Dutch cuisine has been shaped over time by the influence of what has been easily available to the Dutch by being produced locally through cultivation of crops and the livestock that they were able to rear. By virtue of being limited in variety, Dutch cuisine is easy to get a representative selection when you try just a small number of recipes. The stand out must tries are the various Dutch cheeses, chocolate produced in a special Dutch invented fashion and Dutch cookies. If you are more interested in trying Dutch style meals, you might be rather disappointed.
In general terms, the Dutch agricultural industry is made up of five sectors: animal husbandry, fishery, tillage based agriculture, orchard based agriculture and greenhouse based agriculture. Though the greenhouse sector is now rather extensive, it has not had a great influence on the traditional eating habits of the Dutch:
Tillage based crops include: lettuce, asparagus, spinach, endive, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, various types of cabbages, onions, celeriac, carrots, green beans, beetroot, kale and potatoes. There has been a recent rise in some vegetables which have long since left the Dutch dinner table, though once featured strongly: purslane, medlars, parsnips and black salsify.
Modern greenhouses produce cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and sweet peppers.
Fruits cover a wide range, but primarily: cheeries, berries, pears, apples and plums.
Commonly raised by the Dutch are cows for both milk and meat, sheep for wool and meat, pigs for meat and chickens for both eggs and meat. Horsemeat was traditionally a common dish in the Netherlands, but has fallen dramatically out of the national taste and it is extremely seldom that it is eaten.
The fisheries provide the dutch with a great variety of fish that are wildly popular including: shrimp, mussels, trout, oysters, eels, tuna, salmon, mackerel, herring and cod. The star culutural experience out of these to watch for is herring, something not to be missed.
When it comes to Dutch cuisine, the most well known and celebrated by far must be the Dutch penchant for cheeses. Dutch cheeses are almost always semi-hard or hard and made from cow’s milk. The most famous Dutch cheeses are Gouda, Edam and Leyden. An important step in the cheese making process that figures widely in the Netherlands is the addition of herbs and spices in the initial stages, such as nettles, caraway, cumin and cloves.
Dutch bread has a tendency to be light and airy due to the yeast used in the dough when making it. Bread is most often eaten at breakfast. In recent decades it has become popular to eat whole grain bread and breads with various seeds, such as sunflower and pumpkin, which are mixed through the bread. Kerststol is a special kind of Dutch bread product that is closely associated with Christmas. It is made from bread dough with lots of sugar and dried fruits, currants, lemon and orange zest and raisins. It can come in the form of a small bun, but usually as a loaf which is sliced and served with butter or a jam spread on top. Toppings for sandwiches that are most popular and peculiar to the Dutch are hagelslag (hail stones), which is chocolate sprinkles, and chocoladevlokken (chocolate flakes).
Koffietijd is somewhat of a national past time in the Netherlands. This coffee time can either take place between 10 and 11am before lunch or between 7 and 8pm after dinner and it involves friends and family sitting around, enjoying each others’ company and conversation over a cup of coffee. The Dutch tend to drink coffee and tea throughout the day however. Of interest is the peculiar habit of the Dutch to limit themselves to just one cookie for each cup of coffee. This restraint is believed to be associated with the Protestant mentality as in the Catholic areas of the South of the Netherlands, such restraint is not commonly shown when dealing with cookies.
A popular story which has now entered the modern mythos of the Dutch, though notably never confirmed, took place in the late 1940’s when the wife of Willem Drees, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands at the time, served a visiting American diplomat a lone biscuit with his coffee. On the basis of this the American diplomat became convinced of Dutch frugality, thus believing American money from the Marshall Plan (money given to Western Europe to aide in post war reconstruction) was being wisely spent.
Along with standard coffee the Dutch also often drink café au lait, which consists of equal portions black coffee and milk. In Dutch it is called koffie verkeerd, literally translated as a wrong coffee. The favoured way of drinking tea is without any milk or sugar and the tea itself is rather weak compared to how it is served in most countries. In the late autumn and winter, hot chocolate with whipped cream is extremely popular.
The Dutch usually have dinner at around 6 o´clock in the evening, very early relative to most other European countries. The Dutch dining experience at home for dinner involves just one course that is rather simple, consisting of either beans or potatoes, meat and vegetables. The most common is just a serving of potatoes with a large portion of vegetables and a small portion of meat served with gravy. These types of meals are common throughout Europe, however the Dutch have a few special ways of serving them which emerged in the 17th and 18th Centuries and are still popular today:
The Dutch have two extremely popular and culturally and traditionally significant sweets that they love to enjoy. The first is drop. This is the Dutch version of liqourice and is a must try! Consult our drop page for more information.
The second popular Dutch sweet are stroopwafels or syrup waffels. They are more like a cookie than a real waffel though and are thoroughly Dutch and are extremely popular amongst the Dutch. Anyone travelling to the Netherlands should certainly try this sweet surprise! Our stroopwaffel page has some handy tips for such indulgence!
Comparative to other countries in Europe, wine plays a modest role at best in Dutch cuisine. Those wishing for an alcoholic taste of the Netherlands will be best served by tasting one of the local beers. The two kings of Dutch beer are undeniably Grolsch and Heineken. Both are served in all licenced establishments in the Netherlands and are on tap in most bars.
Grolsch is historically associated with the East of the Netherlands where its brewery is located. Anyone over 18 years of age can enjoy a tour of the Enschede brewery, which is situated in the East of Holland. The tour lasts about two and half-hours. The tour consists of a welcome with coffee or tea, watching a short film about Grolsch, a guided tour around the brewery (in Dutch, English, German or French), the possibility to buy promotional materials and finally a tasting of the famous Grolsch beers. Those interested can call +31 53 4833290 to make an appointment.
Heineken, the beer of the West of the Netherlands, has its brewery located outside of Amsterdam. There are two options for visiting their breweries. The first is to visit their working brewery. This tour will probably not be for everyone as they are only offered in group tours of at least 10 people. The tour is much like that of the Grolsch brewery, only you have to make a reservation at least two months in advance - there is however no entrance fee (like the Grolsch tour). A much more accessible option for tourists is the Heineken Experience located in Amsterdam. It is open Monday to Sunday from 11am-7pm and no reservations are required. There is however an admission charge of €15. It should be noted that this is a former brewery, set up as a museum celebrating Heineken. This is not one of Heineken's operational breweries.
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