Cheeses and local products
With an annual production of around 800,000 tonnes, the Netherlands is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of cheese. And it's also one of the world's biggest consumers, with an average annual per capita consumption of 22 kg. While in France you'll often find Dutch cheeses slightly boring, in the Netherlands you'll discover many delicious, long-aged cheeses.
In the Netherlands, most cheeses(kaas) are hard and made from cow's milk. The best-known varieties are gouda and edam, but there are many others, such as beemster, similar to gouda, or the creamier limburger, also produced in Germany and Belgium, with a taste similar to munster. The Dutch also love cheeses flavored with cumin, caraway, mustard seeds and other spices. These include leidse and kanterkaas, which are part of the komijnekaas, or cumin-flavored cheeses. Nagelkaas, from Friesland in the north of the country, is flavored with cloves. Brandnetelkaas, meanwhile, is garnished with nettles to give it a pungent, almost garlicky taste. Finally, delfts blauw is one of Holland's rare blue-veined cheeses. Other cheeses, such as maasdam or leerdammer, are actually industrial brands.
The term boerenkaas, which can be translated as "farmer's cheese", encompasses a variety of products that share the common characteristic of being made from raw milk. For gourmets, it's best to try boeren gatenkaas and overjarige boerenkaas, old cheeses with a strong, full-bodied taste. Mimolette, on the other hand, is not Dutch as is often thought, but comes from Lille. It was created to imitate edam, whose trade was banned in the 17th century under Colbert, to favor French products. Indeed, many Dutch cheeses were already highly appreciated in Europe, not least for their good keeping qualities, thanks to the thick layer of wax that covers them.
In the Middle Ages, cheese-making and trading played a central role in the life of the country. Haarlem was the first town to be granted the right to hold a cheese market, in 1266. This was followed by Leiden in 1303, then Oudewater in 1326 and finally Alkmaar in 1365. The Alkmaar cheese market remains extremely popular with locals and tourists alike. In Amsterdam, the Albert Cuypmarkt offers a wide range of Dutch specialties and, of course, cheeses in every conceivable form and variety, including more modern variations flavored with basil, chili pepper or even spirulina.
Spices and rijsttafel
During the 17th century, the Netherlands - then the United Provinces - entered a period of unprecedented economic development, known as the Gouden Eeuw or Dutch Golden Age. Thanks to an efficient, modern merchant navy, Dutch sailors criss-crossed the seas and established colonial trading posts around the world, particularly in Asia. This economic boom led to Dutch control of the lucrative spice trade, which was sold at a premium in Europe. After centuries of trade, Indonesia remained under Dutch control until 1949, creating an extremely tasty fusion cuisine.
Nasibal is a perfect example. This recipe consists of steamed rice mixed with pork, vegetables, spices and a chili paste called sambal. The whole thing is molded into croquettes, then breaded and fried. It can even be found in vending machines(snackautomaten). Bamischijf is a similar snack prepared with noodles. Spekkoek is an Indonesian-influenced cinnamon cake, made with a multitude of layers of different-colored dough that requires meticulous preparation.
More than just a specialty, rijsttafel (rice table) is a banquet with up to 50 different dishes. While the recipes on offer are undeniably Asian, the origins of this kind of buffet are actually colonial, created by wealthy Dutch landowners in Indonesia to show off their financial affluence. Other purely Indonesian dishes are also very popular, such as rendang, a very spicy beef stew with coconut milk; satays, small chicken skewers served with a peanut sauce; or nasi goreng, a stir-fried rice topped with omelette and vegetables.
The essentials of Dutch cuisine
In the Netherlands, a wide variety of charcuterie and cheeses are served as aperitifs, usually with beer, such as metworst, a dry sausage from the north of the country, or ossenworst, a spicy, smoked beef sausage. All served with a dense, dark rye bread(roggebrood). Bitterballen are small fried beef or veal dumplings served with mustard. In a similar vein, kroketten are breaded, sausage-shaped croquettes filled with beef, fish or shrimp and bound with a béchamel sauce. Worstenbroodje is a sausage roll. Kibbeling are fried fish cubes served with tartar sauce.
