compete for the title of “national food”! Apparently, every Dutchman likes herrings and this is probably why they are available in many places and prepared in so many forms. If you want to eat in a typically Dutch way, you should order the whole fish and eat it in one bite (or two), leaving the ends on. For those who are not interested in eating a whole herring, there are shredded, sliced or sandwich options – this dish is called broodje haring. The herrings are served with chopped onion and sometimes pickled cucumbers. If you are in the Netherlands from May to July, you can also eat “Hollandse Nieuwe” – it is a young herring prepared in a special way just before serving it. A local specialty!
Seafood and fish
Seafood is very popular in the Netherlands. In restaurants you can enjoy deliciously prepared seafood or fish, and on the street you can buy fish dishes prepared quickly: sandwiches, fried fish, pieces of fish with onions, pastes – the richness of these dishes is enormous. In addition, fish soup is popular in the Netherlands. A common snack is kibbeling – small pieces of fried fish (originally cod) served with a sauce.
What else to serve?
The above list of dishes is not a closed set! Dutch cuisine has even more to offer. It is worth trying Dutch fries (double fried and always with sauce ordered separately) or croquettes, with so many different fillings, that you can get confused. Interestingly, they are so popular that even McDonald’s has a McKroket sandwich!
