Dutch cuisine

Dutch cuisine (Dutch: Nederlandse keuken) consists of the cooking traditions and practices from the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by the practice of fishing and farming, including the cultivation of the soil for raising crops and the raising of domesticated animals, and the history of the Netherlands.

Traditionally, Dutch cuisine is simple and straightforward, with many vegetables and little meat; breakfast and lunch are typically bread with toppings while dinner is meat and potatoes, supplemented with seasonal vegetables. The Dutch diet was relatively high in carbohydrates and fat, reflecting the dietary need of the laborers whose culture molded the country, and contains many dairy products. Without many refinements, it is best described as rustic, though many holidays are still celebrated with special foods. In the course of the twentieth century this diet changed and became much more cosmopolitan, with most international cuisines being represented in the major cities.

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 History
 * 1.1 Simple foods
 * 2 Regional cuisines
 * 2.1 Northeastern cuisine
 * 2.2 Western cuisine
 * 2.3 Southern cuisine
 * 3 Foods
 * 4 Structure of meals
 * 4.1 Breakfast and lunch
 * 4.2 Tea time
 * 4.3 Dinner
 * 4.4 Desserts and puddings
 * 4.5 Non-native influences
 * 5 Special occasions
 * 5.1 Sweets
 * 6 Alcoholic drinks
 * 7 Fast food
 * 8 Cookbooks
 * 9 Gallery
 * 10 See also
 * 11 Footnotes
 * 12 External links

History[edit]
A still life by Pieter Claesz (1627).

In the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, the dishes of the middle class consisted of a rich variety of dishes.[1][2] During the 15th century haute cuisine began to emerge, largely limited to the aristocracy, but from the 17th century onward dishes of this kind became available to the wealthy citizens as well, often consisting of a rich variety of fruits, cheeses, meat, wine, and nuts. During the 17th century the urban merchant class dominated Dutch society, an affluent middle class. The 17th century brought great prosperity to the Netherlands. The Dutch Empire enabled spices, sugar, and exotic fruits to be imported to the country. By the late 17th century, tea and coffee consumption were increasing and becoming part of everyday life. Tea was served with sweets, candy or marzipan and cookies. Vegetables, meat, poultry and salted, smoked or fresh fish and egg was prepared in the Dutch kitchens of the time.[3] A festal Dutch mealtime in the 17th century contained abundantly extravagant dishes and wine.[4] The meal started with green salads and cold or warm cooked vegetables with dressing, vegetable dishes with butter, herbs or edible flowers and continued with numerous fish- and meat dishes. Exotic ingredients such as dates, rice, cinnamon, ginger and saffron were used. Savory tarts and pastries followed. The meal ended with jellies, cheese, nuts and sweet pastries, washed down with sweet spiced wine.[5] Of course, even in the Golden Age, not everyone could afford such luxuries and the everyday meal of the ordinary Dutchman was a humble affair of grain or legume pottage served with rye.[6] Historically Dutch cuisine was closely related to northern French cuisine, since the two countries have nearby borders. This is still visible in traditional Dutch restaurants and the Southern regional cuisine.
 * Dutch Golden Age - historical cuisine
 * Kitchen scene from 1644, by David Teniers the Younger
 * Mince pie and Lemon byPieter Claesz, 1625
 * Clara Peeters (1594–1657) Still Life with Crab, Shrimps and Lobster
 * Clara Peeters (1594–1657) Table with Orange, Olives and Pie
 * Clara Peeters (1594–1657) Still life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries
 * Still-Life with fruit, nuts and cheese by Floris Claeszoon van Dyck

Simple foods[edit]
In the 18th century the potato gained popularity, to become a staple food by 1800.[7] In the early 1800s, while the rich could eat what they desired, the working population ate bread (rye bread in some areas) and potatoes, pancakes in some areas, occasionally fish and other seafood, fruit and vegetables, but usually little meat: "the diet of the Dutch in the nineteenth century consisted of some bread, and a great deal of potatoes". Diet consisted in a frugal fashion, of such simple dishes as bread and herring. Throughout the nineteenth century many people suffered from some mild form of malnutrition.[7]

Van Gogh, Woman lifting Potatoes

Potatoes, in fact, were often eaten at every meal, every day of the week. They were peeled and boiled for the main meal, lunch, and then warmed and mashed for dinner, with leftovers saved for breakfast. They were served with salt, sometimes vinegar, but without gravy or any other fat, making for a diet with "incredible monotony".[7]

