Dutch cuisine 8 letters. Holland cuisine

On a cursory acquaintance, the national cuisine of the Netherlands seems to be the embodiment of the worst nightmares of our caring grandmothers. Soups and hot dishes appear on the table in best case in the evening, and in everyday life the Dutch are mostly interrupted by "dry water" and, nevertheless, they feel great.

What dishes do they like in the Netherlands?

The basis of the daily diet is made up of sandwiches, fish and French fries. A typical local breakfast is lightly salted herring, eaten on the go or in a sandwich with a white roll. Starting in June, tents appear on the streets of cities selling peeled herring, completely ready to eat. It is enough to take the fish by the tail, throw back its head and send the trophy into the mouth.

Also in the trays they often ask for uitsmijter - toast with ham, cheese and fried eggs. For dessert, they usually order the famous Dutch waffles in syrup or chocolate, pofferches donuts or a slice of rice cake. You can have a big and inexpensive snack on the street - for only 5-6 EUR.

Lunch time starts at about five o'clock. At this time, traditional food establishments begin to serve crown dishes The Netherlands made of fish and meat, from which the soul immediately becomes warm and cozy.

National dishes of the Netherlands, must-try

• Erten soup - thick, rich chowder of crushed peas, flavored smoked sausage or ham.
• Consomme pot-a-fe - a light transparent broth with low-fat ham and strong carrots slightly touched by fire.
• Hutsport - thinly sliced boiled beef garnished with mashed potatoes, seasoned stewed carrots and fried onions.
• Stamppot - hot vegetable puree made from boiled potatoes, carrots, onions and cabbage with smoked sausage or meat balls bitterball with mushrooms.
• Ristafel - rice fried until golden brown with stewed vegetables and finely chopped slices of beef or pork.
• Bruges - baked in butter balls of dough with varied filling from cheese to natural crab meat.

The assortment of strong drinks in the Netherlands is not limited to the famous Heineken beer, in honor of which a funny museum was arranged in Amsterdam. Juniper vodka "Jenever" is considered by the whole world to be the progenitor of English gin. Is it too bitter? Then sweeten your life with a glass of the renowned Dutch liqueur Orange Bitter or Advocaat. From non-alcoholic drinks, you will be offered very decent coffee, hot chocolate, milk with anise or warmed lemonade, which is called kvast here. The coffee break is announced twice - at 10: 00-11: 00 and at 19: 00-20: 00.

The traditional Dutch cuisine is supported not only by easily digestible calories and high-quality natural products, but also by emphatically democratic prices. Average check in a neat respectable cafe usually does not exceed 15-25 EUR.

Dinner in a restaurant is more expensive: from 30-50 EUR in a mid-range establishment to 70-80 EUR in a fashionable temple gastronomic art... It is not surprising that trendy ones are focused on the European table, while provincial and budget establishments rely on time-tested national dishes.

It is for the sake of them and delicious Dutch cheeses that many go to the Netherlands.

By the way, some people mistakenly identify the Netherlands with Holland. But only 2 of the 12 provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are called Holland. This is North and South Holland.

There is not so much information about the history of Dutch cuisine. It is known that it was originally based on agricultural products that were grown here in abundance. First of all, these are grains, vegetables and fruits. Along with them, meat and dairy products were widely used in cooking.

Over time, the culinary traditions of immigrants began to influence the formation of the cuisine of the Netherlands. In addition, Indonesian cuisine, as well as the rich colonial past of the country itself, left its mark on it. Since the 16th century, various spices, tea and coffee have been brought here from India, and new dishes have been borrowed from Indonesia. These include rice with chicken or pork.

Few know that you can learn more about the culinary preferences of those times thanks to the masterpieces of painting by Dutch artists of the 17th century. They feature delectable seafood and exotic fruit dishes, as well as breads, pies, nuts, cheeses and wines. Meanwhile, such gastronomic splendor was available only to wealthy people. The poor Dutch were limited to pea stew and rye bread.

Much has changed since then. The standard of living in the Netherlands has become one of the highest in the world. But the cuisine has remained the same simple and traditional. However, it began to highlight regional features.

