Dutch food is heavily influenced by the country’s agricultural products and its history as a seafaring nation. In the Netherlands, people eat all kinds of fish and seafood, such as cod, eel, herring, mackerel, mussels, oysters, plaice, salmon, sardines, soleidae, shrimp, trout, and tuna. Beef, chicken, and pork are all popular meats.
The Netherlands’ history as a colony has also had an effect on the food there. The Dutch were involved in the Dutch East Indies (Dutch: Nederlands-Indi), which is now called Indonesia, for about 250 years, and Indonesian food has left a lasting impression on the Dutch palate. Dutch people now eat Indonesian dishes like Nasi Goreng, which is spicy rice with chicken or pork.
Here are some more Dutch dishes that people like:
Balkenbrij is a liverwurst (Dutch: Leverworst) sausage loaf made from pork. It has enough pork liver in it to taste like liver. The loaf is cut into pieces that are about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and then fried.
– Boerenkool
A potato and kale stew is called “stamppot.” It comes with gravy and sausage (Dutch spicy sausage).
Hete bliksem is boiled potatoes and green apples with stroop (syrup) or diced speck (juniper-flavored dry-cured ham).
– Hutspot is a traditional stew made with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes.
– Stamppot rauwe andijvie: raw endive, a type of chicory, mashed with potatoes and served with diced, fried speck (juniper-flavored dry-cured ham).
– Zuurkoolstamppot: mashed potatoes with sauerkraut (pickled cabbage). Served with sausage or bacon, and sometimes spiced up with curry powder, raisins, or pineapple.
Some popular Dutch sweets are:
– Appeltaart – Apple pie. Dutch apple pie usually have a lattice-style top and icing and are made with cinnamon, lemon, and raisins.
Oliebollen are the Dutch version of donuts. They are made by deep-frying dough, letting it cool and rise, and then covering it with powdered sugar. People eat them at fairs and around Christmas, especially on New Year’s Eve.
Spekkoek is a Dutch-Indonesian pastry that is very rich and spicy. It is made of many layers of pastry.
The Stroopwafel is made of two round wafers with a caramel filling in the middle.