During the nineteenth century, the poor people drank little else but water (of poor quality), sometimes watery coffee (or chicory) or tea. In some areas hot chocolate was consumed, but the most popular drinks (beside water) were beer and jenever. For most of the century beer was drunk in the southern part, where Catholicism dominated, and in Catholic enclaves in the other areas. This beer was top-fermented and of terrible quality;[citation needed] not until the 1880s did German-style bottom-fermented pilsner enter the Dutch market. Jenever consumption early in the nineteenth century was twice that of the equivalent consumption of distilled in neighboring countries.[7]

The modest and plain look of what is nowadays considered the traditional Dutch cuisine, appears to be the result of a fairly recent development. In the twentieth century, the new availability of mass education meant that a great number of girls could be sent to a new school type, the Huishoudschool (housekeeping school), where young women were trained to become domestic servants and where lessons in cooking cheap and simple meals were a major part of the curriculum, often based on more traditional Dutch dishes, and leading to increased uniformity in the Dutch diet. Values taught in that school system included frugality, proper (table) manners, and healthy eating.[8]

Regional cuisines[edit]
Modern culinary writers distinguish between three general regional forms of Dutch cuisine.[9]

Northeastern cuisine[edit]
A metworst from Groningen.

A small Edam cheese

A Zeeuwse bolus with butter

Limburgish vlaai

The regions in the north and east of the Netherlands, roughly the provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and Gelderland north of the great rivers make up north eastern Dutch cuisine.

The region is the least populated area of the Netherlands; and the least developed part. The late (18th century) introduction of large scale agriculture means that the cuisine is generally known for its many kinds of meats. The relative lack of farms allowed for an abundance of game and husbandry, though dishes near the coastal regions of Friesland, Groningen and the parts of Overijssel bordering the IJsselmeer also include a large amount of fish.

The various dried sausages, belonging to the metworst-family of Dutch sausages, are found throughout the region and are highly prized for their often very strong taste. Most towns and various villages have their own variety of this sausage. The region also produces the traditional smoked sausages, of which (Gelderse) rookworst is the most renowned. These sausages traditionally have been smoked over wood chips, and are served after they have been boiled in water. The sausage contains a lot of fat and is very juicy. Larger sausages are often eaten alongside stamppot, hutspot or sauerkraut; whereas smaller ones are often eaten as a street food.

The provinces are also home to many kinds of pastries and cookies. In contrast to southern Dutch cuisine, which tend to be soft and moist, the northeastern pastries generally are of a hard texture and heavily spiced with ginger or contain small bits of meat. Various kinds of Kruidkoek (such as Groninger koek), Fryske dúmkes and small savory pancakes (including spekdikken) are considered typical.

In terms of alcoholic beverages, the region is renowned for its many bitters (such as Beerenburg) and other high-proof liquors rather than beer, which, apart from Jenever, is typical for the rest of the country.

Western cuisine[edit]
The provinces of North Holland, South Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and the Gelderlandic region of Betuwe are the parts of the Netherlands which make up the region in which western Dutch cuisine is found. The area is known for its many dairy products, which includes prominent cheeses such as Gouda, Leyden (spiced cheese with cumin), Edam(traditionally in small spheres) as well as Leerdammer and Beemster, while the adjacent Zaanstreek in North Holland is known for its mayonnaise and mustards.

Zeeland and South Holland produce a lot of butter, which contains a larger amount of milkfat than most other European butter varieties. A by-product of the butter-making process, buttermilk, is also considered typical for this region.

Seafood such as herring (eaten raw), mussels, eels, oysters and shrimps are widely available and typical for the region. Kibbeling, once a local delicacy consisting of small chunks of battered white fish, has become a national fast food.

Pastries in this area tend to be quite doughy, and often contain large amounts of sugar; either caramelised, powdered or crystallised. The oliebol (in its modern form) andZeeuwse bolus are good examples. Cookies are also produced in great number and tend to contain a lot of butter and sugar, like stroopwafel, as well as a filling of some kind, mostly almond, like gevulde koek.

The traditional alcoholic beverages of this region are beer (strong pale lager) and Jenever, a high proof juniper-flavored spirit. A noted exception within the traditional Dutch alcoholic landscape, Advocaat, a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, is also native to this region.