The northeast of the country is closely engaged in the production of various meat products. Today, almost every town in this region has its own variety of sausages. The West is famous throughout the world for its cheeses such as Gouda, Leiden, Leerdammer, and butter... Various seafood has gained wide popularity here, among which a real delicacy is light-salted herring. In the south of the country they like baked goods, delicious soups and sauces, as well as fancy stews. It was this region that was able to create "haute cuisine".

The most popular products for many years in the Netherlands are still vegetables and fruits, fish and seafood, meat and dairy products, legumes and nuts. But one of the most demanded vegetables, since the 18th century, when it was brought to the territory of this country, is potatoes. It is widely used in the preparation of many dishes.

Coffee and tea are popular drinks in the Netherlands. By the way, coffee with milk in this country is called “ wrong coffee”, Although it is very popular. In addition, the locals love hot chocolate, soft drinks and milk with anise. And in the Netherlands they know a lot about good alcohol. Beer, "Enever", or juniper vodka, liqueurs, etc. are widespread here. But a special place in the whole cuisine of the Netherlands is occupied by pastries and sweets - cakes, mousses, waffles, creams, puddings, sweet sauces and amazing chocolate candies self made.

The most popular cooking methods in the Netherlands:

Traditional dishes Dutch cuisine:

Gouda - light yellow hard cheese with small holes. There are young, medium and mature gouda, depending on the exposure. With age, the cheese acquires a spicy taste, and it comes from the city of the same name of Gouda.

Edam is a pale yellow semi-hard cheese that does not have a pronounced taste and smell. There is a young and mature edam. Ball-shaped heads of cheese are covered with red or yellow paraffin, and more elite ones are covered with black wax.

Leiden cheese is a dark yellow semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk with the addition of various spices (cumin, cloves and others).

Young slightly salted herring. She can be confidently called the culinary brand of this country, with which she subsequently introduced the whole world. It is most often served with pickles and onions. And they arrange real festivities, balls and auctions in honor of this product. It is customary to eat herring on them in a special way - holding her by the tail. These holidays fall in June, when the “herring season” begins in the country. Simply put, when it comes to the shores of the country. At the same time, the first caught barrel is sent to prepare dishes for the royal table, and all the rest are sent to places of mass sale.

Pofferches - pancakes with buckwheat flour. The dish is considered street food and is sold on every street corner. And for its preparation, use a special frying pan with small identical indentations.

Bitter balls (Bitterballen) - made from veal or fish, deep-fried and served with mustard.

French fries with sauce (Patatje met).

Stamppot - mashed potatoes which is usually served with stew or freakandels.

Stropwafli are two thin waffles that are baked with caramel syrup in the middle.

Breakfast cupcake (Ontbijtkoek).

"Wrong coffee" - regular coffee with milk.

Useful properties of the national cuisine of the Netherlands

A high standard of living, favorable climatic conditions for growing agricultural products and, as a result, high quality products, as well as an abundance of seafood, make the cuisine of the Netherlands one of the healthiest in the world. And the nation itself is one of the healthiest and most physically developed. The latter is explained by the excessive love of the inhabitants of this country for a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and, of course, a bicycle, which is one of the most popular modes of transportation here. In addition to riding it, many are fond of various sports, as they monitor their health. By the way, the motto of the inhabitants of this country is: “ We Eat To Live, We Do Not Live To Eat».

Along with this, the cuisine of the Netherlands has its own little "disadvantages". First, the locals have a real weakness for junk food. French fries are sold here on almost every corner of cities and towns. They also like sandwiches and all kinds of snacks in the Netherlands. And the hottest is served here only once a day - in the evening. Surprisingly, all this does not prevent the locals not only from staying healthy, but also from living on average up to 81 years old.

Dutch cuisine Dutch national cuisine, it is also known as Dutch, presents dishes from the north of Europe, distinguished by a peculiar local flavor. It uses traditional agricultural products, including cheeses, which have become the gastronomic hallmark of Holland, and fishing. The only condition that the Dutch have always tried to comply with is that the food should be satisfying, restoring strength after hard work.

Hearty and tasty - the motto of Dutch cuisine

Traditional Dutch cuisine offers a variety of recipes, 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 broth soups with boiled meat, for example, snert - vegetable or pea soup with meat, bacon or sausages, or a stew with potatoes, vegetables and meat.