The Dutch love seafood and fish, which is hardly surprising given that most of their territory is surrounded by sea and estuaries. Zeeland oysters, smoked eels, shrimps, mussels, fish of all kinds, including the famous herring in brine known as maatjes or Hollandse nieuwe. While it's often served in a bun with gherkin and raw onion, it can also be eaten the Dutch way: by grabbing it by the tail and wolfing it down in one go. The locals love it.
Stamppot is a traditional Dutch dish of sausages(rookworst) served with mashed potatoes, spinach and sauerkraut. A rich dish, perfect for cold winter days.Erwtensoep - or snert - is the national split-pea soup, almost as thick as mashed potatoes, often garnished with slices of sausage.
While the French and Belgians often dispute the paternity of French fries, in the Netherlands, too, you'll find "baraques à frites" absolutely everywhere. Often served as they are, they also exist in an even heartier form: patatjes oorlog. These "war fries" - literally translated - are drowned in mayonnaise and satay sauce, then generously garnished with chopped onion. Fries are also served with braadworst (finely spiced grilling sausage) or frikandellen (fricadelle), croquettes of minced meat - beef, pork, chicken, etc. - fried in a sauce. - fried. Another nourishing recipe, slavink, are tasty croquettes of minced pork and beef with bacon.
Sweets and coffee
On the sweet side, there's a wide variety of cakes, pastries, entremets and other confections, such as savory licorice called zoute drop. The most emblematic sweet is certainly the stroopwafel, consisting of two crispy wafers concealing a heart of cinnamon-scented brown-sugar caramel. Although it's hard to enjoy this snack without dripping caramel on it, these wafers are divine. In another style, poffertjes are plump little pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar and often accompanied by red fruit or spread. More substantial, oliebollen, which could be translated as the very explicit "oil ball", are small raisin doughnuts traditionally served for New Year's Day and, more broadly, in winter. They are said to be the origin of the famous American doughnuts, imported by the Dutch to the New York area in the 17th century. More sophisticated, the bossche bol originated in 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), although it can be found in every pastry shop in Amsterdam. This large profiterole is filled with whipped cream before being covered with a layer of dark chocolate.
Although the Dutch don't use many spices in their cooking, some pastries are generously flavored with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and white pepper. This is particularly true of speculoos, served with any hot drink in the country. Ontbijtkoek or peperkoek is a type of local gingerbread made from rye flour. While the much-loved appeltaart is simply an apple pie, it differs greatly from what you'd find in France. Thicker, it is richly garnished with raisins and spices. In another style, Limburgse vlaai is a tart from the southern Netherlands. It is filled with cherries, plums or apricots, then covered with a criss-cross of pastry to give it its crispness.
In the kingdom of beer
Like Belgium, beer production and consumption are deeply rooted in Dutch culture, and the region has been a major brewing center since the Middle Ages. The country is one of the world's largest beer producers and exporters. The giant Heineken, the world's2nd largest brewer, owns nearly 250 brands worldwide, including the famous Heineken, as well as Amstel. Other major breweries include Grolsch, Bavaria, Brouwerij 't IJ and Arcense Bierbrouwerij. In 2024, there were over 800 breweries in the country, including a large proportion of microbreweries. In most cafés, draught beers are served in pints known as " een grote pils ". For smaller quantities, order " een pils " or even smaller " een fluitje ".
White beer - particularly refreshing - is best drunk in summer. Stronger brown beers are more common in the south of the country, as in the province of Limburg, between Belgium and Germany.
Of the 11 Trappist beers recognized by ATP(Authentic Trappist Product), two are produced in the Netherlands. Trappe is brewed at Notre-Dame de Koningshoeven Abbey in the village of Berkel-Enschot, and Zundert comes from the De Kievit brewery at Notre-Dame-du-Refuge Abbey in Zundert, in the south of the Netherlands, not far from the Belgian border.
In addition to beer, the Netherlands has a small wine production, strongly localized in the southeast of the country, where the warmer summer climate allows for respectable grape ripening. Other products include jenever, a spirit scented with juniper berries, the local equivalent of British gin; beerenburg, a brandy containing various herbs (gentian, laurel, licorice, juniper, etc.); and kraamanijs, a type of anisette. Finally,advocaat is a creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy.