Hachee

Southern cuisine[edit]
Southern Dutch cuisine constitutes the cuisine of the Dutch provinces of North-Brabant and Limburg and the Flemish Region in Belgium. It is renowned for its many rich pastries, soups, stews and vegetable dishes and is often called Burgundian which is a Dutch idiom invoking the rich Burgundian court which ruled the Low Countries in the Middle Agesrenowned for its splendor and great feasts.

It is the only Dutch culinary region which developed an haute cuisine, as it is influenced by both German cuisine and French cuisine, and it forms the base of most traditional Dutch restaurants including typical main courses served such as Biefstuk, Varkenshaas, Ossenhaas, these are premium cuts of meat, generally pork or beef, accompanied by a wide variety of sauces and potatoes which have been double fried in the traditional Dutch (or Belgian) manner.

Stews, such as hachee, a stew of onions, beef and a thick gravy, contain a lot of flavour and require hours to prepare. Vegetable soups are made from richly flavored stock orbouillon and typically contain small meatballs alongside a wide variety of different vegetables. Asparagus and witlo(o)f are highly prized and traditionally eaten with cheese and/orham.

Pastries are abundant, often with rich fillings of cream, custard or fruits. Cakes, such as the Vlaai from Limburg and the Moorkop and Bossche Bol from Brabant, are typical pastries. Savoury pastries also occur, with the worstenbroodje (a roll with a sausage of ground beef) being the most popular.

The traditional alcoholic beverage of the region is beer. There are many local brands, ranging from Trappist to Kriek. 5 of the 10 International Trappist Association recognised breweries in the world, are located in the Southern Dutch cultural area. Beer, like wine in French cuisine, is also used in cooking; often in stews.

Typical Brabantian"worstenbroodje", made of soft white dough and filled with a ground meat sausage.

Westmalle

Westvleteren

Achel

La Trappe

Zundert

Netherlands breweries

De Koningshoeven (La Trappe) De Kievit Brewery (Zundert) Flanders breweries Trappist Abbey of Westmalle St. Sixtus Abbey of Westvleteren De Achelse Kluis

International Trappist Association recognised breweries in the Southern Dutch sphere

Foods[edit]
Dutch agriculture roughly consists of five sectors: tillage-based, greenhouse-based, and fruit agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery.
 * Tillage-based crops include potatoes, kale, beetroot, green beans, carrots, celeriac, onions, all kind of cabbages, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, endive, spinach, Belgian endive, asparagus and lettuce. Recently some initiatives have been started to encourage interest in such "forgotten" vegetables as common purslane, medlars, parsnips, and black salsify


 * Greenhouses are used to produce tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and sweet peppers


 * Fruits include apples, pears, cherries, berries, and plums


 * The Dutch keep cows both for milk and for their meat, chickens for their eggs and for meat, pigs for their meat, and sheep for their wool and meat. Goat are increasingly kept for cheese production. Traditionallyhorse meat was a common dish (steak, sausage, and thinly-sliced smoked meat) but is less popular today.


 * The fishery sector lands cod, herring, plaice, sole, mackerel, eels, tuna, salmon, trout, oysters, mussels, shrimp, and sardines. The Dutch are famous for their smoked eel and soused herring, which is eaten raw.

Breakfast and lunch[edit]
A boterham met oude kaas(sandwich with "old" cheese)

Kruidkoek, peperkoek, andontbijtkoek are a few of the regional names for a local version ofgingerbread.

Cheese ripening

Uitsmijter spek en kaas: a couple of eggs fried with bacon and cheese

Breakfast and lunch differ little in Dutch cuisine and both consist of bread with a wide variety of cold cuts, cheeses and sweet toppings; such as hagelslag, vlokken, muisjes, chocolate spread, treacle (a thick, dark brown sugar syrup called stroop), and peanut butter. The Dutch are famous for their dairy products and especially for their cheeses. The vast majority of Dutch cheeses are semi-hard or hard cheeses. Famous Dutch cheeses include Gouda, Edam, and Leyden. A typically Dutch way of making cheese is to blend in herbs or spices during the first stages of the production process. Famous examples of this are cheeses with cloves (usually the Frisiannagelkaas), cumin (most famously Leyden cheese), or nettles.