A typical Dutch family lunch or dinner is a fish or meat main course that goes through different heat treatment: boiled, stewed, fried. Dutch cuisine is served with mashed vegetables or mashed potatoes, sometimes mixed options such as potatoes and cabbage are prepared. Sauce is necessarily used as a seasoning. For dinner, when hot food is served, gruzpot is most often prepared - a local version of meat stew.

Fish is a 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 consumed almost every day in the most varied types... Halibut, flounder, eel are fried, boiled, salted, dried: one of the most exquisite dishes recognized eel, fried in molasses - gebaken paling met sling. They eat fish as a snack (a sandwich with fish and vegetables) or as a main dish with a side dish.

Diversity fish dishes did not prevent the Dutch from opting for herring. It can rightfully be called a national dish, and haring is the country's culinary brand. Lightly salted herring with onions and pickled cucumbers is one of the most popular in the Netherlands.

Another popular way to cook herring is frying. For a person unaccustomed to such a 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 a kitchen without them

It is difficult to imagine a full-fledged cuisine without sweet dishes, Dutch is no exception. The local climate is not very conducive to the widespread cultivation of fruits, therefore in the Netherlands they prefer good baked goods and chocolate, which is prepared according to a special recipe.

If the treat made from imported cocoa beans is more related to industrial production, then stropwafli, poffertyes (pancakes), as well as the local version of pancakes and apple pies are mandatory in the Dutch menu. They are simple to prepare, like all local dishes, but very nutritious and delicious.

If you want to diversify your home menu with interesting Dutch dishes - we offer unusual recipes, which are cooked in this country, and we attach detailed recommendations for their preparation. Take advantage of our offers, and your loved ones will appreciate your efforts.

God gave the Dutch nothing but water. They learned to do everything else with their own hands - and not only to build bridges and dams, but also to catch and salt herring, cook cheese and beer, grow tulips, discover new lands, win and cook the dishes of the winners.

Features of the national cuisine

Although the Dutch have not so many culinary discoveries of their own. National cuisine The Netherlands is distinguished by a moderate use of spices, simple and affordable ingredients and a rather laconic design. The terms "refined" and "sophisticated" are not about her. It has long been noticed: the Dutch do not feast on themselves, they do not invent anything - they just eat. Or simply eat. This is as you like. Fish and seafood, meat, dairy products (including the world famous cheese), potatoes and other vegetables - these are the foundations of a simple and satisfying Dutch cuisine.

But at the same time festive table they have dishes that are unusual in taste, which combine the most different and sometimes unexpected shades. For example: berry, apple and ginger sauces for meat, fish in honey marinade, original licorice candies that can be sweet or savory.

What do the inhabitants of the Netherlands eat every day?

The main meal is at dinner, even soups can be served in the evening. Breakfast and lunch for residents of the Netherlands mainly consists of various sandwiches and toasts - hot and cold, tea and coffee with dessert. Busy people and tourists, even on the street, can have a hearty, nourishing and not very expensive snack for 6-8 euros.

To understand how easy the national dishes of Holland are to prepare, you should cook at least one of them yourself, for example a soup.

Soups

In the Netherlands, they are boiled both in water and in a rich broth, using several types of meat and sausages in one dish. From vegetables in soups, onions, carrots, celery or potatoes are used, different types cabbage and tomatoes. The dressing can be eggs, cream, cheese and other dairy products. When serving, soups are garnished with herbs. As a base for making soups of Dutch cuisine, especially peas.

Erwtensoep or Snert - Dutch pea soup

One of the few Dutch dishes that can be said to be known all over the world. But, like each of our housewives, when cooking borscht or cabbage soup, has its own secrets and techniques, there are quite a few recipes for making pea soup in the Netherlands - several dozen. Perhaps the only thing that slightly distinguishes them from the usual and also familiar to us delicious soup- Potatoes are usually absent from the ingredients. And the dish itself turns out to be very thick, like mashed potatoes or porridge, so that the "spoon stands".

Main product: dry split peas. To prepare several servings of soup, take:

• about 300 g of peas,
• one large (or 2 small) onions and carrots
• 4-6 celery stalks
• 150 g each fresh and smoked bacon and 250 g smoked sausage
• spices - salt, pepper (or "Vegeta"), bay leaf

The peas are soaked for several hours (usually overnight), washed and boiled until they are soft, while removing the foam. Then put chopped vegetables and a piece of bacon into a saucepan. In this case, the cutting shape can be any. Bay leaves, seasonings, and, if necessary, water or ready-made broth are added. The broth can be from pork knuckle or ribs. But this is an option, in the basic version, you can do with water. Add enough liquid to cover the vegetables.

Then you need to cook the soup until the carrots are ready, and then turn everything into mashed potatoes - with a whisk or blender, not forgetting to take out the bay leaf before that. The final stage of cooking this national dish of the Netherlands is to boil the mixture for another 5-7 minutes, adding chopped pieces of smoked sausage to it. The soup should be infused, although freshly prepared it is already tasty and satisfying.

They eat pea soup with smoked bacon laid on slices of rye bread.

In the warm summer, this soup is rarely cooked in Holland - more in winter, in early spring and late autumn - when it's cold. More often this is not a lunch dish, but an evening one, it is eaten for dinner when the whole family gets together. And certainly a lot of pea soup is prepared for Christmas.

Ingredients for 1 serving of soup:

150-200 g celery root, 1 onion, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 500 g meat broth, 1 egg, 50 g sour cream, herbs, ½ spoon lemon juice, salt pepper.

Grate celery, finely chop the onion and fry with the celery in butter, add flour, salt and mix. Pour broth into a saucepan and bring everything to a boil.

Sauce: Beat the yolk with sour cream and add a little lemon juice.

Before serving, pour into hot soup, and put chopped greens on top. In such a soup, you can add a piece of boiled fish or meat, on which the broth was cooked.

Snacks

Snacks in the Netherlands are mostly hot and cold sandwiches, canapes or skewers. Ham, bacon, fried eggs are put on the bread and flavored with mayonnaise, ketchup or mustard, or even all together. Fish is a separate topic. In addition to herring, they eat mackerel, smoked eel and fried cod... Let's take a look at some of the most popular snacks in Dutch cuisine.

Harring - Dutch herring

Herring, jokingly referred to as "Dutch sushi", is truly the national food of Holland. To the country conquered by the sea, it gave fame no less than cheese, and is considered the second gastronomic symbol.

The Dutch say that it is raw, but it is not. Freshly caught fish is first quickly frozen for exactly one day (this technique helps, in addition, to disinfect the catch), and then immediately salted or pickled in a special marinade. Surely there are some special secrets in the process. After a couple of days, the delicacy is ready to eat and literally melts in your mouth.

Herring can be served chopped, in pieces, just with slices white bread... Or in the same form in a sandwich, sprinkled with hot fried onions on top.

Young herring of the first catch ("Hollandse Nieuwe"), previously rolled in onion cut into small cubes, is eaten without being cut into pieces.

Throwing back their head and holding the fish by the tail, they try to send it entirely into the mouth. It is usually washed down with beer.

Interesting Facts. The Dutch have dedicated a separate holiday to their favorite food - Vlaggetjesdag (Flag Day), which marks the beginning of the herring fishing season. It is celebrated every year on the first weekend in June.

desserts

The people of the Netherlands love sweets. Some Dutch desserts look so appetizing and sometimes pretentious that there is no point in resisting the urge to try them. Although the local sweets are not much more difficult to prepare than the main dishes of the Dutch cuisine.

Let's start with the simplest Dutch delicacy, which is not even eaten here for dessert, and sometimes, together with a cup of tea or coffee, they replace breakfast or even lunch with it.

Hagelslag "Hachelslach"

Hahelslach are just slices of bread sprinkled with chocolate chips... Both the bread and the crumb itself can be the most different varieties and types and even colors.

The southern provinces, Brabant and Limburg, love the Vlaai pie. Any fruit or berries can be a filling for it.

It is not difficult to bake such a cake on your own, but it is even easier to buy or order in the “MultiVlaai” network, which has more than a hundred branches around the country and its own online store. There are almost 50 types of this delicious delicacy in the assortment.