Dutch bread tends to be very airy, as it is made from yeast dough. From the 1970s onward Dutch bread became predominantly whole grain, with additional seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds often mixed with the dough for taste. Rye bread is one of the few dense breads of the Netherlands. White bread used to be the luxury bread, often made with milk as well as water. A Frisian luxury version of white bread is suikerbrood, white bread with large lumps of sugar mixed with the dough.[10] Kerststol is a traditional Dutch Christmas bread made of bread dough with sugar, dried fruits, raisins, almond paste; and currants, and lemon and orange zest, eaten sliced, spread with butter.

Ontbijtkoek may be eaten as a substitute for a full breakfast, or simply as a snack. It is served as a small slice, usually with butter.

Tea time[edit]
Koffie verkeerd, the Dutch version of a "café au lait"

Dutch people invite friends over for koffietijd (coffee time), which consists of coffee and cake or a biscuit, served between 10 and 11 a. m. (before lunch) and/or 4pm (Between lunch and dinner) and/or between 7 and 8 p. m. (after dinner). The Dutch drink coffee and teathroughout the day, often served with a single biscuit. Dutch thrift led to the famous standard rule of only one cookie with each cup of coffee. It has been suggested that the reasons for this can be found in the Protestant mentality and upbringing in the northern Netherlands. The traditionally Roman Catholic south does not share this tradition as for instance in Limburg, where serving a large vlaai(sweet pie or pastry with filling), cut into eight pieces, is tradition when visitors are expected.

A popular Dutch story (never confirmed) says that in the late 1940s the wife of the then Prime minister, Willem Drees, served coffee and one biscuit to a visiting Americandiplomat, who then became convinced that the money from the Marshall Plan was being well-spent.

Café au lait is also very common. It is called koffie verkeerd (literally "wrong coffee") and consists of equal parts black coffee and hot milk. The Dutch drink tea without milk and the tea is quite a lot weaker than the typical English types of tea which are taken with milk. Other hot drinks used to include warm lemonade, called kwast (hot water with lemonjuice), and anijsmelk (hot milk with aniseed). In the autumn and winter the very popular hot chocolate or chocolate milk is drunk. Both anijsmelk and kwast are hardly drunk any more and have lost their popularity.

Dinner[edit]
Boerenkoolstamppot, with rookworst

Dutch pea soup, also called snert

Dinner, traditionally served early by international standards, starts around or even before 6 o'clock in the evening. The old-fashioned Dutch dinner consists of one simple course: potatoes, meat and vegetables. Traditionally potatoes with a large portion of vegetables and a small portion of meat with gravy, or a potato and vegetable stew. A typical traditional Dutch dinner would include stamppot (Dutch mashed potato mixed with other mashed vegetables) and pea soup. Vegetable stews served as side dishes are for example rodekool met appeltjes (red cabbage with apples), or rode bieten (beetroot). Regular spices used in stews of this kind may be bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, and vinegar, although strong spices are generally used sparingly. Stews are often served with pickles, including augurken (gherkins) or cocktail onions (zilveruitjes). Due to the influx of other countries traditional meals have lost some popularity. Stamppot is traditionally eaten in winter.

If there is a starter, it is usually soup. The final course is a sweet dessert, traditionally yogurt with some sugar or vla, thin milk pudding (cooked milk with custard).

The below listed meals have historic origins as meals for common laborers. In the 17th to 19th century workers worked 10 to 16 hours on farms or in factories in unheated rooms, hence these meals are very heavy on calories and fat and were meant to replenish a laborer's energy.