Appeltaart met slagroom - Dutch apple pie

The king of Dutch desserts is apple open pie with cinnamon and whipped cream. The recipe for its preparation is passed down from generation to generation.

Appeltaart can be bought in many bakeries, pastry shops and cafes, and it is better to eat while the cake is still warm: this is how the aroma of apples and cinnamon unfolds. When cold, chilled Dutch apple pie is good with ice cream.

Рepernoten - Gingerbread cookies

These small light brown cookies, similar to round candies with a diameter of 1 cm - a seasonal Dutch delicacy, appear in pastry shops and shops at the very beginning of December. It is prepared for the Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) holiday.

Stroopwafels - Dutch waffles

Two thin crispy waffles glued with caramel syrup are good for coffee or tea. And these waffles also have one funny purpose - they serve as a lid for a tea or coffee cup during tea drinking.

What do the Dutch drink

First of all, according to a long tradition, such "colonial goods" as tea and coffee.

From 10 to 11 o'clock in the morning and from 7 to 8 in the evening in the Netherlands - koffietijd ("coffee time").

If you do not drink coffee at home, but in a cafe, then by default a small cookie or a cupcake is supposed to be added to each cup. In addition to black coffee, koffie verkeerd is also popular - coffee with milk. In the Netherlands, they call it "wrong", but they drink no less.

In the cold season, they like to drink hot chocolate and milk with anise. Another drink worth mentioning is lemonade, which is drunk warm (quast).

Alcoholic drinks - Dutch beer and Jenever liqueurs

The most famous national beer brands are Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel. Unlike huge German glasses, beer in the Netherlands is poured into small ones, with a capacity even smaller than our standard glass - so it does not have time to heat up and retains its amazing signature taste.

If you immediately wash down Dutch beer with gin (there are a lot of fans of this combination here), the result is close to the "hellish mixture" familiar to our compatriots: beer + vodka. The local mixture is called kopstoot - "head crusher" or "headbutt".

But much earlier than English gin, it was in Holland in the 17th century that a composition was invented, which later, having undergone some improvements in the recipe, became the most popular strong drink in the Netherlands. This is Jenever (or Jenever, Jenever).

Barley, corn, rye and juniper berries with certain spices - this is the main composition of the liqueur. Our tourists call it simply juniper vodka. Depending on the aging, the drink has a different strength - from 30 to 48 degrees and, accordingly, the cost.

It also differs in taste: from sharp young jongе to pleasant old oude. Young jenever is colorless, it is more often used for making cocktails, and the old, light brown, is consumed in its pure form.

The most expensive kind of this drink Korenwijn (Korenwein) - dense and oily, it is sold in ceramic bottles. Another species, Graanjenever, is prepared only from grains.

The national drink of the Netherlands, Genevers, is drunk from tulip-shaped glasses.

The most famous producer of this and other liqueurs in the Netherlands is Bols.

"Drop" - dark candies made from licorice root, are very useful - they have antibacterial properties, soothe nerves and protect against caries.

They taste like marmalade, in the "children's" version they are produced in the form of various "toy animals", but at the same time they are both sweet and very salty and bitter, so most tourists do not like them.

But the Dutch themselves eat this "black gold" by 4 kilograms a year.

Dutch cheese

And finally, about cheese. In the Netherlands, it's not just a dessert. It can be found in soup and salads, cheese can be baked, eaten with pineapple and ham, even with fish.

The assortment of the gastronomic symbol of the Netherlands and all Dutch cuisine is huge, but the most recognized and famous varieties are:

• semi-solid Edammer (Edam) in the form of a "cheese head" (kaaskop) covered with red paraffin
• firm Goudse (Gouda) light yellow with holes and creamy taste
• firm Maasdam (Maazdam), pale yellow with a nutty taste and large cavities-eyes.

Maasdam

Each variety has an original and unique taste and, depending on the aging, it can be: young, semi-ripe and mature. Cheese aged for about a year is considered old. He acquires only characteristic qualities that are appreciated by many amateurs and experts.

In addition to the usual "yellow cheese" are produced delicious cheeses with additives: caraway seeds, mustard seeds, cloves and other spices.

It doesn't matter where it's done Dutch cheese- at a dairy or a farm, everywhere it is equally tasty.

The Netherlands is the world's largest exporter of cheese - of the more than 700 million kg of the product produced annually in the country, ¾ is exported.

Video review of products and dishes that a tourist should try in Holland.

Related entries:

The Netherlands is often called Holland, but only 2 of the 12 provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands bear this name - North and South Holland.

You can start your story about Dutch cuisine with painting masterpieces.

Delightful still lifes by Dutch artists of the 17th century gracefully demonstrate different options"breakfasts" with pies, bread, seafood and "desserts" with exotic fruits, cheeses, wine.

This was the "Golden Age" of the Dutch Empire, when brisk international trade was carried on and spices, tea, and coffee were brought from the colonies.

As a rule, such still lifes were painted to order to decorate the homes of wealthy burghers. You can just admire the bright colors, the artist's skill, the features of the transfer of texture, but you need to remember that there is nothing accidental on them, the objects are endowed with symbolic meaning: bread, a glass of wine, fish symbols of Christ, a knife symbol of a sacrifice, a lemon symbol of unquenched thirst, nuts in a shell - a soul bound by sin, an apple reminds of the Fall, etc.

And yet, as if in a showcase, the artist places before us kitchen utensils, flowers and fruits, household items, overseas curiosities, wishing to tell through their beauty about the welfare of their homeland, and sometimes about the customer of the canvas. All this gastronomic splendor really was on the tables of wealthy Dutchmen.

However, not everyone could afford such a luxury and the Dutchman's daily food consisted of modest bean stew and dense rye bread.

The cuisine of this country is simple and practical today. It is little known in the world and is often considered unnecessarily heavy, possibly due to the abundance of potato-based dishes. Historically, since the 18th century, potatoes have become a staple food in the Netherlands. Everywhere and at any time, the Dutch are happy to eat "Frieten" or "Patat" - Dutch fries with various sauces.

However, there are three main regional cuisines.

In the north-east numerous meat products are produced and highly valued. Most towns and villages have their own sausage variety. The traditional smoked rookworst sausage is the most famous.

It is boiled in water and served with vegetable puree or sauerkraut.

Western provinces famous all over the world for their cheeses Gouda, Edam, Leiden (with caraway seeds), Leerdammer and butter, which contains more milk fat than other European oils. Buttermilk is also typical of this region.

Fresh seafood such as herring, mussels, eels, oysters and shrimp are widely available.
Of course, the queen of Dutch cuisine is young, slightly salted herring - a real delicacy. The annual holiday Vlaggetjesdag ("Flag Day"), held in early June in the town of Scheuvening, is dedicated to her.

Sellers and buyers of herring put on a small show: the first deftly butcher the carcass in a matter of seconds, leaving neither bones nor skin, and the second, throwing their heads back and holding the fillet by the tail, send them whole into their mouths.

However, similar scenes can be seen in any town near the "herring kiosks". It seems embarrassing to stare at strangers, but at first curiosity takes over and these manipulations delight.

South Dutch cuisine rich in numerous pastries, soups, stews with various sauces. It is the only culinary region in the country that has created "haute cuisine".
Limburg fly pie with fruit filling originally from this part of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a Protestant country and you can feel it in the food culture. “We eat in order to live, not live in order to eat!” - the locals like to repeat and treat food without reverence and without any special ritual.
Breakfast and lunch differ little from each other and both consist of white or rye bread, slices of sausage, cheese or peanut butter... Sandwiches are washed down with tea or coffee in the morning, and buttermilk for lunch.
For a full breakfast or snack, you can eat a buttered slice of Ontbijkoek spiced bread.

There is an old fun game in the Netherlands Koekhappen , in which adults and children are happy to participate.

A string is passed through the Ontbijkoek slice and suspended on a stretched wire at a sufficient height. Participants must reach out with their mouths and without using their hands to eat their tidbits. This is an extremely popular entertainment at children's parties.

and in honor of the Queen's birthday (since 2014 year-day birth of the king).

In between meals, the Dutch love to visit cafes, and it just so happens that tea or coffee is often served with just one cookie. Dutch frugality has led to the famous rule of the standard - only one cookie for every cup of coffee. The reasons for this, perhaps, are in the Protestant mentality and upbringing.