Well-known Dutch dishes are: Meat dishes include: Flour dishes: Seafood:
 * Hutspot, made with potatoes, carrots, and onions served with meats like rookworst (smoked sausage), slow-cooked meat, or bacon. Before potatoes were introduced in Europe hutspot was made from parsnips, carrots, and onions
 * Andijviestamppot, raw endive mashed with hot potatoes, served with diced fried spek (a kind of bacon)
 * Hete bliksem (literally Hot Lightning), boiled potatoes and green apples, served with stroop (treacle) or tossed with diced speck
 * Zuurkoolstamppot, sauerkraut mashed with potatoes. Served with fried bacon or a sausage. Sometimes curry powder, raisins or slices of pineapple or banana are used to give a stamppot an exotic touch
 * Boerenkoolstamppot, curly kale mixed with potatoes, served with gravy, mustard, and rookworst sausage. It is one of the oldest and most popular Dutch dishes. Boerenkoolwas mentioned in cookbooks from the year 1661. 1661 mashed potatoes were not used in this dish yet, although the sausage was already served with the cabbage in this dish. The dish became popular after a few bad corn-seasons when potatoes became popular as food.[11] Boerenkool is high in carbohydrates, which makes it a popular meal for cold winter days[12]
 * Snert, also called erwtensoep, is a very thick pea soup that can be served either as a main dish or as an appetizer and is traditionally eaten during the winter. Snert has a very thick consistency and often includes pieces of pork and rookworst and is almost a stew rather than a soup. The thick consistency of the Dutch pea soup is often described as that "...you should be able to stand a spoon upright in a good pea soup".[11] It is customarily served with roggebrood (rye bread) spread with butter and topped with katenspek, a variety of bacon which is first cooked and then smoked. The meat from the soup may also be put on the rye bread and eaten with mustard.
 * Gehaktballen, meatballs (usually made of half pork, half beef)
 * Slavink, minced meat wrapped in bacon
 * Balkenbrij, a type of liverwurst and meatloaf. The butter based gravy (boterjus), in which the meat has been fried and/or cooked, is also served. A variant of this, eaten around the IJsselmeer, is butter en eek, where vinegar is added to the gravy.
 * Pannekoeken
 * Poffertjes (miniature pancakes) and spekdik (a Northern variant with bacon).
 * Wentelteefjes, similar to French toast).
 * Broeder, a type of boiled pudding usually containing buckwheat, is a traditional dinner mainly in West Friesland.
 * Mosselen (mussels) are quite popular and commonly served with french fries.

Desserts and puddings[edit]

 * Vla (vanilla custard) is often mixed with yogurt (and sometimes yoghurt and syrup, making the Dutch vla-flip).
 * Broodpap, a bread porridge made from old bread, milk, butter and sugar.
 * Griesmeelpudding, a sweet pudding served with red berry coulis. Other deserts are grutjespap, Haagse bluf, hangop, Jan in de zak, karnemelksepap, rijstebrij (rice pudding), krentjebrij (also called watergruwel).

Non-native influences[edit]
A small rijsttafel at a private party in the Netherlands.

Surinamese roti.

Indonesian and Indo dishes became popular due to the arrival of former Dutch colonials and people of Eurasian descent into the Netherlands, especially after theindependence of Indonesia from Dutch colonial rule in 1949. C. Countess van Limburg Stirum writes in her book "The Art of Dutch Cooking" (1962): There exist countless Indonesian dishes, some of which take hours to prepare; but a few easy ones have become so popular that they can be regarded as "national dishes". She then provides recipes for nasi goreng (fried rice), pisang goreng (baked bananas), lumpia goreng (fried spring rolls), bami (fried noodles), satay (grilled skewered meat), satay sauce (peanut sauce), and sambal oelek (chilli paste).[13] Dutch-Indonesian fusion dishes also exist, of which the most well-known is the Rijsttafel ("Rice table"), which is an elaborate meal consisting of many (up to several dozens) small dishes (hence filling "an entire table"). While popular in the Netherlands, Rijsttafel is now rare in Indonesia itself. Another fusion dish is 'friet saté' or 'patatje pinda' (French fries with satay sauce as condiment).

Surinamese cuisine is also popular in the Netherlands, especially in the bigger cities. Surinamese establishments commonly offer roti, the staple food of the Hindustanicommunity in Suriname, various Surinamese interpretations of Chinese Indonesian cuisine, as well as Surinamese sandwiches (Surinaamse broodjes). Italian and American style pizzerias have also become widespread.

In recent decades, Arab and Turkish dishes have become increasingly popular, especially as a snack food. In larger towns and cities, small restaurants selling Kebab,Shaorma and Falafel can be found on virtually any street corner, in the whole country.

Special occasions[edit]
Oliebollen, a Dutch pastry eaten on New Year's Eve

Appeltaart, Dutch apple pie

A chocolate letter of the first letter of the child's name is a typical present given to children during the Sinterklaasfeast; it is supposedly thrown down the chimney by a Zwarte Piet or bySinterklaas himself

Special occasions call for special foods. The birth of a child is an occasion for serving beschuit met muisjes (Dutch rusk covered with sugared aniseed).

The Dutch festival of Sinterklaas is held on 5 December. Saint Nicholas leaves gifts in the children’s shoes. On this occasion, the Dutch drink hot chocolate milk and eat spice cookies, like speculaas. Special treats distributed by Saint Nicholas' aide Zwarte Piet includepepernoten (gingernut-like biscuits but made with cinnamon, pepper, cloves and nutmeg mix of spices); boterletter or banket (a baked pastry crust filled with a sugared almond paste filling and shaped into a letter); letters made from chocolate; marzipan (often in the shape of animals or other topical items), borstplaat (discs of fondant); and taai-taai.

Christmas in the Netherlands is a typical family holiday. Traditionally there is family brunch with kerststol (fruited raisinbread; often filled with almond paste).[14] Christmas dinner is also a family occasion where roast pork, game or other luxury meat may be served.

On New Year's Eve, Dutch houses smell of the piping hot oil used to prepare oliebollen and appelbeignets(not to be mistaken for the "appelflap" which is completely different) (battered apple rings) in deep-fat fryers. These yeast dough balls, either plain or filled with glacé fruits, pieces of apple and raisins and sultanas, are served with powdered sugar and are a special treat for New Year's Eve. The Dutch also took their oliebollen to America, where they are now known in a slightly different form as doughnuts[citation needed]. In Limburg nonnevotte are sometimes served during New Year's Eve, although it is mostly eaten during Carnival. Around New Years kniepertjes are popular, in particular in the northern provinces.[14]

On birthdays all kinds of cakes and cookies are eaten, including appeltaart (apple pie), bokkepootjes, Bossche bol, dikke koek, cream cake, Fryske dumkes, gevulde koek(cookies filled with almond meal), Groninger koek, janhagel, ketelkoek, kindermanstik, krakeling, krentenwegge, kruidkoek, Limburgse vlaai, ouwewijvenkoek, peperkoek(gingerbread), rijstekoek, spekkoek (originally from Indonesia), sprits, tompouce, trommelkoek, bitterkoekjes, kletskop and stroopwafel. Poffertjes are tiny puffed pancakes served on special occasions, served warm with melting butter and powdered sugar on top. They are mostly combined with a drink: milk, chocolate milk or yogurt drink. Cafeterias all around the Netherlands sell poffertjes. Dutch people call such a restaurant a poffertjeskraam. Poffertjes can be eaten as a dessert after dinner or as a sweet lunch.

Sweets[edit]
Griotten, a type of soft sweet Dutch liquorice

A famous Dutch sweet is zoute drop, (lit. "salty liquorice") and other liquorice sweets. These sweets are small, black and look much like gums. Similar to Pontefract cakes found in Yorkshire, England. The four types of drop are soft sweet, soft salt, hard sweet and hard salt drop. Liquorice can be bought in shops and pharmacies and has a medical function as it is supposed to help cure throat and stomach aches.[15] Dutch drop is sold in a large variety of shapes and forms. When they are flavored with coconut fondant they are calledEngelse drop (lit. "English liquorice"; liquorice allsorts). Other varieties are made with honey (honingdrop), mint (muntdrop),salammoniac (salmiakdrop), or laurel (laurierdrop). Typical shapes are diamonds, ovals, oblongs and as coins. A honeycomb shape for honey drop is also popular. Some manufacturers have introduced speciality ranges where the drop is made in thematic shapes, such as cars (autodrop), farm animals and farm machinery (boerderijdrop), etcetera.

Another popular Dutch sweet is the stroopwafel ("stroop" meaning syrup). A thin waffle cookie, made typically in a pizelle pan, is sliced horizontally and used for sandwiching a layer of syrup, the stroop. Occasionally, crushed hazelnuts will be mixed with the stroop, and the dough may be spiced with cinnamon.