Nevertheless, in any cafe you will find a huge selection of all kinds of cakes, mousses, pies, handmade chocolates. It's hard to recommend anything in particular, because everything is incredibly tasty, beautifully presented. From the first visit I was simply conquered Apple pie with nuts. It turned out that it is not difficult to cook it at home, which I suggest you do - you will not regret it!
Of the most famous flour dishes, besides waffles, it is worth trying pofferches.

The Dutch adore them as much as the herring. There are even specialized restaurants,

where these wonderful pancakes are made,

oiled and sprinkled with powdered sugar or stuffed with apples, bacon.

These restaurants also serve pancakes with all kinds of fillings, sweet and salty.

The most popular are again with apples and bacon.

Dinner is traditionally served around 6 pm. If breakfast and lunch are eaten almost on the go, then at dinner it is customary to gather at home with the whole family and slowly discuss the news of the day.
An old-fashioned Dutch dinner consists of the "holy trinity": potatoes, vegetables and some meat. Of course, seafood is often prepared.
A typical dinner includes mashed potatoes mixed with other mashed vegetables or spinach, chicory (Stamppot) and Snert pea soup. This soup should be thick enough to contain a spoon. It is served with rye bread topped with bacon slices. Soup meat can also be placed on top of mustard-topped bread.
Vegetable stews are often made from red cabbage with apples, adding a little spice. One of the oldest and most popular dishes this is Boerenkoolstamppot, where mashed potatoes are blended with brunkol kale stew, served with sauce, mustard and rookworst hot dogs.

Another dish often symbolizes traditional Dutch cuisine - Slavinken meat rolls. In fact, they were invented and developed in 1952 by a butcher and even earned him the prestigious Butcher's Golden Ring. A standard Slavink weighs about 100 grams and consists of mixed minced meat wrapped in un-smoked bacon and fried in oil.

Dinner usually ends with a sweet dessert: vanilla custard with yoghurt, sweet pudding with red berry sauce, ice cream. Dutch custard - "Vla", sold from different manufacturers and with various additives... It is so popular that people even follow it from neighboring Germany.

Special meals are prepared for special occasions. cherry cake with puff pastry.

In honor of the feast of St. Nicholas on December 5, it is customary to eat fragrant biscuits with Speculaas spices. As a rule, it is in the form of a mill or depicting scenes from the life of St. Nicholas.

This is a photo of a purchased cookie. Later I will post a recipe for homemade cookies and an interesting cake with it.
At Christmas they bake a special sweet bread with dried fruits, citrus zest, nuts, filled with almond paste, and for the New Year, oiled olibolen donuts with raisins, currants, apples.

In fact, in the Netherlands, in addition to traditional local cuisine, borrowed dishes from the former colonies are extremely popular. Indonesian and Surinamese cuisines are especially loved.
Today we will restrict ourselves to the preparation of the most typical Dutch dishes. I am sure you will choose something to your liking and will not be disappointed.

Smakelijk eten! Bon Appetit!

P.S. And finally, a few photos from my trips, including last week.

This is the evening university town of Leiden. In the center, along the canals, tents are erected on market days. The variety of seafood impressed me the most.

Leiden in the afternoon. Ordinary residential buildings in the center.

As well as wherever there are canals, houses on the water are very common.

And this is Amsterdam:

Below is the country's main department store, where announcements are also pronounced in Russian, as in Galeries Lafayette in Paris. Perhaps this practice will soon disappear ...

On the ground floor, there is a small cafe-pastry shop selling handmade chocolates and insanely delicious branded cakes!

Below is a photo from Delft. The central square. Gloomy photos during the day are obtained .. Somehow everything happens in winter, my trips to this beautiful country ...

So I wanted to buy some dish with a blue pattern, but prices on hiking trails ... !!! Apparently, you have to buy at the factory.

And here are the most typical plots! They are everywhere - on packaging, like ceramic tiles, like figurines, ...

And in Rotterdam, Santa Claus hats were put on trams for Christmas!

They look very funny and even cute!

P.P.S. I picked up some of the photos for the text about the kitchen from the Internet.

Thanks to everyone who watched to the end! Upcoming holidays! Let be New Year will bring only joy and happiness to everyone!