One of the Dutch confectionary specialties is vlaai. It is a sweet pie made with a yeast dough and filled with fruit (such as apple, apricot, pineapple, plum) or berry filling. Other ingredients may include custard andrhubarb. Rice vlaais, stuffed with a rich rice-and-cream filling, are also popular. They can be additionally grafted with fruits, whipped cream or chocolate.[16]

Alcoholic drinks[edit]
Bottles of Heineken, Grolsch, andBavaria beer

Wine plays only a modest role in Dutch cuisine, but there are many brands of beer and strong alcoholic liquor. The most famous Dutch beer producers are Heineken in the west, Grolsch in the east, Alfa and Bavaria in the south. Traditionally, Noord-Brabant and Limburg had a strong beer tradition, brewing many different types of beer (not unlikebeer in Belgium). The Dutch cities in the west used to have a long brewing tradition as well, but in the 20th century, big brewers took over many of these smaller breweries or offered them a license to sell their beer brand, while stopping their own production. In the 21st century, many new microbreweries were founded, brewing topfermenting beers in many different styles. In September 2013, there were 184 active breweries in the Netherlands.[17] Popular styles include bock, trappist ale, stout and wheat beer.

Of the range of bitters, Beerenburg is the most famous. Strong liquors include Jenever (distilled malt wine and the precursor to Gin), Brandewijn (brandy) and Vieux (Dutch brandy, (Dutch imitation Cognac), but also Kandeel (made from white wine), Kraamanijs (a liquor made from aniseed), Oranjebitter (an orange-flavored brandy, which is traditionally served on festivities surrounding the royal family), Advocaat, Boerenjongens (raisins in brandy), and Boerenmeisjes (apricots in brandy).

Fast food[edit]
A frikandel with fries

Hollandse nieuwe, "new" raw herring

Gerookte paling, smoked eel

The Dutch have their own types of fast food, sold at a snackbar. A Dutch fast food meal often consists of a portion of French fries (called patat or friet), with a sauce and a meat product. The most common sauce to accompany French fries is fritessaus (a low fat mayonnaise substitute), while others can be ketchup or currysaus, hot peanut sauce, a pickle relish of chopped vegetables and spices, such as piccalilli or joppiesaus. Sometimes the French fries are served with a combinations of different sauces, most famously speciaal (lit. "special"), which consists of mayonnaise with spiced ketchup and chopped onions, and oorlog (lit. "war"), which consists of a friet special covered in a generous amount of hot peanut sauce. A quite new addition to Dutch fast food is the kapsalon (lit. "barbershop"), consisting of either shawarma or döner, and with fries, salad, cheese and various sauces, all put into one take-out box. It was given its name because the original (Patat) Kapsalon, which was a lunch meal as ordered by the owner of a barbershop in Rotterdam.

Snacks made with meat are usually deep fried, this includes the frikandel (a skinless minced meat sausage), and the kroket (a meat ragout roll covered in breadcrumbs). They are available in bread rolls - Broodje kroketten - to take away. A smaller, spherical version of the kroket, the bitterbal, is often served with mustard as a snack in bars but also at official receptions. Regional snacks include the eierbal (a combination of egg and ragout) in the north and east of the country, and the slightly spiced Brabants worstenbrood orsaucijzenbroodjes, slightly spiced sausage meat baked in pastry (similar to the English sausage roll).

Other snacks are the Indonesian-inspired bamihap or bamischijf (a disk shaped mie goreng patty which is covered with breadcrumbs and deep-fried), nasibal (similar to thebamischijf, but then ball shaped and filled with nasi goreng), and kaassoufflé (lit. "cheese soufflé" but in fact a deep fried puff pastry envelope with a small amount of cheese in the center, popular amongst vegetarians).

Almost all fast food meat products are factory made from cheap cuts of meat and supplied to the snackbar frozen. French fries need to be deep fried twice at different temperatures. In most cases the fries are supplied frozen and pre-fried, only needing to be fried once at the snack bar. Some snackbars offer locally prepared snacks, e.g. sliced pork belly covered in breadcrumbs.

Fish is also sold as fast food at the so-called viskraam, most often street stalls and market stalls that specialise only in prepared fish products. The Netherlands is famous for itsraw herring, optionally served together with chopped raw onions and gherkins, and which is eaten by lifting the herring high up into the air by its tail, and then biting into it upwards (except for Amsterdam, where the herring is cut to pieces and served on paper platter). Raw herring is also commonly sold in a soft white bun. Other popular fish snacks are kibbeling (deep-fried nugget-sized chunks of cod), lekkerbek (deep-fried cod, similar to the British Fish and chips, but delicately spiced and with a more tempura-like batter), gerookte paling (smoked eel), and rolmops.